Photo illustration of Lady Justice. (Kaspars Grinvalds) Blocked by lawmakers at the 11th hour and facing a fiscal emergency, the State Bar of California went directly to the state Supreme Court seeking authority to levy dues on thousands of attorneys. The Bar, which filed the request Friday, said it would go out of business early next year without the money generated by the dues.
A liquid nitrogen bank containing a suspension of stem cells. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich)An eminent Harvard stem cell researcher who is searching for a cure for an affliction that plagues 29 million Americans stood on a San Francisco stage this week and spoke of “things we don’t understand.” The scientist is Doug Melton, who is on a deeply personal quest for a cure for diabetes. Both of his children have the disease. And the state of California is helping out on his search with $5 million.
The road ahead upon retirement. (Photo illustration: Gustavo Frazao, via Shutterstock.)Gov. Brown has signed historic legislation to set up California’s first state-run pension plan for private-sector workers, allowing millions of employees to continuously build a retirement nest egg regardless of where they work. The governor’s decision means California joins seven other states that offer similar programs, although California’s plan, called Secure Choice, will automatically enroll about 6.8 million workers.
Malcolm Lucas, the former chief justice of the California Supreme Court who led the high court during one its most turbulent political periods, has died at the age of 89, his family announced.
Donald Trump, left, stands with Hillary Clinton at the first presidential debate Monday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. (Photo: AP/Evan Vucci)Within the wide Clinton debate win numbers, we can see variations among key portions of the electorate. The most striking is the partisan breakdown. For Democrats, the Clinton performance was an affirming event – with 90% of registered Democrats saying that she won the debate. Among Republicans, this was flipped, with 57% saying that Trump won.
A street sign for voters. (Photo by Gustavo Frazao, via Shutterstock)Field Poll: Likely voters are giving strong initial support to two state ballot propositions, one to extend a recent income tax hike on high income residents (Proposition 55). and another to offer new parole opportunities for non-violent offenders (Propositon 57). While voters are also backing a third initiative to increase cigarette taxes (Proposition 56), it leads by a narrower margin.
A gavel in a California courtroom. (Photo: bikeriderlondon, via Shutterstock)The agency that protects Californians from unethical lawyers faces an uncertain future because of complaints about its ability to do its job. For the first time ever, the state Assembly and Senate this year were unable to agree on a bill to set the annual dues that lawyers pay to the State Bar of California because of disagreements over the extent of changes needed at the troubled agency.
San Quentin state prison, home of California's death row, which currently holds nearly 750 inmates. (Photo: Mark R., via Shutterstock)Field Poll: Proposition 62, the initiative to repeal the death penalty in California and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole, is narrowly supported by likely voters. The latest Field-IGS Poll finds 48% of likely voters saying they intend to vote Yes when presented with the official ballot summary that voters will see when voting on Prop. 62 in the November election.
Photo illustration: Thomas Pajot, via Shutterstock.PPIC: Majorities of California’s likely voters strongly support three of four key ballot measures on Nov. 8, including marijuana legalization, a tax increase extension and a new tax on tobacco, according to a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California. Support for the fourth measure surveyed, a $9 billion borrowing for school construction, was far more narrow and within the survey’s margin of error.
People at a May rally of Republicans in Anaheim. (Photo: Mike Ledray, Shutterstock)Prior to the June Primary, California experienced a massive surge in voter registration. More than 2.3 million voters registered, either for the first time, or as a re-registration. This was not only larger than any other primary election in the state’s history, it was larger than any general election. As measured by absolute growth of the voter file, the nearest comparison was the 1980 primary in which former California Governor Ronald Regan was running for the Republican Party nomination.