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Lawmaker accused of domestic violence to stay in Assembly leadership

Assemblyman Roger Hernández, who last week was placed under a temporary restraining order from his wife, will not be stripped of his committee chairmanship, Speaker Anthony Rendon said on Friday, despite pressure from the influential leaders of the women’s caucus. In a statement to CalWatchdog,

Persistent CA education gaps fuels conflict

James Poulos April 22, 2016

Caught amid shifting standards, court challenges and retrenching combatants on both sides of social and political divides, California’s education system has found itself burdened by persistent gaps in student and teacher performance — a state of affairs fueling the very

CA wage hike shock waves begin

James Poulos April 21, 2016

Confronted with an impending hike to $15 in the California minimum wage, businesses, labor advocates and political analysts have all begun to shift strategies and tactics. Given current trends, the combined impact could be a smaller, more unionized workforce — that

Report: CA economic outlook grim, but actual performance not so bad

Matt Fleming April 20, 2016

California again sits near the bottom of a state-by-state comparison of economic competitiveness, but its economic performance has been more middle-of-the-road, according to an annual study by the right-leaning American Legislative Exchange Council. Judging by 15 policy measures, all of which

Civil liberty groups demand Solano County court stop suspending licenses of drivers too poor to pay fines

Matt Fleming April 19, 2016

Solano County Superior Court fell under fire Tuesday from civil liberty groups demanding that judges stop suspending licenses of drivers without at least first determining if a driver has the ability to pay. By the end of 2015, more than 1.9 million Californians,

Trump surges in key CA primary

James Poulos April 19, 2016

Fulfilling analysts’ growing expectations and leaving some Golden Staters in disbelief, California has emerged as perhaps the most decisive contest in the contest for the Republican nomination. The June 7 primary looms at a moment when Donald Trump, battered and flustered

NOAA: Trash Island doesn’t exist

Matt Fleming April 18, 2016

Despite stories to the contrary, there is no Texas-sized trash island floating in the Pacific, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency. While there is a Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean (apparently, there’s many of these patches throughout

Legislature mostly mum on lawmaker accused of domestic violence

Matt Fleming April 15, 2016

Following the news that the wife of Asm. Roger Hernández had filed a temporary restraining order against the West Covina Democrat, a lone colleague was questioning whether he should remain in a leadership position in the Assembly. It wasn’t the newly chosen Speaker

CA appeals court reverses landmark ruling that upended teacher tenure

James Poulos April 15, 2016

In national news with profound statewide reverberations, a California appeals court reversed the controversial decision handed down two years ago in Vergara v. the State of California and the California Teachers Association. “At issue were five state laws that established layoff

Two more lawmakers demand resignation of UC Davis chancellor

Matt Fleming April 14, 2016

Two state lawmakers took to Twitter on Thursday and joined the growing chorus of Democratic legislators who are calling for the resignation of UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi after a series of unflattering stories by The Sacramento Bee. On Wednesday, The