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Silicon Valley jolts CA energy game

The sun is shining on private solar energy. Beyond federal and state efforts, California’s tech titans have upped the ante with momentous new investments that promise to revolutionize electricity production. For years, solar power has been touted by advocates as a major future source

Property owners resist high-speed rail condemning land

Kathy Hamilton February 17, 2015

Building public projects often involves acquiring land. That usually means using eminent domain to take private property with “just compensation,” as mandated by the Fifth Amendment. California’s high-speed rail project now is acquiring the land needed for construction, but is

Entrepreneurs fret over CA business climate

Dave Roberts February 17, 2015

Although California’s economy is finally picking up after seven years of recessionary blues, many small business owners continue to feel government is hurting more than helping them. That was one of the messages from entrepreneurs at a Feb. 11 hearing

Prop. 47’s drug-law reforms inject controversy

John February 16, 2015

California’s decision to reduce sentences for some drug and property crimes has been heralded as a much needed reform of the criminal justice system. While it’s too soon to know what effect the measure is having on crime, critics charge it could jeopardize

Obama, tech industry speak at Stanford

John Seiler February 13, 2015

Speaking today at the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection at Stanford University, President Obama and tech industry leaders outlined different visions of the digital future. While the president called for cooperation between government and industry to increase the security of

Data show election participation varies greatly

John February 13, 2015

Just 42 percent of registered voters cast their ballots last November. But concentrating on that top-line number would be a mistake, said the state’s preeminent political data expert. “Overall, the turnout data show that the surface totals, like saying it was

Gavin Newsom takes steps to run for governor of California

James Poulos February 12, 2015

Shaking up an already fast-moving political landscape, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed in an email to his list that he had taken the first step toward a run for governor in 2018. Framing his announcement as a characteristically Californian statement “without evasiveness

CA’s Tesla challenges other states’ dealership laws

John Seiler February 12, 2015

California’s Tesla Motors Inc. is proving as revolutionary in selling cars as making them. It’s challenging states that mandate new cars be sold only through dealerships by pushing to offer its premium electric vehicles directly through company showrooms. The two sides

Obama heads Stanford Summit on cybersecurity

John Seiler February 11, 2015

On Friday, President Obama travels to Stanford University to give the keynote address on a topic much in the news: cybersecurity. Last week, Anthem Blue Cross was hacked and data stolen. Previous data breaches have hit Target and Home Depot.

Kevin McCarthy talks Senate seat, power, trains

Joel Fox February 11, 2015

While he was in town, I talked with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., about retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer’s seat, the Republican Congress sharing power with Democratic President Barack Obama, California’s high-speed rail project and more. A former state legislator,