Inside Government

Supreme Court has good news for CTA, CFT

A recent U.S. Supreme Court hearing on allegations of racial discrimination in Texas public housing programs may have major implications for Vergara vs. California, the landmark education lawsuit that’s now under appeal after a June 2014 trial-court ruling that created

GOP senator may challenge incumbent GOP supervisor

Chris Reed February 11, 2015

After winning re-election three months ago with 69 percent of the vote, state Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, knows he is termed out in 2018 and that there are a finite number of significant elected positions that Republicans can win in

Warnings about AB32 sink in with national media

Chris Reed February 9, 2015

Since California’s adoption of Assembly Bill 32 in 2006, business interests have emphasized the law’s long-term effects on economic competitiveness. The measure requires the state to shift to cleaner-but-costlier forms of energy, reaching 33 percent of electricity supplies by 2020.

Cartoon: GOP immigration sniper

John Seiler February 9, 2015

The unexpected check on an Indian casino free-for-all

Chris Reed February 7, 2015

When state voters approved Proposition 1A in 2000 — the measure paving the way for the broad expansion of Indian casinos in California — opponents warned that once casinos were a big money generator, there would be a free-for-all driven

Upbeat S&P report on CA also has CalSTRS warning

Chris Reed February 6, 2015

The recent Standard & Poor’s report upgrading California’s credit rating prompted headlines not just in the Golden State but in Washington and on Wall Street, where it was depicted as part of Gov. Jerry Brown’s narrative of the state’s continuing

Direct democracy abuses: Both parties have dirty hands

Chris Reed February 5, 2015

Over the past 14 months, San Diego voters have repudiated the decisions of the Democratic majority on the City Council three times. The most influential Democrat on the council thinks he knows why: San Diego City Councilman Todd Gloria will

Veteran lawmakers embrace new committee assignments

John February 3, 2015

As the new class of state lawmakers settles in to their jobs, Sacramento’s old hands are getting a jump start on the 2015-16 legislative session. Each session brings a biennial reshuffling of committee assignments. But some lawmakers aren’t waiting to get acquainted with their new perches. New

School bond problems go far beyond LAUSD purchase of iPads

Chris Reed February 3, 2015

Gov. Jerry Brown’s skepticism about state assistance for local school districts’ construction projects appears to be primarily based on an intense disdain for adding more billions to what he likes to call the state’s “wall of debt.” But a counter

Fracking with no freshwater — or water — increasingly common

Chris Reed January 29, 2015

The next great environmental fight in California is likely to be over hydraulic fracturing, the energy extraction process that uses underground water cannons to blast away rock and reach oil and natural gas reserves. Gov. Jerry Brown appears ready to