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Steinberg seeks CEQA changes to boost Sacto arena

SACRAMENTO — The task of reforming the California Environmental Quality Act is being mingled with local Sacramento politics. At a hearing in the Assembly Local Government committee last week, State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, passionately defended SB

Bullet train: Judge shows taxpayers may be saved by Prop. 1A

Chris Reed August 19, 2013

The Friday ruling by a Sacramento judge that the California High-Speed Rail Authority was violating the 2008 state law providing funds for the bullet-train project was the first good news that the many foes of the project have had in

Bills address campaign donations from private parties, not unions

Katy Grimes August 19, 2013

Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of 2. California lawmakers object to “dark money,” a term for campaign contributions used to pay for an election campaign without disclosing the source of the money. But while Democratic lawmakers object to “dark

Richmond mayor wants mortgages on million-dollar homes

Wayne Lusvardi August 16, 2013

Political theater isn’t reserved for Tea Party and Occupy movement protesters. Another example was on display Aug. 15 at Wells Fargo Bank headquarters in San Francisco. Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and a group of supporters tried to enter the bank’s

CA minimum wage may jump 25%

Dave Roberts August 16, 2013

California has made progress in bringing down the unemployment rate. June’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 8.5 percent is the lowest since October 2008, according to California Employment Development Department data. Unemployment reached 12.4 percent during the Great Recession, and

Sacramento preparing to seize property for arena

Katy Grimes August 15, 2013

SACRAMENTO — Before the City of Sacramento races to spends $200-$300 million of public funds to build a professional sports arena in downtown Sacramento, many want the issue put before the voters. Again. Sacramento’s previous arena deals were totally discredited

Big business banks on union power

Ed Ring August 15, 2013

Earlier this week, former state Sen. Gloria Romero published a lengthy article in the San Diego Union-Tribune entitled “Fixing California: The union chokehold.” It described how public sector unions, virtually unopposed, have undermined the effectiveness and overpriced the costs of

BART strike would provide needed clarity on compensation, union power

Katy Grimes August 14, 2013

If I was an advisor to Gov. Jerry Brown, I’d recommend he let the BART strike play out without government intervention. California would be much more governable if voters understood that collective bargaining is holding taxpayers hostage, and more exposure

Obamacare success falls on California

Katy Grimes August 14, 2013

SACRAMENTO — Obamacare implementation in 2014 depends on injecting California adrenaline into its system, according to state Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina. An optometrist, he authored three bills to advance the Affordable Care Act, the reform’s official name. “The success

A viable alternative to high-speed rail?

Joseph Perkins August 14, 2013

. When Elon Musk talks, people listen. He’s earned street cred — as in Wall Street — from co-founding the company that grew into PayPal; co-founding Tesla Motors, the most successful electric car start-up company; and founding SpaceX, to which