Breaking News

CA officials move to vaporize e-cigs

With public opinion in flux and anti-tobacco activists on edge, the California Department of Public Health has rolled out “Wake Up,” a slick new ad campaign to discourage the use of e-cigarettes, or “vapes.” Recently, CDPH pronounced e-cigs a threat to public

CA leads nation in job creation — Should CalChamber ‘job killer’ list receive credit?

Joel Fox March 25, 2015

While surveys of business executives still rank California as one of the worst places to do business, the record on job creation has been bright in the Golden State over the last year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported

Brown’s drought battle heats up Sacramento

James Poulos March 25, 2015

Running out of water, California officials have decided to open the taps on another resource: money. Joined by leading legislators, Gov. Jerry Brown has announced a fresh round of relief proposals totaling some $1 billion. Not all the funding was targeted to short-term relief, however,

NFL heavy hitters meet in AZ; continue momentum toward L.A. franchise

James Poulos March 24, 2015

At a high-profile Phoenix, Ariz., gathering this week, NFL heavyweights sat down to smooth out the road toward a two-franchise deal in Los Angeles. Numerous competing and conflicting agendas have made life more difficult for the teams, owners, cities and league officials involved

Housing report by Legislative Analyst raises affordability questions

Wayne Lusvardi March 24, 2015

The California Legislative Analyst’s new report on housing costs puts numbers to what housing-hunters know on the ground: affordable housing in the state’s coastal areas is scarce and getting scarcer. But the report itself raises new questions. According to the

Study: CA ranks last in spending transparency

Steve Miller March 24, 2015

California ranked at the bottom for the second consecutive year on the annual report on state government transparency compiled by the Public Interest Research Group, an investigative and advocacy organization based in Boston. And the state’s beleaguered Department of Technology, or CalTech, can be assigned part

Analysis: Which proposed bills help, hinder, small businesses

John Seiler March 23, 2015

Among the approximately 2,000 bills considered in the California Legislature this year, many affect small businesses. Here’s the analysis of four by the National Federation of Independent Business California: Assembly Bill 23 and Senate Bill 5, the Affordable Gas Tax for Families

LAO questions local school funding accountability

Dave Roberts March 23, 2015

When Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in July 2013 that increased funding for the state’s neediest students and restored local control over how that money is spent, he hailed it as “historic.” Brown also called it “truly revolutionary. We are

ACLU lawsuit challenges secret phone-tracker programs

John March 23, 2015

Police departments may have been tracking your every move without a warrant. But the full extent of the program — and its total cost to California taxpayers — has been kept secret. A year ago the American Civil Liberties Union of

Undocumented immigrants hit the road with CA driver’s licenses

James Poulos March 20, 2015

After two months of granting driver’s licenses to once-undocumented immigrants, California officials reported big numbers. The Golden State program has supplied licenses to almost 150,000 immigrants. Supporters of the move have been quick to tout its perceived advantages — and to boost participation