Posts Tagged: bay
News
For those attempting to oust Charles Lester, the executive director of the California Coastal Commission, the upcoming hearing is a referendum on his job performance. For the environmentalists who follow the commission, it’s a coup and an attempt to seize the upper hand in the power struggle between pro-development interests and an environmentalist staff that they believe has defined the commission since the reign of Peter Douglas.
Opinion
As part of the newly formed Californians for Water Security, we support moving forward with Governor Jerry Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), a bold strategy to ensure our state is making the most of our limited water supplies. That’s why we are disappointed to see certain groups opposing the plan to build a modern water pipeline to fix California’s aging statewide water distribution infrastructure.
News
Disputes over California’s fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River delta, the troubled heart of the drought-stricken state’s water system, must be resolved immediately because what happens there affects the western region, a top water expert says. Pat Mulroy, the former leader of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, delivered a bluntly worded warning to the California Water Policy Conference in Claremont, saying the linkage between the Delta and much of the West is clear, “yet many here in California still don’t see the connection.”
News
Prime Healthcare has decided not to buy six California health care facilities, a highly controversial transaction that was approved under unprecedented conditions by Attorney General Kamala Harris last month. Officials for the financially strained Daughters of Charity Health System chain say failure to complete the sale will force them to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
News
ANALYSIS: Los Angeles County is home to more than 26% of all Californians. But when it comes to running for statewide office, being from Los Angeles may be more of an obstacle than a political advantage. While the people may be in Los Angeles, the largest chunk of the state’s voters – those who actually cast ballots — come from the nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.
News
Nearly all California voters (88%) believe the state is undergoing a serious water shortage. However, there is no clear consensus about whether the situation is due more to a lack of water storage and supply facilities in the state, or users not using existing supplies efficiently enough. Statewide, 27% cite the former, 37% the latter and another 24% say both are equally responsible.
News
Former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown made it official Tuesday, hosting a ceremony celebrating the western span of the bay Bridge bearing his name. Brown, who turns 80 on March 20, chose the day because it would have been the 105th birthday of his mother, Minnie. “I’m deeply honored,” Brown said a at a podium in front of Treasure Island’s Administration Building with “his” bridge over his left shoulder and San Francisco’s’ skyline behind him. (AP Photo: Eric Risberg)
News
For the followers of California politics, non-election years usually are yawns. Not so 2013: One would be hard pressed to find a year with more hot-button events fraught with statewide political ramifications. Here’s our roundup of the year’s top tales, a subjective compilation to be sure but one which was fun to put together. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
News
Lowering the vote threshold for passage of local school parcel taxes would likely allow far more to pass. But there is no evidence that it would expand their use beyond the sort of wealthy Bay Area school districts that already have them. These are the key findings of a report released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). The report assesses the potential effect of reducing the vote required to pass these taxes from two-thirds to 55 percent—a proposal the state legislature has been discussing. Although a parcel tax is one of the only local revenue options available to school districts, these taxes are not widespread. Only about 10 percent of districts have passed one, and the money raised amounts to less than 1 percent of total K–12 revenue.
News
The Affordable Care Act not only drastically changes how health care is delivered but sharply alters the underpinnings of California’s economy. To get a deeper sense of health care reform’s impact on the Golden State, Capitol Weekly talked to Micah Weinberg, PhD, a senior policy advisor at the Bay Area Council and CEO of Healthy Systems Project, a health care consulting firm based in Sacramento.
Bixby Creek Bridge in Big Sur, south of Carmel. (Photo: Tom Tietz)
