Analysis

Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: 51-100

51 Jack Kavanagh Jack Kavanagh doesn’t write news stories or cover events for television – although he used to do both. But he puts together a website called Rough & Tumble that has become a sort of daily clearinghouse for California political news. He did that in 1997 to educate his TV station’s staff

News

State’s vaccination law under fire

A vaccination in progress. (Photo: Komsan Loonprom)

At least three lawsuits have been filed seeking to overturn California’s new law that prevents children from attending public or private school or day care without getting mandatory vaccinations.

News

CalPERS grapples with low earnings

The CalPERS' governing board during a meeting several years ago at the pension fund's headquarters. (Photo: CalPERS board)

Calpensions: Twice in recent decades CalPERS fell below 100 percent of the funding needed for promised pensions, and twice CalPERS climbed back. But since a $100 billion investment loss in 2008, the CalPERS funding level has not recovered.

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Reporter’s Notebook: The search for unity

A delegate at the Democratic National Convention passes by a group of pro-Bernie Sanders protesters. (Photo: Brad Bailey)

Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination for president Thursday as the nation’s first female nominee of a major party, a historic moment captured in a blaze of pomp and color. It was the culmination of four days of speeches that targeted the national convention’s fundamental theme — unity. But in the California delegation — the largest of the 50 states — unity at times was a rare commodity.

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Brown: More carrot, less stick

An inmate gestures through the bars of his prison cell. (Photo: Sakhorn, Shutterstock)

Gov. Jerry Brown has a lot riding on the November ballot. Voters will decide on his Proposition 57, which Brown says would let nonviolent inmates become eligible for parole sooner, create “good behavior” credits for state prisoners and let judges decide whether to try a juvenile as an adult. With California’s prisons crowded and facing a court-imposed population cap, and thousands of inmates housed outside the state, Brown says his measure makes sense.

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PolitiFact: Does CA really have world’s 6th largest economy?

A street scene in crowded, affluent San Francisco. (Photo: ChameleonsEye, via Shutterstock)

“These are the progressive policies that have made California the sixth largest economy on planet Earth,” De León said. We won’t wade into the debate over whether progressive or other policies have positioned the state’s economy on such a high perch. But we will examine the provocative “sixth largest economy on planet Earth” claim by itself.

News

Campaign cash: A journey through the Cal-Access labyrinth

Photo illustration, political cash on the move: IQoncept, via Shutterstock

When California introduced its Cal-Access campaign finance website, “There was nothing like it in the country,” said Rob Lapsley, who was under-Secretary of State in 2000, the year the campaign disclosure tool made its debut. Fast forward 15 years: What was once cutting edge is now obsolete. “The current system is broken, literally.”

News

PolitiFact: Licensed gun dealers outnumber McDonald’s 2-to-1 in CA

Photo illustration: Vaclav Mach, via Shutterstock)

The Safety For All campaign made a recent statement about the prevalence of gun dealers in California. It’s a colorful claim like Obama’s, but has a bit more hard data to back it up. “There are at least twice as many licensed firearm dealers in California as there are McDonald’s,” the campaign’s spokesman said in recent email.

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Proposition 53: A battle over debt

Stockton businessman Dino Cortopassi, who is financing Proposition 53 on the Nov.8 ballot. (Photo: Scott Duncan, Capitol Weekly.)

He started out with $3,000 and a VW bug. Now, he’s a multimillionaire bankrolling a November ballot initiative to dramatically change the way the California borrows money for public works.

News

Darrell Issa facing reelection fight

Republican Congressman Darrel Issa of Vista. (Photo: House of Representatives)

This is Darrell Issa country: The 49th Congressional District runs along the coast from southern Orange County to northern San Diego County. Its proximity to military bases such as Camp Pendleton, a substantial retirement community and other demographic factors have made the district a longtime Republican stronghold. But the nature of the district is changing and he may face a significant reelection fight this year from Democrat Doug Applegate, a retired Marine Corps officer and a lawyer.

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