Blog

’13th checks’ scrapped in San Jose pension deal

In June 2012, San Jose voters by a more than 2-to-1 margin approved an ambitious pension reform measure meant to bring down long-term costs of retirement benefits for city employees. The night of the election, the San Jose police union

Vergara case backer files new lawsuit

Chris Reed July 20, 2015

The education reform group founded by a Silicon Valley billionaire entrepreneur that won a landmark 2014 lawsuit — Vergara v. California — over teacher job protections has opened a second front in its battle with the state’s education establishment. Student

CA sardine fishing ban: Did regulators wait too long?

Chris Reed July 19, 2015

The federal government’s emergency moratorium on sardine fishing off the California and Pacific Northeast coast took effect July 1, in a major blow to commercial fishing operations, which directly and indirectly sustain thousands of middle-class jobs. The Pacific Fishery Management

ADA reform bill advances

Josephine Djuhana July 17, 2015

Businesses will gain new incentives to comply under the American Disabilities Act, thanks to a bill authored by state Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside. SB251 would reform compliance rules with the ADA, by extending requirements for attorneys to report ADA-related violations,

Pot farm regulations keep advancing in Legislature

Chris Reed July 16, 2015

A Democratic lawmaker from rural Northern California is finding plenty of support in Sacramento for his push for new state regulations on the growing of medical marijuana. Sen. Mike McGuire of Healdsburg is author of SB643, “The Medical Marijuana Public

San Onofre bailout under growing fire

Chris Reed July 14, 2015

California’s powerful, politically connected giant electricity utilities are used to getting their way and to getting help when things go wrong. When an ineptly designed state power “deregulation” law exposed Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego

Judge rules CA Water Board violated due process in water rights case

Josephine Djuhana July 13, 2015

On Friday, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne W. L. Chang ruled against the California State Water Resources Control Board, saying the board violated due process in curtailing water rights to a San Joaquin water district. According to the Stockton

Electricity tier changes, rate hikes bring higher energy costs

Josephine Djuhana July 12, 2015

With a recently approved proposal to hike electricity rates throughout the state and a new proposal from a local board to increase water and power rates, Californians are about to see a spike in energy costs. CPUC changes tier system,

High-profile CA judge trashes legal system

Chris Reed July 10, 2015

Alex Kozinski, the libertarian maverick judge on the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is one of the best-known judges in the nation in media and legal circles because of his contrarian streak and his willingness to go

Bill to restrict e-cigarette use dies in committee

Josephine Djuhana July 8, 2015

On Wednesday, legislation that would classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products was amended and held in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee. Senate Bill 140 author Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, dropped his support for the bill after committee amendments struck out portions of