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Brown debuts big budget revision

Gov. Jerry Brown has unveiled the highly-anticipated revision to his annual state budget, teeing up final spending negotiations in Sacramento — largely with his fellow Democrats. Despite a resurgence in California’s fiscal fortunes, including tax receipts some $2 billion in

U.S. Senate 2016: Loretta Sanchez announces campaign for Boxer’s seat

John May 15, 2015

Flanked by a group of supporters at the Santa Ana train station, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, D-Garden Grove, officially launched her campaign to succeed retiring U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer. Thursday’s announcement, one day before the California Democratic Party’s spring convention, sets up

CA’s history of direct democracy sometimes brings out ‘crackpots’

Steve Miller May 15, 2015

This week, lawmakers once again loudly proclaimed their outrage at a proposed ballot initiative that would allow voters to decide whether gay people should be shot. The notion is both sickening and unconstitutional, but it’s also part of California’s political

Road repair bill would raise transportation taxes, fees

Dave Roberts May 14, 2015

California motorists will each be paying an extra $900 over the next five years for road maintenance if Senate Bill 16 is approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. But that $18.4 billion increase in transportation taxes

Self-driving cars hit PR bump on CA roads

James Poulos May 13, 2015

Google admitted that its self-driving cars had racked up some dings on California’s streets, prompting a flurry of interest and caution among analysts closely watching the tech giant’s foray onto American roads. Reported NBC News: “Four of the nearly 50 self-driving

Tiered price ruling rocks CA water districts

James Poulos May 13, 2015

A recent court ruling’s effects on water pricing have upset California’s already tenuous balance between cost and availability. As CalWatchdog.com reported last month, “the 4th District Court of Appeal struck down San Juan Capistrano’s tiered water fee plan because it violated Prop. 218’s restriction

Obesity rates flout L.A. fast food freeze

James Poulos May 12, 2015

Faced with damning independent assessments seven years on, a groundbreaking Los Angeles ordinance designed to fight so-called “food deserts” has been overwhelmed by criticism that transcends political lines. The USDA has defined food deserts as “urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access

Rand Paul debuts Silicon Valley office

James Poulos May 11, 2015

After much talk and anticipation, Rand Paul’s presidential campaign has settled on the office space from where he hopes to strike gold with Silicon Valley. Paul “faced a high-energy, high-tech crowd in San Francisco Saturday,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “But

CA kickstarts Musk’s new battery empire

James Poulos May 10, 2015

With now-customary flair, Tesla chief Elon Musk announced his company’s latest foray — this time, into residential and commercial battery power storage. Aiming high The Los Angeles Times reported that “Musk introduced a new line of residential and commercial batteries [recently] in

BOE: New services tax could boost CA revenue by $122 billion

Dave Roberts May 9, 2015

Placing a tax on business services in California has the potential to raise an additional $122.6 billion annually for state and local governments, according to a recent Board of Equalization study. A services tax could become a reality if Senate