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They gave an election in L.A. and almost nobody came

It seems Los Angeles County is testing the old philosophical question: What if they gave an election and nobody came? The most populous county in the state had the lowest percentage turnout in last November’s election. While 42 percent

Covered CA signups fall short of goal

James Poulos February 23, 2015

Amid a shifting, uncertain health care landscape, Covered California’s latest round of enrollments fell short of administrators’ goals. In a reflection of larger uncertainties nationwide, the Golden State’s Obamacare exchange missed its mark due to factors ranging from bureaucratic glitches

CA manufacturing rises — a little

John Seiler February 21, 2015

California’s hard-hit manufacturing sector is coming back, although not as much as the rest of the country. The Great Recession sliced off 18.5 percent of state manufacturing jobs. After that, from 2011 to 2014, “manufacturing employment has hovered around 12.5 million,”

Medi-Cal woes leave CA hurting

James Poulos February 20, 2015

A victim of its own success, California’s popular Medi-Cal program has rapidly swelled to a large enough size to malfunction. It’s known as Medicaid in the rest of the country and provides medical care to poor people. Mounting woes — from applicant

LAO report could spur school facilities reform

John Seiler February 20, 2015

A new report by California Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor puts school facilities funding at the head of the class. Among other points, “The 2015-16 Budget: Rethinking How the State Funds School Facilities” pushes the idea that facilities funding should more closely follow

Appellate court pulls plug on utility charge

Wayne Lusvardi February 20, 2015

Taxes are taxes – even when collected by a city on a municipal service. That’s the recent ruling by California’s 3rd District Court of Appeal enforcing two tax-limitation initiatives, Propositions 13 and 26. The action threatens a source of revenue for

Temperatures rise in CA vax battle

James Poulos February 19, 2015

The measles outbreak has injected the California Legislature with a new urgency in dealing with vaccine issues. First up is a new bill, as yet without a number, by state Sens. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, and Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, the latter

Dems spend wildly in CA jungle primaries

James Poulos February 19, 2015

In California, Democrats have shelled out big bucks to beat fellow Democrats, despite research suggesting their voters see them fairly interchangeably. In a new report issued by Forward Observer, Golden State Democrats were found to drop over $100 million since the

Fellow Democrats attack Patty Lopez

John February 19, 2015

Time doesn’t heal all intra-party wounds. Last November, unknown community activist Patty Lopez defeated a fellow Democrat, incumbent Raul Bocanegra, in the 39th Assembly District. It is — without a doubt — the biggest upset in the history of California’s Top

LAPD hustles to post records

Steve Miller February 18, 2015

A CalWatchDog.com review of the website of the Los Angeles Police Department found it has updated its reports on discipline and use of force after criticism for posting aged data in the aftermath of federal oversight. It also now takes just one click to go