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California bill would let 17-year-olds vote in all elections

California doesn’t have a particularly high opinion of the maturity of 18-year-olds, who can join the military but who can’t legally buy alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or firearms until they’re 21. But Assemblyman Evan Low (pictured), D-San Jose, wants to go

Feds hope to reclaim over $2 billion in funds spent on California bullet train

Chris Reed February 20, 2019

Following through on President Donald Trump’s twitter threats, the U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday afternoon said it would not disburse a previously planned $929 million in federal funds for the state’s troubled high-speed rail project and indicated it hoped to recover

Encinitas the latest coastal city facing state threats over housing

Chris Reed February 11, 2019

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has put another coastal town on notice that it must meet state mandates to add a significant amount of units affordable by low-income families – reflecting the newly elected governor’s view that a lack of housing is

Charter schools may face new era of opposition to funding

Chris Reed February 1, 2019

After a quarter-century of explosive increases in California, charter schools experienced all-time lows in growth the last two school years. And charters may also be facing an era of much harsher treatment from school boards allied with teachers unions who more than

Studies undercut Gov. Newsom’s claims on benefits of full-time kindergarten

Chris Reed January 28, 2019

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed 2019-20 budget includes $750 million in new funding to help school districts shift from part-time to full-day kindergarten. Presently, 30 percent of districts only offer part-time kindergarten, as is allowed under state law, which provides such

Cannabis delivery in California headed toward legal battle

Chris Reed January 23, 2019

In 2016, many California police chiefs and sheriffs opposed to legalized recreational marijuana use were placated by a provision in Proposition 64 that said local governments would have the right to block recreational sales. The Ballotpedia overview of Proposition 64

Despite record surplus, Gov. Newsom wants new water, phone taxes

Chris Reed January 14, 2019

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s has called for a first-ever water tax and an added fee on phone bills at a time when the state is enjoying what recently departed state Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor called “extraordinary” budget health. Newsom said last

Strike or no strike, L.A. Unified in desperate financial shape

Chris Reed January 10, 2019

Leaders of the Los Angeles Unified School District, by far California’s largest school district, are struggling to head off a teachers’ strike that a state judge ruled Thursday can begin Monday. United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), which represents 35,000 teachers,

Gavin Newsom will face daunting questions on bullet train

Chris Reed January 3, 2019

When Gavin Newsom is sworn in as California governor on Jan. 7, he’s already indicated he will take criticisms of the state’s troubled $77 billion high-speed rail project seriously. That’s in sharp contrast to outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown, who described

Regulators to consider breaking up scandal-plagued PG&E

Chris Reed December 27, 2018

A California Public Utilities Commission report that Pacific Gas & Electric failed to fulfill its responsibilities to properly maintain natural gas lines from 2012 to 2017 even after a natural gas explosion killed eight people in San Bruno in 2010