Blog

Oakland Unified whipsawed by pension costs, declining enrollment

It’s been a tumultuous era in Oakland. The Police Department has been enmeshed in an ugly scandal surrounding officers’ involvement with an underage sex worker that led to an officer’s suicide, firings and turnover in the chief’s office. City Hall

Study: Blame cities, not CEQA for housing shortage

Avery Bissett March 1, 2018

The oft-maligned California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) may not be to blame for the Golden State’s housing shortage and steep development costs, according to recent UC Berkeley/Columbia working paper. Passed in 1970, CEQA requires state and local agencies to assess

Report: Without housing fix, Silicon Valley will falter

Chris Reed February 28, 2018

Three times in the past 18 months, prominent journalistic organizations have questioned whether Silicon Valley has peaked. Leading off the bad-mouthing was the hometown San Jose Mercury News, which reported in September 2016 that tech growth had slowed in the

Brutal long-term ‘mega-drought’ a specter hanging over state

Chris Reed February 27, 2018

Californians confronted with a bone-dry winter have to wonder if Gov. Jerry Brown and other state officials acted precipitously in April 2017 in declaring an end to the Golden State’s five-year drought. But there’s an even more ominous question to

Stars aligning for far-reaching changes to state bail system

Chris Reed February 26, 2018

Last week could be remembered as a turning point for California criminal justice as state Attorney General Xavier Becerra joined the movement to radically change the Golden State’s bail system, which charges by far the highest average bail in the

Steve Poizner ditches GOP, will run as independent for insurance commissioner

Drew Gregory Lynch February 22, 2018

Steve Poizner is again running for the position of state insurance commissioner, but this time he’s leaving behind the Republican Party and running as an independent, in just the latest move illustrating the tough climate for the GOP in the

Bill would double monthly rent tax credit – from $20 to $40

Chris Reed February 20, 2018

State Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, and 16 co-sponsors have introduced legislation that sounds like a bold move to address the high cost of housing. Glazer’s Senate Bill 1182 would double the state tax credit for renters. But that turns out

In school superintendent race, it’s Democratic reformer vs. union ally

Chris Reed February 13, 2018

The 2018 race for state superintendent of public instruction may not have an incumbent but is likely to feel like an encore of the 2014 race, pitting a Democrat aligned with the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of

Leader of state #MeToo movement accused of sexual harassment

Chris Reed February 9, 2018

The sexual harassment scandals hanging over the state Capitol in Sacramento took a dramatic turn Thursday when the most prominent member of the Legislature’s anti-sexual harassment movement was herself accused of improper behavior. Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, has been

Sacramento may join growing list of cities using ‘tiny homes’ to address housing crisis

Chris Reed February 2, 2018

Sacramento has become the latest city to consider responding to California’s acute housing crisis with “tiny homes” – small, prefabricated studio homes with bathrooms and built-in hook-ups for electricity and water. In an era in which $2,000 apartment rentals, $600,000 homes