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DMV won’t unleash robocars on CA roads

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles has put the brakes on driverless cars. Although the agency’s new proposed regulations would technically allow new self-driving vehicles on Golden State streets, the strict regulations surrounding their use would all but foreclose the fully automated future envisioned

Resigning lawmaker Henry Perea takes job with pharmaceutical industry

John December 26, 2015

Assemblyman Henry Perea, who announced earlier this month his intention to resign from the Legislature, has revealed that he’ll be taking a job with the pharmaceutical industry. State law bans the Fresno Democrat from lobbying his former colleagues for one year following his tenure

CA set for nation’s highest minimum wage

James Poulos December 25, 2015

California will start the new year with a record-setting wage floor. “On Jan. 1 California will have the highest minimum wage in the country,” as Capital Public Radio noted. “California workers earning minimum wage will get an extra dollar an hour at

Suit filed over shooting of mentally ill man by L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies

Steve Miller December 24, 2015

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies are accused of shooting a mentally ill teenager in the street in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court just two weeks after the county settled a 2009 shooting case for $8.85 million. The lawsuit

China beats Mexico on CA immigration

James Poulos December 23, 2015

While Mexico continued to drive the debate about immigration policy in the U.S., California experienced a significant demographic shift that could carry a political impact: more immigrants now flow into the Golden State from China than from south of the border. “About

NV beats CA for another electric car plant

James Poulos December 22, 2015

After losing out to Nevada last year in the competition for Tesla’s battery plant, California has missed a similar opportunity. Faraday Future, the semi-mysterious rival to Elon Musk’s car company, secured the backing of the Nevada Legislature for a multimillion dollar factory

Controller Betty Yee publishes salary data for cities, counties

John December 21, 2015

Public employees at California cities and counties took home more than $36 billion in compensation last year, according to new payroll data released by the state’s chief fiscal officer. State Controller Betty T. Yee disclosed the 2014 payroll data from 54 counties

CA loosens sex offender restrictions

James Poulos December 21, 2015

California’s strict limits on housing for sex offenders have been effectively wiped out, thanks to the consequences of a shift in regulations brought on by the courts. “Three-quarters of California’s paroled sex offenders previously banned from living near parks, schools

CA faces dueling death penalty initiatives

James Poulos December 20, 2015

Activists on both sides of the death penalty debate were poised for an election day clash, with one group pushing a ban on the practice while the other hoped to speed it up. A new coalition The first group, Taxpayers

Initiative filing fee hike inspires wave of unconventional proposals

John December 18, 2015

A tenfold increase in the initiative filing fee was supposed to reduce the number of long-shot proposals in circulation. “The updated filing fee set by this bill will deter frivolous submissions,” Assemblyman Evan Low, author the new initiative fee increase, said in a