News

By several measures, the FPPC is outnumbered

Outnumbered, image by Hernan E. Schmidt

During one unremarkable time period of four weeks, the number of political filings was roughly 12 times greater than the total number of people working for the agency charged with overseeing the accuracy and legality of those very filings. And that was a slow month.

News

Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Michael Pimentel

Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly

85. Michael Pimentel

Transportation was another sector seemingly doomed to be a budget casualty this year when Gov. Gavin Newsom froze $2.4 billion in state transportation funds in April. One problem: local transit agencies had already begun huge projects based on expectations of getting those funds as part of a $5.1 billion transportation funding deal

News

Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Mary Kennedy

Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly

46. Mary Kennedy

If you’re looking for legislative drama, nothing beats the public safety committees, with their high-profile votes on drugs and crime. But while the hearings in the Assembly are often contentious and/or dysfunctional, there’s no such drama on the Senate side and that seems to be due in large part to Mary Kennedy,

News

Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Rick Rivas

Illustration by Chris Shary, for Capitol Weekly

14. Rick Rivas

The younger brother of Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Rick Rivas is widely regarded as the power behind the throne in the lower house. While Rick draws a salary as a vice president with the American Beverage Association, he has his considerable clout because he is the Speaker’s closest confidant, weighing in on

News

Some forms of ‘sports betting’ are allowed in California even after last year’s massive defeat at the ballot box

Digitized athletes, image by Marko Aliaksandr

Although two sports betting ballot measures went down in flames last year, some forms or derivatives of sports betting are not only legal in California, but at least one tribe with a casino is facilitating it. The key to understanding how this could be is to understand that “sports betting,” in the broadest sense, can take many different forms.

News

Remembering Jeff Raimundo

L to R, Steve Swatt, Susie Swatt, Jeff Raimundo, Becky LaVally. Photo courtesy of Steve Swatt

Jeff Raimundo – news reporter, political consultant, author and tireless community volunteer — passed away last week after a tough three-year battle with prostate cancer.

News

Perspectives: An autopsy of an advertising blitz

Image by iQoncept via Shutterstock

The system established by the Political Reform Act is still so complex and so confusing that it’s difficult – if not downright impossible – to drill down on how much a special interest has spent to specifically influence a specific issue.

Support for Capitol Weekly is Provided by: