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Most costly ballot measure? It’s not the one many expected
There appears to be a new all-time leader in most money spent over a California ballot proposition – and it’s not Proposition 10, the measure that would allow local governments to impose rent control, which has led to a gigantic donnybrook
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More than 100 local governments seek tax hikes to meet rising pension bills
Nine months after a League of California Cities report warned that pension costs were increasingly unsustainable, more than 100 local governments in the Golden State are asking voters for tax hikes on Nov. 6 – which Bond Buyer says is nearly
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Farm Bureau, PETA both oppose farm-confinement proposition
California voters’ support for farm animal rights was made clear in 2008 with the landslide victory of Proposition 2, which said animals could not be confined in a way that prevented them from turning around freely, lying down, standing up
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Water bond facing unexpectedly strong opposition
At a time when many Democrats and Republicans alike believe often-drought-stricken California needs more water storage projects and infrastructure, an $8.9 billion bond measure that earlier this year seemed to be a sure thing now faces a somewhat less certain
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Rent control proposition proving tough sell even to Democrats
With the cost of housing driving California’s emergence as the state with the highest percentage of impoverished households, it’s easy to see the appeal of rent control to key Democratic constituencies – starting with poor and lower-middle-income families, often minorities, who
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State treasurer seeks probe of CalPERS CEO
A rowdy, muckraking financial blog that has repeatedly raised later-corroborated concerns about how the California Public Employees’ Retirement System operates has gotten traction with one of its new allegations. The Naked Capitalism blog’s report that CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost had
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School lead contamination standards seen as weak, but safer rules would have huge cost
After reports of problems with lead contamination of water at schools around California, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill in October of 2017 meant to address the problem. The measure by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, mandates that every school test
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San Jose struggles to meet ambitious housing goals
Silicon Valley is the epicenter of the state’s housing crisis, with even run-down older homes routinely selling for nearly $1 million and with apartment rent averaging over $3,400 in communities within a 10-mile radius of Mountain View. With some exceptions,
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Unions pass on battle with business over Prop. 11
What shaped up as another bruising ballot battle between union and business coalitions over worker pay, benefits and obligations has fizzled with Proposition 11. The measure was funded by the companies which provide the private ambulance services which provide the
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9th Circuit: California cities must let homeless sleep on streets
A ruling this month by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which holds it is unconstitutional to ban homeless people from sleeping on the streets is likely to complicate the attempts to crack down on homelessness problems by local
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