From left to right, moderator Dan Morain and panelists Dave Jones, Catherine Reheis-Boyd, V. John White and Ross Brown. Cap and trade is either a sensible effort to reduce pollution in California without undue damage to the state’s economy, or it is a circumvention of the drastic action that is really needed to safeguard the environment.
Protesters in Los Angeles, three days after Donald Trump's election. (Photo: llewellynchin, via Shutterstock)In the fight between President Trump and California over immigration, many wonder whether a state — even one as massive as this one — can successfully confront the White House. Thus far in Sacramento, the answer is yes — from the governor on down.
State Librarian Greg Lucas. (Photo: California State Library)Prying funds out of the Trump administration may not be easy, but California State Librarian Greg Lucas is giving it a shot. And not just for California. Amid heavy snows and the unveiling of President Trump’s first budget, Lucas went to Washington this week to urge Congress to double the funding for the nation’s public libraries to $300 million, including the more than 1,100 libraries in California.
Chamber of the state Assembly in the Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov)This is the third in a series of detailed articles dealing with the inner workings of the California Legislature. In this installment, we focus on the rules surrounding committee hearings, floor actions and special sessions.
A Ventura County voter casts a ballot in the June 2016 primary. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)Any sound voter analysis tries to identify prior events that hopefully serve to predict future voter behavior. For this we examine several past elections, including the gubernatorial elections we mentioned in Part I, and other recent presidential primaries. But each appears somewhat flawed as a predictor of what the 2018 primary will look like.
California drivers in a Los Angeles traffic jam.(Photo: ShutterStock)Traffic tickets aren’t so out of the ordinary – until you get to Howard Herships’ case. After being caught by a red light camera on a right turn in suburban Sacramento, Herships, 73, contested the $200 ticket. His fight has proven costly: He lost his driver’s license, and his 2014 ticket penalty ballooned more than eight-fold to a whopping $1,665, plus a $55 driver’s license reinstatement fee. Now he’s in federal court over a constitutional issue.
A political rally in 2016 prior to the primary election. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)CA120: The 2016 elections have yet to fade in our rear-view mirror, but already the most important topic in Sacramento — and nationally — is the coming 2018 election cycle. After a tumultuous 2016, many of us are expecting the mid-term elections to be a deep and engaging referendum on the current administration and whatever intervening events occur in the coming year and a half.
State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Shuttesrstock)Welcome to Part II of our deep dive into the myths and realities of legislation. This time we’ll take a look at how bills are amended and moved around. After our earlier piece appeared, one reader called to thank us – he said it helped him sleep at night. We’re glad we were able to help. And now to the bills: There’s a lot going on here …
Aerial view of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. (Photo: Department of Water Resources)Given the amount of money needed for what everyone agrees must be an expensive revamping of the state’s water infrastructure, is there room now for Gov. Jerry Brown’s heart’s desire — the $15.5 billion Twin Tunnels Project?
A Liquid Nitrogen bank containing a suspension of stem cells. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich)The California stem cell agency this week approved nearly $33 million for clinical stage research projects testing treatments for type 1 diabetes, arthritis of the knee, ALS and an immunodeficiency affliction.