A portion of California and its key regions in the 2021 redistricting. (Photo: Victor Maschek)The 2021 redistricting has begun in earnest with the seating of the first eight members of the California Citizens Commission, the so-called “Lucky Eight” because they were seated after a random draw of ping-pong balls. In the quarantine era, this drawing, carried live, likely qualified as riveting entertainment.
California State Auditor Elaine Howle (Photo: Auditor's office)The U.S. Supreme Court’s split decision Thursday on the states’ gerrymandering of political districts was the perfect set-up for today’s episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast: State Auditor Elaine Howle sat down with us in her office to talk about the process for choosing the 14 members of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.
UC students on the Berkeley campus during a spring open house known as Cal Day. (Photo: cdrin, via Shutterstock) It’s a common story. California high school graduates with top grades and scores still aren’t able to get into the University of California campus of their choice. Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, says he hears that complaint from constituents “all the time – at Trader Joe’s, at soccer fields and walking down the street.”
Pedestrians crossing Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. (Photo: Sean Pavone, Shutterstock) OPINION: Back in 2012, then Treasurer Bill Lockyer called for an early warning system that would give state officials time to proactively address local government fiscal emergencies before they wound up in bankruptcy court. We are now five years closer to the next recession and its attendant set of local government financial crises, but the state has made little progress toward implementing Lockyer’s proposed system.
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.
From the California State Auditor: Highlights of high-risk issues that the state and select state agencies face
One phone call started it all.
It was an anonymous tipster who alerted the state’s top auditor to faked overtime pay at Caltrans, but as the four-year investigation continued it turned up evidence of fudged data and safety testing violations at structures across the state.
State Auditor Elaine Howle’s 31-page report last week
J. Clark Kelso, California’s federally appointed prison health-care receiver, has turned over a controversial health-care contract with Health Net to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and State Auditor Elaine Howle.