Politics and Elections
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Dems face ethnic Family Feud
One thing I’ve predicted for years is that once Democrats reached supermajority status, fierce intra-party battles would surface. I regerenced the “Solid South,” meaning the total dominance Democrats had in the U.S. South from the end of Reconstruction through the 1960s.
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Gov. Brown’s 3D chess game leads to timid politics
If you believe Jerry Brown is a governing genius, then forgive me for laughing until I injure myself. What I think is that he’s scary shrewd at managing the narrative, at keeping people in the dark about what he’s really
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June voter guide gives candidates’ visions for CA
Are you ready for some campaigning? In recent days voters have received in the mail Official Voter Information Guide for the June 3 primary election. It conveniently lists every candidate for office and the two propositions on the ballot: Proposition 41,
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Sen. Leland Yee promises to ‘prevent corruption’
Especially where federal corruption charges are concerned, we always should presume innocence. That includes with state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, who has been indicted for allegedly trading illegal arms for campaign cash. But I just got in the mail
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Push for sharp minimum-wage hike under way in San Diego
California’s second-largest and the nation’s eighth-largest city appears sure to have a six-month-plus debate over whether to raise the minimum wage much more than the state government has in store. The Democratic majority of San Diego’s City Council is going
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Kashkari unveils education overhaul plan
Neel Kashkari, the Republican candidate for governor who promised to campaign on “jobs and education, that’s it,” delivered on half of that platform Tuesday, with the release of a bold plan for overhauling the state’s failing schools. In a detailed
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Video: Taking on the teachers unions’ political agenda
Rebecca Friedrichs is an Orange County school teacher who is fighting for her right not to be associated with the political activity the nation’s most powerful union. She is ready to take her fight all the way to the United
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This is an ‘expedited’ review? Nerve-wracking times on bullet-train front
Nine weeks ago, the news seemed promising on the bullet-train follies front. Now the picture looks a bit murkier. On Jan. 24, Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris asked the California Supreme Court to conduct an expedited appeals
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Initiative would revive redevelopment agencies
If it were a movie, it might be called “Revenge of the JEDI: the Redevelopment Empire Strikes Back.” It’s the California Jobs and Education Development Initiative (JEDI), which would enable the revival of the 425 redevelopment agencies eliminated in
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Why CalSTRS fix is impossible: It would force cut in teacher take-home pay
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System is terribly underfunded. The last official report put its shortfall at $74 billion. State officials say it needs an infusion of $4 billion more money a year for decades to come. This week, as
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