State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Brandon Bourdages, via Shutterstock)Ultimately, the May Revision will include different revenue estimates and expenditure proposals than we used to arrive at our assessment of the budget problem. In fact, the administration very recently released an estimate of the budget problem—about $54 billion—that is significantly higher than either of our estimates.
Thousands attend a Jan. 17 rally in San Francisco to demonstrate for affordable health care. (Photo: Kim Wilson Photography, Shutterstock)With the Affordable Care Act facing an uncertain future, could California set up its own universal health care system as an alternative?
Pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators clash at a May 27 rally in San Diego. (Photo: Chad Zuber)Any hope that California would soon settle into some sort of accommodation with a Trump Administration is fading rapidly. During the past two weeks, this happened: President-elect Donald Trump named Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as his choice to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the federal enforcer of rules governing clean air, clean water, toxics cleanup and other chores. The choice of Pruitt, an energy industry supporter who is skeptical of the impacts of climate change and has sued the EPA over the years, sparked outrage from environmentalists across the country, especially in California.