Columns

California agriculture top initial Beijing target as trade dispute escalates

California’s massive agriculture industry is China’s top initial target as Beijing responds to the Trump administration’s vow earlier this month to slap tariffs on some $50 billion of Chinese steel and aluminium imports. In an announcement over the weekend, Chinese

Gov. Jerry Brown signs host of significant legislation

Steven Greenhut October 4, 2016

SACRAMENTO – The 2016 legislative season is officially over, with Gov. Jerry Brown having signed 900 bills while vetoing 159 by Friday’s deadline. Some of the recently signed bills are far-reaching and will have a noticeable effect on Californians’ lives. Here’s a

Bay Area making life difficult for tech firms

Steven Greenhut August 9, 2016

SACRAMENTO – In most of the country, a region’s “big” industry – think automotive companies in Michigan’s heyday, the oil business in Houston and entertainment in Los Angeles – is treated with deference by locals. Sometimes that attitude morphs into

California push for coal divestment raises concerns

Steven Greenhut August 2, 2016

SACRAMENTO – Unlike the sellers of most other products or services, insurance companies receive payments from their customers in exchange for future promises. If you wreck your car, they will pay for the damage. If you die, they will pay out

Top 5 taxes you may see on the 2016 ballot

Joel Fox March 14, 2015

Last June, I wrote a column forecasting which tax increase measures might be on the Nov. 2016 ballot given the conversations going on then. Time for an update. As is nearly always the case in the political world, situations and

San Onofre nuke shutdown shocks consumers

Joseph Perkins December 1, 2014

“This is very good news for the people of Southern California.” So said Erich Pica, president of the outspoken environmental group Friends of the Earth, celebrating in June 2013 the announced closure of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. A year

One year later, glitches still plague Covered CA

Joseph Perkins November 3, 2014

“Here we go again with the same nightmare as a year ago. [I’m] truly fed up with Covered California’s technical incompetency.” So complained Igal Koiman, a health insurance broker, in remarks published this week in the Sacramento Business Journal.

Bill would push unionizing franchise workers

Joseph Perkins August 26, 2014

The franchise market in California, a keystone of small business in the state, soon could change radically. The California Legislature last Thursday sent a bill to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk that would effectively supersede the contractual agreements between California-based

Did Caltrans cover up shoddy work on Bay Bridge?

Joseph Perkins August 12, 2014

Douglas Coe, an engineer under the employ of the California Department of Transportation, spent years working on the retrofit of the eastern span of the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco. When the 25-year Caltrans veteran told his

The myth of California’s underpaid public school employees

Joseph Perkins July 28, 2014

Eduardo Benard, a custodian at San Francisco’s Leonard R. Flynn Elementary School, received $107,912.31 in pay and benefits in 2013. He was one of 31 custodians employed by California public schools that boasted more than $100,000 in compensation last