Investigation

California Faces Decisive 2012

BY JOHN SEILER JAN. 4, 2012 It’s fun to gloat about our great weather when calling freezing relatives Back East on New Year’s Day. And some good things are keeping the sun shining this year. Silicon Valley’s global technology dominance

Stadium Dreams and Sacramento Kings

PATRICK MELARKEY and RICHARD TRAINOR August 3, 2011

For the past couple years we have watched our home town struggle to keep the Sacramento Kings basketball team in Sacramento. We have also observed the proposed attempt to build a new $400 million stadium for the team in downtown

Treasure Isle: Greed, Gold, Toxic Waste

Richard Trainor July 26, 2011

Yo ho ho and and a pot of redevelopment gold. For 15 years San Francisco has tried to transform Treasure Island from a sandy former Naval base into a gold and jobs-generating new urban community with 40-story skyscrapers interspersed by

Green Power Project Jolts Citizens

CalWatchdog Staff July 20, 2011

JULY 20, 2011 By KATY GRIMES In the Southern California city of Chino Hills, there is a palpable anger spreading as the landscape is changing from bedroom community to industrial park. The bedroom community landscape now includes 200-foot electrical towers

Gabino Aguirre's Secret Political Past

CalWatchdog Staff July 15, 2011

Independent “Citizen” Commissioner Concealed Partisan Political Activities, History of Latino Activism & Connections to Redistricting Interest Group JULY 15, 2011 By JOHN HRABE The California Citizens Redistricting Commission, the 14-member independent panel of average citizens, was created to end partisan

New Stem Cell Boss Grabs $400K Salary

CalWatchdog Staff July 11, 2011

JULY 11, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI People are upset. The Los Angeles Times reported that the new chairman California stem cell research center, Jonathan Thomas — an investment banker — will draw a salary of more than $400,000 per year. Current Chairman

Noted Lawyer Slammed in Judicial Gulag

CalWatchdog Staff July 5, 2011

JULY 5, 2011 By RICHARD TRAINOR When I met Richard Fine in the summer of 2001, he was riding high. Shortly after that he was rotting in jail. A prominent attorney with a thriving practice in Beverly Hills, in the

Redevelopment is Prop. 13 in Reverse

CalWatchdog Staff June 28, 2011

JUNE 28, 2011 by WAYNE LUSVARDI To California redevelopment advocates, the policy brings the Midas touch to cities, turning everything into gold for the Golden State. Redevelopment fans point to all the beautiful new malls, restored Old Town business districts, industrial

Victims Program Needs Major Overhaul

CalWatchdog Staff June 27, 2011

JUNE 27, 2011 By RICHARD TRAINOR The California State Victims of Crime Program (VCP) is a neat little boutique agency designed to assist crime victims. It’s officially known as the Victims Compensation and Government Claims Board, or colloquially as the

Prop. 13 Split Roll Would Be Ripoff

CalWatchdog Staff June 20, 2011

JUNE 20, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI and CHARLES B. WARREN Democrats in the California Legislature want to repeal the property tax reassessment protections of Proposition 13 for commercial properties under the dubious notion that there is a pot of California