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Census question could increase swing seats in House, Legislature
The recent U.S. Supreme Court hearing where the justices’ conservative majority appeared prepared to accept the Trump administration’s decision to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census form has triggered sharp criticism from California Democrats. If the question leads to
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Bill tightening vaccine rules advances as measles fears build
Despite furious opposition from parents who believe vaccinations are dangerous, a measure by state Sen. Richard Pan to tighten up vaccine exemptions passed an initial committee test last week on a 6-2 vote. Senate Bill 276 would make California only
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DMV preps test rules for driverless delivery vehicles
In December 2015, when the state Department of Motor Vehicles released draft regulations for the testing of driverless vehicles, California tech firms were stunned by their onerousness. Google immediately objected to a proposed requirement that drivers always had to be
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Four voter-approved measures in legal limbo in San Francisco, Oakland
A confusing 2017 California Supreme Court ruling about the threshold of approval for local ballot measures that are qualified for the ballot through citizen-led signature-gathering efforts – as opposed to being placed before voters by local officeholders – is causing
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Bay Area’s housing desperation keeps growing
Fears that heavy housing costs could undercut Silicon Valley and the Bay Area’s economy have grown steadily in recent years as gains in wages have been outstripped by soaring rents and home prices. Now a poll of 1,568 registered voters
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PG&E Chapter 11 moves ahead – despite criticism over bonuses and board
Pacific Gas & Electric’s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January – coming after three years of deadly, destructive wildfires in its service areas and never-ending concerns about its safety record – hasn’t stopped the negative headlines. The
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Central Valley roiled by Newsom’s bullet-train plans, but some hopeful
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement in his State of the State speech in February that he didn’t believe California had the resources to complete its $77 billion statewide bullet-train project produced a backlash that Newsom didn’t seem to expect. Within hours
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Bill seeks to raise state’s F grade on budget transparency
Getting detailed information about the California budget has long been a headache. The state Department of Finance provides online access to decades of information, but the portal is clumsy and difficult to use. There are no easy ways to chart
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Sacramento teacher strike threat spurs criticism
Teachers in the Sacramento City Unified School District have authorized a strike, hoping to follow in the footsteps of teachers in Los Angeles Unified and Oakland Unified and secure substantial raises after a brief walkout. But in key ways, the
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Fight escalates over federal funds for CA bullet train
The battle between California and the Trump administration over $3.4 billion in federal funding that was committed nearly a decade ago to the state’s bullet-train project escalated last week when a key state leader rejected federal criticisms of the project’s
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