News
Two years after Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature dismantled California’s $5 billion-a-year redevelopment program, Brown wants to bring some elements back — but he’s offering less money, a different name and a change in local voters’ approval. The crux of Brown’s plan is to expand the reach of the rarely-used, little-known Infrastructure Finance Districts. The districts, or IFDs, have taxing authority and are created with voter approval. They function on property tax dollars and focus on highways, transit and sewer projects, libraries, parks and child care centers.
Opinions
OPINION: The Congressional Budget Office report also shows that under the hike to $9 per hour, 300,000 people would be lifted out of poverty. However, another estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people would lose their jobs. If the wage increases to $10.10 per hour the number of people being raised out of poverty would rise to 900,000 while 500,000 people would lose their jobs.
News
State Sen. Ron Calderon, under federal indictment on two dozen corruption charges that include taking nearly $100,000 in bribes, will take a leave of absence from the Senate while he fights the charges. Calderon, 56, a Montebello Democrat, will continue to receive his $95,000-a-year salary.
News
The field of marijuana initiatives for California’s November ballot has been cut in half in less than two weeks, leaving proponents of the two remaining measures in a narrower race for money and momentum while other drug advocates say the next presidential election in 2016 offers a greater chance for success. (Photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
News
Getting CalSTRS back to full funding, if rates are steadily increased over the next half dozen years, would take an annual increase reaching more than $5 billion a year by 2020 — about what the state general fund currently spends on UC and CSU combined. (Photo: CalSTRS lobby, Paul Housberg)
News
Death certificates are the latest battleground for gay rights advocates trying to ensure that the gender a person identifies with in life carries over into death. A bill introduced recently aimed at ensuring the death certificates of transgender persons reflect their chosen gender is the latest legislative effort to vouchsafe the rights of this small category of Californians.
News
It can take as long as three hours to get the injured to a trauma center, even by air. Access to centers along the north and central coasts and the East Sierra is most limited. Over the past two years, communities long without trauma centers began to fill the void – designating regional hospitals as resources for those suffering from traumatic injuries. (Photo: California Health Report)
News
Nearly three out of every four Californians are registered to vote, an increase of nearly 751,000 since 2010 and a reflection of the growing number of voters who decline to state a party preference. The major parties experienced declines in registration. Of California’s 24 million eligible voters, about 17.7 million actually have registered, or about 73.41 percent, according to the secretary of state’s office. The figures reflect registration through Dec. 31, 2013.
