News Media

New CA bills push “fake news” education

In the wake of a turbulent election season and a disturbing new study on the credulity of many political news consumers, a handful of California legislators have put forward new bills designed to ensure the state’s public schools make students

Lawsuit over Harvard admissions has CA overtones

Chris Reed March 14, 2015

Harvard University is facing a well-financed lawsuit over its admissions practices, with plaintiffs arguing that the nation’s oldest, richest and most admired college enforces an anti-Asian bias every bit as real as the anti-Jewish bias seen in Cambridge and at

Is San Diego safest big city? Or having a police crisis?

Chris Reed March 9, 2015

This good news got prominent play in California’s second-largest city this weekend: For the fourth year running, San Diego had the lowest murder rate among the country’s ten largest cities. The department investigated 32 homicides, down from 39, giving San

Rocky Chavez: Can a Latino colonel beat Kamala Harris?

Chris Reed March 8, 2015

The decision of moderate-conservative Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, R-Oceanside, to explore a run for U.S. Senate in 2016 surprised quite a few people in San Diego County. Chavez appeared poised for a long stretch as an unbeatable, influential GOP state lawmaker

Pols’ 2010 gas tax swap made road woes worse

Chris Reed March 2, 2015

It’s become an annual ritual: Stories about the State Board of Equalization announcing it is raising or cutting the state excise tax on gasoline come July 1 to honor the fine print of a 2010 budget deal that requires gas

CalSTRS bailout cost: Pension tsunami laps at CA shores

Chris Reed February 24, 2015

Gov. Jerry Brown’s relative stinginess in seeking to hold the line on social services spending and in demanding an end to the practice of state education bonds paying for local districts’ construction dumbfounds some Democrats, who cite a healthier economy

Stadium gambit: Chargers coverage downbeat, Raiders more skeptical

Chris Reed February 21, 2015

The Chargers and Raiders’ plan to move to Carson and share a privately funded $1.7 billion stadium has hit like a bombshell in the teams’ home bases. It is sinking in that California’s second- and third-largest metropolitan areas seem on

Chargers want out in San Diego

Chris Reed February 18, 2015

The San Diego Chargers — for 54 years a community institution in what’s grown into California’s second-largest city — appear intent on leaving for Los Angeles or another city with a new stadium and greater long-term revenue potential. Attorney Mark

New York Times’ brutal take on CA green jobs revisited

Chris Reed February 15, 2015

The promises of Gov. Jerry Brown and predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger that green jobs and the green economy would be the backbone of California’s economic comeback seem all but forgotten. Brown didn’t even mention all his 2010 promises in his successful

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.