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Game wardens seek to duck furloughs

Feb. 11, 2010 By ELISE VIEBECK Witnesses at a recent Assembly hearing voiced concerns that game wardens, unlike conventional law enforcement officers, must comply with Friday furloughs. Wardens cited an increase in poaching as one reason to exempt the state’s

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Tribes at odds over online poker

Feb. 11, 2010 By ELISE VIEBECK In an eight-hour session on Tuesday, a Senate committee considered the implications of legalizing online poker, which has been prohibited in the United States since 2006. The testimony split legalization proponents — legislators looking

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Is California a Donor State?

Feb. 10, 2010 By JOHN SEILER Ever since he began working on the California state budget for fiscal year 2010-11, which begins July 1, 2010, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been insisting that this is a “donor state,” meaning we send

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New legislator pitches merit pay

Feb. 4, 2010 By JOHN SEILER Fresh faces bring fresh ideas. Just elected in a special election, new Assemblyman Chris Norby, R-Fullerton, is brimming with ideas on how to reform education in California. The former high-school history teacher most recently

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Harris touts state approach to truancy

Feb. 3, 2010 By ELISE VIEBECK San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, who is running for state attorney general, called yesterday for a statewide approach to school truancy — an idea that has conservatives worried about local control issues and

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An interview with Poizner

Feb. 2, 2010 Editor’s Note: The GOP gubernatorial race has turned particularly contentious, as Steve Poizner accused Meg Whitman of trying to muscle him out of the race. Here is an interview CalWatchdog recently had with Poizner. We are trying

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Did car tax drive deficit?

Feb. 1, 2010 By JOHN SEILER As negotiations get under way on the California State Budget – especially its $20 billion deficit – numerous remedies are being advanced, including tax increases. One old idea is to bring the car tax,

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Why Sen. Lou Correa voted against SB 810

Jan. 29, 2010 by KATY GRIMES Yesterday the state Senate passed SB 810, the single payer health care bill sponsored by Senator Mark Leno (D, San Francisco) by a 22-14 vote. Today I spoke with Senator Lou Correa (D, Santa

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The clash over health care

Jan. 28, 2010 By KATY GRIMES On a vote of 22 to 14, the California State Senate today approved Senate Bill 810, which creates a government-run health care system, also known as single-payer health care. Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to

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State may sue CCPOA over owed funds

Jan. 26, 2010 By STEVEN GREENHUT The Schwarzenegger administration has threatened legal action against the California Correctional Peace Officers’ Association — the prison guards’ union — if its officials continue to refuse to pay the millions of dollars the union

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