Rights and Liberties

Brown may hint at Vergara plans with state education board picks

Gov. Jerry Brown has been vague about whether he agrees with the incendiary premise of last June’s decision in the Vergara case: that state teacher tenure and job protection laws are so likely to steer poor teachers to struggling mostly

Top lawyer for controller benefits from much-criticized state perk

Chris Reed January 14, 2015

The state government’s practice of letting workers defy official state policy and pile up unused vacation days and cash them in upon retirement has been criticized on and off for years. California government watchdogs and journalists have outlined the budget

Some crucial context on Brown’s new energy policy and AB 32

Chris Reed January 12, 2015

Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to seek to extend the state of California’s push against global warming to 2030 with a further embrace of costlier-but-cleaner energy got a positive response from many environmental groups and journalists. The idea that California would

Federal judge strikes down CA foie gras ban

John January 8, 2015

Bon appétit. A federal judge has struck down California’s prohibition on foie gras — more than a decade after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law the nation’s first ban on the culinary treat. U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson ruled Wednesday that

New category of CA employees tries to sandbag pension fixes

Chris Reed January 5, 2015

When elected officials participate even very indirectly in a process that improves their compensation, the public goes wild. It’s powerful attack-ad fodder for candidates seeking to unseat such politicians. But when powerful bureaucrats engage in such in a maneuver —

CHP’s probe of CalFire yielded leads — unlike DA’s probe of CHP

Chris Reed January 3, 2015

The reports that suggest the California Highway Patrol did a solid job in handling the investigation of a prostitution scandal at CalFire’s training acadmy in Ione have a rich subtext. CHP gathered enough strong evidence that 16 CalFire employees were

Harsh impact of CalSTRS bailout begins to emerge

Chris Reed January 2, 2015

The deal struck in spring 2014 to bail out the underfunded California State Teachers’ Retirement System will lead school districts, the state and teachers to increase their annual contributions to CalSTRS from $5.9 billion in 2014 to at least $10.9

CA initiative reform: Lawmakers ignore the elephant in the room

Chris Reed January 1, 2015

The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported on initiative reforms that take effect today. After more than a century in California’s political spotlight, the state’s initiative process will be getting a major revise next year. Even more surprising, both Democrats and

Gov. Brown pardons 105 ex-cons, rescinds one

John December 31, 2014

Gov. Jerry Brown offered Christmas Eve pardons to 105 Californians. But before the paperwork reached the Secretary of State’s office, that number was reduced by one. After facing questions from the Los Angeles Times, Brown retracted the pardon of Glen