Posts Tagged: associations

Obit: Allan Hoffenblum, premier California political analyst

Allen Hoffenblum, pubolisher and co-editor of the California Target Book.

by JOHN HOWARD posted 10.02.2015

Top political analyst Allan Hoffenblum, who co-founded the California Target Book more than 20 years ago, died in his sleep, his colleagues said. Hoffenblum was 75. The Target Book, often described as the bible of political campaign professionals, analyzed the history, demographics and players — district by district — in the state’s legislative and congressional seats.

Everyone knows about the pharmaceutical companies, defense contractors and other financial interests that dominate political spending in Washington, D.C. Because federal spending provides a big share of those businesses’ revenues, it’s not surprising they spend heavily for a Congress sympathetic to their interests. But fewer know about the financial interests that dominate political spending in Sacramento.

Criminal justice, sentencing reforms gain traction

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

by SAMANTHA GALLEGOS posted 04.27.2015

For decades, Californians and their representatives in the state Capitol had a “lock-‘em-up-and-throw-away-the-key” approach to lawbreakers. But that view is changing. Following years of a steadily increasing prison population and some communities repeatedly being devastated by crime, public discussion has shifted in part toward reforming law enforcement’s approach to crime prevention.