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Advocates Advance New Pot Initiative

CalWatchdog Staff February 28, 2011

FEB. 28, 2011 By STEVE KUBBY The November 2012 presidential election affords proponents of a ballot initiative to change state law concerning the regulation of marijuana a strong opportunity for success. The most significant consideration is that the California electorate

Is An All-Cuts Budget Ahead?

FEB. 25, 2011 By KATY GRIMES SACRAMENTO — There is never a dull moment with California Gov. Jerry Brown. In a surprise visit to a budget committee meeting yesterday, Brown threatened to produce a budget that cuts $26.6 billion from

“Balance” Is Missing From Budget

CalWatchdog Staff February 24, 2011

FEB. 25, 2011 By KATY GRIMES SACRAMENTO — As the Budget Conference Committee hearings began on Wednesday, Republicans challenged the frequent use of the word “balanced” for describing the tax increases and budget cuts within the governor’s budget proposal. With

Bulldoze Williamson Act Subsidies?

CalWatchdog Staff February 24, 2011

Feb. 24, 2011 By DAVE ROBERTS There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth over Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget cuts, but the outcry over elimination of state subsidies for millionaire landowners may be overkill. Brown has zeroed out funding

Cancel Prop. 71 Stem Cell Funding?

CalWatchdog Staff February 23, 2011

Feb. 23, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI On Feb. 9, the $123 million Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regenerative Medicine Building opened on the campus of the University of California, San Francisco to house the Eli and Edy Broad Center of Regeneration

CA Budget Still Needs Fumigation

CalWatchdog Staff February 22, 2011

Feb. 22, 2011 By JOHN SEILER As Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature continue crafting a budget, skunks keep being thrown into the room. The biggest skunk is that the $146 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System, CalSTRS, is effectively

Will Illinois Beat California To Default?

CalWatchdog Staff February 19, 2011

This article is about Illinois, but it has obvious implications for California. FEB. 19, 2011 By CHRISS STREET Illinois’ powerful Wall Street syndicate of bond underwriters led by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs just postponed the state’s sale of $3.7

Will Wisconsin Protests Come to California?

CalWatchdog Staff February 18, 2011

Feb. 18, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Today Wisconsin, tomorrow California? The battle between government-employee unions and state budgets was inevitable once the unions were given collective bargaining rights over the past 50 years. The battle boiled over the past few

More At Stake Than Budget Realignment

CalWatchdog Staff February 17, 2011

FEB. 17, 2011 By KATY GRIMES Some county officials are balking at Gov. Jerry Browns proposal, in his January budget, to ”realign” state services to counties to save money. Brown’s proposal was prompted by a summer 2010 proposal by Senate

Legislators To Cut State Board Bureaucracy

CalWatchdog Staff February 16, 2011

FEB. 16, 2011 By DAVE ROBERTS “A government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth,” said Ronald Reagan. Which makes California, with its hundreds of state regulatory boards, commissions, authorities, associations, councils and committees,