Investigation

State may face $29-43 billion budget deficit in 2020

In Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address last week, he noted that California’s budget has repeatedly failed to prepare for recession, resulting in “painful and unplanned-for cuts” to schools, child care, courts, social services and other programs. He

Legislature plans to close entrance to public, provide lobbyists special access

John January 18, 2016

Though it brands itself as “the people’s house,” the California State Capitol will soon become less accessible to the public, while continuing to provide lobbyists with “special access.” Beginning February 1, the California state Legislature intends to convert its east entrance

Years after CalWatchdog investigation, bill to end sub-minimum wage advances

John January 8, 2016

More than 2 million workers in California are celebrating the new year’s bump in the minimum wage. Effective January 1, the state’s minimum wage increased from $9 to $10 an hour. But, not all workers in the state benefited from

Boxer’s claim of 56 percent reduction in gun violence includes suicide, accidental death

Steve Miller December 14, 2015

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer made the day of conservative media outlets when, in the wake of the San Bernardino massacre, she said, “In California, since the ‘90s, we have passed a number of important gun safety laws. And over that

Officials silent on whistleblower’s allegations of “false statements” in union, farm dispute

J Michael Waller, American Media Institute November 16, 2015

The California agency in charge of defending farmworkers has declined to comment on a whistleblower’s allegation of insider wrongdoing, citing an ongoing internal investigation. The whistleblower alleged earlier this year that the agency’s office of General Counsel made misleading and

When is too much enough? A look at schools, money and taxpayers

Steve Miller October 15, 2015

A proposed $9 billion state bond for school construction projects includes multimillion-dollar project requests from districts where student enrollment has declined, a CalWatchdog investigation has found. The measure, on the 2016 ballot, is supported in large part by a cadre

Developer lobby helping to promote $9 billion education bond

Steve Miller October 7, 2015

A $9 billion school-construction bond that voters will decide on in November 2016 will be promoted heavily by titans in the construction industry that stand to profit mightily if the measure passes. The stakes for builders are high; failure to

Cumulative trauma law bedevils employers, hands fired employees a payday

Steve Miller September 30, 2015

The Monteleone family opened Barone’s Italian Restaurant in Valley Glen 70 years ago, and has seen its share of employee turnover. But Tom Monteleone got a nasty lesson in California’s employee relations law last week. One of his cooks was

San Francisco voters to weigh temporary ban on new construction in Mission District

Dave Roberts September 8, 2015

A housing moratorium on San Francisco’s November ballot is aimed at keeping rents and housing prices affordable in the city’s Mission District, where prices have nearly doubled in five years. But opponents say it will have the opposite effect. Proposition

Economist: Taxpayers may pay for $15 billion Delta tunnels

Dave Roberts August 26, 2015

California taxpayers may be liable for picking up part of the $15 billion cost of the proposed Delta tunnels project, an economist warned at a legislative hearing last week. The project consists of two 40-foot diameter, 30-mile-long pipes transferring water