News
Moves to make voting easier in California have caused yet another divide between Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans say they are worried because the door to voter fraud might swing wide open. Democrats say California needs greater civic participation by groups who have historically shown lackluster voting turnouts, and automatic vote-by-mail and electronic registration will help.
Analysis
California is at the epicenter of what could be a Democratic wave, and that’s amazing. In this election cycle, we are seeing something really astounding, yet many are treating it as if it was normal. Californians are poised to give Democrats anywhere from two to five — or even more — of the 24 Republican congressional seats across the country that Democrats need to win control of the House of Representatives.
News
California’s elections are three weeks away, but voters already are casting ballots – via the mail box, not the ballot box. Five counties – Madera, Napa, Nevada, Sacramento and San Mateo – have done away with traditional polling places and are instead asking voters to send their ballots in the mail or leave them in a drop box or at a vote center.
Opinion
OPINION: Another round of alarmist commentary is being spread by those who begrudge a secure retirement for those who teach in our classrooms or heroically labor on the front lines of wildfires. Amidst their negativity Californians may have missed a bit of positive news last month. The state’s two largest pension funds reported end-of-year investment returns that again exceeded their assumed average annual rate of return.
News
An unusual anniversary: It’s been one year since the distribution of an open letter in which scores of women detailed allegations of sexual misconduct over a period of years involving lawmakers, staffers, lobbyists and others in the state Capitol community.
Opinion
OPINION: The new comprehensive analysis of California’s PreK-12 education system, Getting Down to Facts II, revealed that the state is moving in the right direction with reforms put in place over the last decade, but more importantly it showed much more must be done to support student success.
News
Tom Hannigan, formerly a major legislative leader, director of California’s Department of Water Resources and an avid marathon runner, has died of natural causes. He was 78. Hannigan, a Marine Corps veteran who fought in the Vietnam war, is the father of Solano County Supervisor Erin Hannigan, who announced his death on her Facebook page.
News
California has hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children that cannot be accounted for. They are among the estimated 45,704 unaccompanied undocumented minors who were apprehended by federal authorities between Oct. 1, 2017 and Aug. 31, 2018 as they tried to enter California through its southern border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Recent News
The California Public Utilities Commission is poised to decide the formula that determines how much consumers are charged by the big investor-owned utility companies, or IOUs—such as Pacific Gas & Electric or Edison, for example—when the customers switch to local community energy programs. It’s a complex issue, but one with major implications for consumers’ pocketbooks.
Opinion
OPINION: According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, California today ranks as the 5th largest economy in the world, surpassing the United Kingdom. To flourish, great economies like California’s need consumer protections and oversight of financial markets. California has one single state agency charged with both, the Department of Business Oversight.
A sign outside a Los Angeles voting location in 10 languages. (Photo: Underawesternsky, via Shutterstock)
