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Drone bill shakes up CA startups

The fate of California’s private drones will be decided by Gov. Jerry Brown, who must choose whether to sign divisive legislation headed to his desk. Privacy vs. productivity The bill cleared both chambers of the state Legislature “despite bipartisan concern about regulating

CA settles prison suit, curbing solitary

James Poulos September 3, 2015

A momentous court settlement has given new shape to California’s multi-year struggle with the courts over its criminal justice system, rolling back the state’s reliance on solitary confinement as a way of dealing with gangs and violence in prison. “Many such

Survey: Voters want more police oversight, reform

James Poulos September 3, 2015

This year, Californians wanted more police reform than they’ve gotten. The results of a new poll, touted by activist groups, revealed a constituency for continued re-adjustments in the balance between what law enforcement can do and what residents must expect. Broad

Electric cars upend CA politics

James Poulos September 2, 2015

As California’s electric car industry heats up, Sacramento’s role in incentivizing the vehicles for environmentalist reasons has become an uncharacteristic political football. Underscoring the disruptive effect of the often libertarian sensibility behind auto innovations, the controversy has pitted Republicans against

California state agencies easy targets for hackers

Steve Miller September 2, 2015

This is how the state government handles a department that has continually received sub-par evaluations: add employees, boost wages 17 percent and total spending on salaries by 36 percent. And as for retirement benefits, increase those by 79 percent total,

CA death penalty goes on trial

James Poulos September 1, 2015

California’s practice of capital punishment has landed on a death row of its own. “The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hold a hearing in Pasadena on a lower-court decision that found California’s death penalty system unconstitutional and

Elon Musk’s Hyperloop project races ahead

James Poulos August 31, 2015

Elon Musk’s most quixotic project just raced closer to reality. As the latest model of Musk’s Tesla automobile scored the highest-ever rating given by Consumer Reports (99 out of 100) his even more revolutionary Hyperloop concept gained new respect, with one firm

CA egg prices skyrocket

James Poulos August 28, 2015

For partly predictable reasons, egg prices in California have skyrocketed. An unexpected wave of disease has exacerbated increases brought on by Golden State policymakers. “While the avian flu outbreak this spring that resulted in the killing of 48 million domestic chickens

CA gas tax showdown looms

James Poulos August 27, 2015

Democratic legislators in the state Senate have brought Californians closer to new hikes on the cost of driving their cars. But the committee vote represented little more than a first step in a complex, intense negotiation between Republicans, Democrats and the

Brown vows tighter groundwater regulations

James Poulos August 26, 2015

Laboring to strengthen his aggressive anti-drought policies, Gov. Jerry Brown vowed that the historic groundwater management rules he pushed into law will be ratcheted up in coming years. In an interview on Meet the Press, Brown cautioned that he did not “rule