Infrastructure

Prop. 13’s influence on NFL stadium game

A major component in the fight to keep professional football in Oakland and San Diego or move a team to Los Angeles is taxes: Will taxes be necessary to build a stadium? Team owners want a public subsidy to

Dock strife boosted political spending

Steve Miller February 25, 2015

The work dispute between West Coast longshore workers and the major shipping companies may be headed for peace. But the most recent chapter of acrimony between the parties included generous political spending in Washington. The labor contract between the International

Will 49ers stadium be last one subsidized in CA?

Chris Reed February 24, 2015

The San Diego Chargers’ and Oakland Raiders’ announcement that they had taken steps toward jointly building a privately financed $1.7 billion stadium in Carson may have been done at least partly with the intent of persuading their home cities to

Chargers want out in San Diego

Chris Reed February 18, 2015

The San Diego Chargers — for 54 years a community institution in what’s grown into California’s second-largest city — appear intent on leaving for Los Angeles or another city with a new stadium and greater long-term revenue potential. Attorney Mark

Silicon Valley jolts CA energy game

James Poulos February 18, 2015

The sun is shining on private solar energy. Beyond federal and state efforts, California’s tech titans have upped the ante with momentous new investments that promise to revolutionize electricity production. For years, solar power has been touted by advocates as a major future source

Property owners resist high-speed rail condemning land

Kathy Hamilton February 17, 2015

Building public projects often involves acquiring land. That usually means using eminent domain to take private property with “just compensation,” as mandated by the Fifth Amendment. California’s high-speed rail project now is acquiring the land needed for construction, but is

Gov. Brown, Legislature seek road funds

John Seiler February 10, 2015

No question California’s roads are close to those in Iraq. The only makes car repair shops happy. Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature now are looking at taxing cars by the mile, instead of at the pump. Reported KPCC: California lawmakers are

Two new legal actions crash into high-speed rail

Kathy Hamilton February 10, 2015

Yesterday California’s high-speed rail project faced two new legal actions in its path to construction. The first was in state court about the adequacy of the electrification environmental document of CalTrain, the Bay Area commuter system. The second was in

Gov. Brown breaks drought funds dry spell

James Poulos February 10, 2015

Flanked by U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Gov. Jerry Brown recently announced a combined $50 million in drought relief funds, much of it headed the Golden State’s way. But Jewell and Brown tamped down criticism, suggesting the crisis was far from

State meets water conservation goals as drought lingers

John February 9, 2015

Californians are conserving water, but the historic drought still lingers. The state posted its best numbers in December, with statewide water conservation increasing 22 percent, according to the State Water Resources Control Board. By comparison, state water officials said conservation