Inside Government

Bullet-train coverage: All the happy talk that fits

The Fresno Bee’s editorial page has cheered longer and harder for the bullet-train project than just about any newspaper in the state. But has this enthusiasm affected news coverage? A story in Wednesday’s paper should make Fresno Bee readers wonder.

EDD employees nap, watch TV, surf net, while claims stack up

Katy Grimes December 17, 2013

My three-part series about the Employment Development Department computer system upgrade has some in the agency wanting to unload. Apparently EDD officials’ explanation of the newly updated $100 million computer system “glitches,” and claims of understaffing, aren’t the whole story,

Covered California admits ‘mistake’ that made it seem a success

Chris Reed December 17, 2013

So Covered California has admitted a mistake in its initial description of signups for California’s version of Obamacare, and it was that fake description that led to stories across the nation about Obamacare getting off to a great start in

Employment Development Department computer system not yet fixed

Katy Grimes December 15, 2013

This is Part 3 of a series on the EDD. Part 1, an interview with Spokesman Dan Stephens, is here. Part 2, EDD computers must be fixed by Dec. 31, is here. Three months after a California Employment Development Department computer

‘Since voters are so stupid, let govt. make all decisions’

Katy Grimes December 14, 2013

The pabulum voters are being fed has escalated to new heights… or lows as the case may be. In a letter to the Sac Bee editor today, a reader claimed Alexis de Tocqueville would have supported Sacramento City Council’s decision to forge

McClintock: Ryan budget plan riddled with dishonesty

Chris Reed December 13, 2013

Tom McClintock, once the shrewdest guy in the Legislature, is now among the shrewder people in Congress. Last night the Northern California lawmaker sent out a column trashing the two-year budget compromise approved by the House at the behest of

Predatory adult outrage at 6-year old kisser

Katy Grimes December 12, 2013

A 6-year-old boy in Colorado was suspended from school for kissing a girl on the hand, and called a sexual harasser by school officials. Only predatory lawyers and statist school bureaucrats could label 6-year old Hunter Yelton a sexual harasser

$Mexico to join shale/fracking revolution; will media keep CA out?$

Mexico to join shale/fracking revolution; will media keep CA out?

Chris Reed December 12, 2013

This spring, I did a two-week series for Cal Watchdog on the many nations around the world that are pursuing fracking in oil and gas exploration after witnessing its immense success in North Dakota, Montana, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Here’s

Update: Critics charge SF/Oakland Bay Bridge still unsafe

Katy Grimes December 11, 2013

New questions have arisen about the subject of several stories I wrote last spring about the construction debacles on the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge repairs. In May, I covered a report of the concerns of engineer Yun Chung. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake struck with 6.9 magnitude

Santa Monica police a case study in excessive pay driven from top down

Chris Reed December 10, 2013

Santa Monica is one of the great places to be in the world, not just California. It has incredible weather, often in the mid-70s in August when the San Fernando Valley is baking, lots of great restaurants and a surprising