Budget and Finance
Back to homepageJobless victims stagger California
Feb. 21, 2010 By JOHN SEILER As state legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger continue to work on the state budget for fiscal year 2010-11, which begins July 1, they will be looking at how their actions affect the entire state
Read MoreIncentives eyed to spur job growth
Feb. 18, 2010 By KATY GRIMES In spite of the federal stimulus money invested in California, unemployment is still in double digits and will remain so for a couple more years, according to state economic experts. Consequently, talk of jobs
Read MoreForbes publisher assesses state decline
Feb. 16, 2010 By KATY GRIMES In a poignant and often funny talk, Forbes Magazine Publisher Rich Karlgaard believes this economic recession could have and should have been avoided, and the worsening U.S. economy is a man-made crisis thanks to
Read MoreOther cities could follow Sac utility measure
Feb. 15, 2010 By KATY GRIMES In the first of its kind in the state, the Sacramento County Taxpayers League filed a ballot initiative to roll back monthly utilities rates. Filing Wednesday February 10, 2010 at the Sacramento City Clerk’s
Read MoreGame wardens seek to duck furloughs
Feb. 11, 2010 By ELISE VIEBECK Witnesses at a recent Assembly hearing voiced concerns that game wardens, unlike conventional law enforcement officers, must comply with Friday furloughs. Wardens cited an increase in poaching as one reason to exempt the state’s
Read MoreTribes at odds over online poker
Feb. 11, 2010 By ELISE VIEBECK In an eight-hour session on Tuesday, a Senate committee considered the implications of legalizing online poker, which has been prohibited in the United States since 2006. The testimony split legalization proponents — legislators looking
Read MoreIs California a Donor State?
Feb. 10, 2010 By JOHN SEILER Ever since he began working on the California state budget for fiscal year 2010-11, which begins July 1, 2010, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been insisting that this is a “donor state,” meaning we send
Read MoreDrill here, drill now
Feb. 3, 2010 Drilling for oil off of California’s legendary coastline is a topic that polarizes the critics of offshore drilling, and the proponents. In Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s final budget he has proposed offshore oil drilling in Santa Barbara County
Read MoreDid car tax drive deficit?
Feb. 1, 2010 By JOHN SEILER As negotiations get under way on the California State Budget – especially its $20 billion deficit – numerous remedies are being advanced, including tax increases. One old idea is to bring the car tax,
Read MoreThe clash over health care
Jan. 28, 2010 By KATY GRIMES On a vote of 22 to 14, the California State Senate today approved Senate Bill 810, which creates a government-run health care system, also known as single-payer health care. Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to
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