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Congress still divided on how to address CA drought

California’s leaders have faced sharp criticism over their perceived failure to prepare the state for the current severe drought. But if criticism of the state government is warranted, Congress may deserve some blame as well. House members from the Central

Protests erupt at Nestlé bottling plants in Sacramento and L.A.

Josephine Djuhana May 20, 2015

Earlier this week, local California activists and concerned residents led protests against Nestlé at bottling plants located in Los Angeles and Sacramento. A joint press release stated Wednesday: At the protests, in Los Angeles and Sacramento, activists delivered more than 500,000 signatures

L.A. City Council votes to raise minimum wage to $15/hour

Josephine Djuhana May 20, 2015

In a 14-1 vote, the Los Angeles City Council voted to raise the minimum wage in the city of Los Angeles to $15.00 per hour by 2020. Small businesses were given an additional one-year “phase in” period, requiring a $15.00

In Long Beach, taxis to copy the Uber approach

Chris Reed May 20, 2015

The arrival of Uber and Lyft has had a radical effect on surface transportation and seems likely to lead to a big downsizing of the taxi industry in California. In city after city, taxi lobbyists have fought to shut down

Brown adds $2 billion to program that worries LAO

Chris Reed May 19, 2015

Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised 2015-16 state budget boosts from $4 billion to $6.1 billion the funding being given to the Local Control Funding Formula for public schools. That’s the program established by Brown via a 2013 state law to specifically

School districts seek help with pension bailout costs

Chris Reed May 17, 2015

The bailout of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System enacted last year requires a 70 percent increase in pension contributions from school districts, a 20 percent increase from the state general fund and a 10 percent increase in teacher contributions.

Budget reflects truce in Brown-Napolitano fight over UC

Chris Reed May 16, 2015

For eight months, the most high-profile political fight in Sacramento has been between Gov. Jerry Brown and University of California President Janet Napolitano, triggered by Napolitano’s attempts to pressure Brown and the Legislature to increase funding for the UC system.

Poor in CA whipsawed by disorganized health agencies

Chris Reed May 14, 2015

Poor people in California — starting with individuals who make less than $16,200 — are eligible for subsidized health care from Medi-Cal. About 12 million people are enrolled in the state program. Individuals who make from $16,200 to about $60,000

Study: CA hospitals waste money by ignoring ‘big data’

Chris Reed May 12, 2015

The “Moneyball” phenomenon of using advanced statistical analysis to gain advantage in professional sports has picked up steam over the past dozen years, to the point where it has broadly depressed scoring in baseball, as fielders are positioned precisely based

CA inequality much worse for Latinos than blacks

Chris Reed May 11, 2015

A new study of the state workforce by UC Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education shows income inequality rose steadily under both Democratic and GOP governors from 1979 to 2014. That’s not a surprise, given that income inequality’s rise