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Back to homepageCan CA public-employee pensions be reformed?
Almost everyone acknowledges that California’s public pension system needs reform. Gov. Jerry Brown brought up reform in his his Jan. 2014 budget proposal for fiscal year 2014-15, which begins on July 1: “Future liabilities — to schools, public employees’ pensions and
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Faulconer election won’t stop ‘Los Angelization’ of San Diego politics
On Tuesday, San Diego voters will decide between two City Council members in a special election to fill the remaining 33 months of the mayoral term of disgraced, resigned Bob Filner. The early conventional wisdom was that the clear favorite
Read MoreEast Coast freeze triggers voluntary CA electricity cutback
It’s not just water Californians are being asked to conserve. Yesterday, California’s Independent System Operator, which regulates the state’s electricity grid, called for a rare voluntary cutback in electricity use from 1 p.m. until 10 p.m. The unusual reason: The
Read MoreOregon has become the new California
Imagine if a grizzly bear and a beaver squared off in a cage match. It would be a decided mismatch in the bear’s favor. That’s how interstate competition used to be between California – which prominently features a bear on
Read MoreLawmakers lighting up $2 per pack cigarette tax hike
Like a re-lit cigarette, smoke again is rising from Senate Bill 768. By state Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, the bill would place a new tax on cigarettes of $2 a pack, with an equivalent tax on cigars, pipe tobacco
Read MoreGov. Brown under fire for rail firm campaign contribution
Governor Jerry Brown is under fire for the timing of a max-out contribution from a high-speed rail contractor to his re-election campaign. Brown recently asked the California Supreme Court for an expedited review – and reversal – of two lower court rulings that
Read MoreSame-day voter registration law delayed until 2016
Californians can expect to wait at least two more years for the state’s same-day voter registration law to take effect. Secretary of State Debra Bowen, the state’s chief elections officer, says that the state won’t meet the legal requirements to implement
Read MoreConstitutional amendment seeks to revoke Prop. 209 racial preferences ban
SACRAMENTO — The battle over racial preferences is heating up again in California. Senate Constitutional Amendment 5, by state Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, was just introduced in the Legislature. It would allow the University of California and California State
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Assemblyman Rendon’s bill addresses CA drought
As the record drought intensifies, the California Legislature is working on several proposals to address the state’s lack of water storage and inadequate delivery system. A major entry comes from Assemblyman Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood. Assembly Bill 1331 would place a $6.5 billion
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CA senator seeks audit of state Obamacare exchange
A California state senator is seeking to audit the state’s Obamacare exchange after a CalWatchdog.com story revealed that $1.37 million was spent on a campaign featuring an eight-hour web stream starring a gyrating Richard Simmons. The Jan. 16 event — now immortalized on YouTube — showed
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