Inside Government

CalChamber plans another successful year of defeating “job killer” bills

Sacramento’s been taking care of business. Last week, the California Chamber of Commerce, known simply as CalChamber, announced a preliminary draft of its “job killer” bills, an annual list of proposed legislation that will hurt the state’s business community and

Did Rail Authority flout sunshine law?

Kathy Hamilton April 9, 2015

At a recent meeting of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, a board member announced a closed executive session but provided no exception as required by the state’s sunshine law, citizen attendees said. State law requires government bodies to notify the

CA maxes out death row

James Poulos April 1, 2015

Litigated to all but a halt, California’s system of capital punishment has backed up to crisis levels, filling death row to capacity and prompting an emergency proposal from Gov. Jerry Brown. Nine years after California’s last execution, the system’s near shutdown

Franchise Tax Board continues to pursue microchip inventor

James Poulos March 30, 2015

The microchip powers the California, American and world economies. But the man who officially invented the chip, Gilbert Hyatt, just can’t shake the Golden State’s taxman, even after he moved to Nevada. Reported the Sacramento Bee, “Hyatt, who moved from Southern California to

Study: Vast CA solar power possible using existing infrastructure

Chris Reed March 24, 2015

A new study for Nature Climate Central journal says California could have abundant solar power to meet all of its needs — and without building huge fields of solar arrays like the Tonopah facility by Interstate 15 near the Nevada

CARTOON: CA government transparency

CalWatchdog Staff March 23, 2015

Big twist in San Diego stadium saga

Chris Reed March 22, 2015

A stadium task force named by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has been holding a rapid-fire series of meetings with football, development and finance officials about the challenge facing California’s second-largest city in keeping the Chargers from bolting town for