Investigation

Do union activists work for Gov. Brown, farm board?

SACRAMENTO — The revolving door among political consultants, community organizers and state government revolves right into the governor’s office and the Agriculture Labor Relations Board. In 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Martha Guzman-Aceves deputy legislative secretary for agriculture, environment and natural resources. Before

$5 gas in CA? Lack of cap-and-trade price ceiling could bring it

Wayne Lusvardi October 8, 2013

At its October 24-25 board meeting, the California Air Resources Board will reconsider its “Market Based Compliance Mechanisms,” meaning its cap-and-trade program. The program “caps” greenhouse emissions, and has “traded” them in quarterly auctions over the past year. But many

CA's green energy swan turning into ugly duckling

Wayne Lusvardi October 7, 2013

best computer repair software Nicholas Taleb’s book, “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable,” popularized the one-in-a-million genetic improbability of a black-colored swan as a symbol for understanding rare events. Such events included the Mortgage Meltdown of

CA tax board slow to act on protests

Dave Roberts October 4, 2013

online essay If the California taxman unfairly penalizes you for an alleged infraction that you didn’t commit, don’t hold your breath waiting for justice. The Franchise Tax Board takes nearly four years on average to resolve many of its

$CA Democrats pass pro-fracking bill$

CA Democrats pass pro-fracking bill

Wayne Lusvardi October 2, 2013

Editor’s note: Some corrections have been brought to our attention, and are appended at the end of the body of this article. Will the national energy boom come to California? Natural gas unlocked from shale formations — “fracking” — has

CPUC blacks out new green power prices from consumers

Wayne Lusvardi September 30, 2013

California is undergoing a revolutionary change to its energy system by switching as much as 51 percent of its sources of power to renewable energy (wind, solar, geothermal), from about 17 percent. The public investment is in the mega-billions

Business bills reach Brown’s desk

Dave Roberts September 25, 2013

While there has been much focus on the impacts to California businesses from Obamacare and the state minimum wage hike, less noticed are the smaller pieces of legislation regulating businesses. Two of those bills, which passed the recent legislative

CA Obamacare implementation funds activist groups

Katy Grimes September 24, 2013

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. As California continues taking the lead in implementing Obamacare, officially called the Affordable Care Act, the state’s health care insurance “exchanges” are expected to serve as a model for exchanges in other states. The

Weeds could whack your house and job

Dave Roberts September 23, 2013

Failure to keep up your property in California could damage your credit rating, prohibit you from buying or selling property, and hurt your ability to get or hold a job, thanks to a bill recently approved by the Legislature. Assembly

Life imitates sci-fi: Why CA pension crisis is sure to get far worse

Chris Reed September 16, 2013

The debate in California over public employee pensions has grown familiar in recent times. Those who demand reform finally appear to have momentum. In Sacramento, Gov. Jerry Brown won passage of a pension reform measure in September 2012. While many