Plastic bags and other debris at a landfill await the bulldozer. (Photo: Huguette Roe)The ink was barely dry on Gov. Brown’s signature to ban single-use plastic bags when foes of his decision filed paperwork with the state attorney general’s office for a referendum in 2016 to overturn the new law. The request for an official title and summary from the attorney general was submitted Tuesday.
As a deadline loomed, Gov. Brown struck down legislation to grant state Attorney General Kamala Harris more authority over nonprofit hospital mergers. The attorney general — a position he once held — already has sufficient authority, he said Monday in his veto message.
Islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an aerial view. The Delta is home to about half of California's drinking water. (Photo: Worldislandinfo.comCalifornia’s top water official told a key gathering of south state water interests that “hard-earned progress” is being made on the Brown administration’s controversial plan to build twin tunnels through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The comments by Mark Cowin, director of the state Department of Water Resources, were aimed in part at dispelling rumors that the project had run aground, perhaps permanently.
Jerry Brown holds a 21 point lead over Neel Kashkari among likely voters in the governor’s race, and there is majority support both for a state water bond.Likely voters are more divided on two other statewide ballot initiatives, one that would establish a budget stabilization account—or rainy day fund—and another that would give the state insurance commissioner authority over changes in health insurance rates.
Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, at a sentencing hearing last week in Los Angeles. (Photo: Associated Press)State Sen. Rod Wright, who began his state political career nearly two decades ago and rose to chair the powerful Senate committee that targets alcohol and gambling, resigned from the Senate Monday effective Sept. 22, just days after he was sentenced for voter fraud and perjury.
Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger poses with his official portrait after it was unveiled at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, Sept. 8, 2014. The photograph-like giant image of the former governor was done by Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein and will hang on the third floor of the Capitol. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the Capitol today for the first time since leaving office as governor nearly four years ago to unveil his official – and massive – executive portrait. The big painting — it’s about seven feet long by five feet wide — will be the largest portrait of a governor hanging on the walls of the state Capitol.
Gov. Jerry Brown makes a point during an hour-long debate with challenger Neel Kashkari. Reporters followed the confrontation on nearby video monitors. (Capitol Weekly/Tim Foster)A fast-paced, sometimes raucous confrontation between incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown and challenger Neel Kashkari shed some light and more heat on an array of issues facing Californians, but there were no knockout blows and it was uncertain whether the only debate of the campaign two months before Election Day would have an impact on voters.
World headquarters of Tesla Motors in Palo Alto. (Photo: Katherine Welles)Tesla’s decision to choose Nevada for its planned $5 billion battery factory is all but certain to play out Thursday evening in the one-and-only televised gubernatorial campaign debate between Jerry Brown and Neel Kashkari. California’s economic recovery has been a core issue in the gubernatorial campaign between Gov. Brown, a Democrat who is seeking an unprecedented fourth term and already is the state’s longest serving governor, and Kashkari, a Republican and former treasury official. Brown is heavily favored.
A stealth move to rewrite state law to allow the newly elected Long Beach mayor to hold a seat on the California Coastal Commission has emerged in the final days of the legislative session.
The CalPERS' governing board during a meeting several years ago at the pension fund's headquarters. (Photo: CalPERS board)Calpensions: Last week was not a good one for CalPERS. Wednesday, Gov. Brown said CalPERS adopted regulations that undermine the anti-spiking provisions for new hires in his pension reform. Thursday, the state Fair Practices Political Commission rejected a proposed $1,000 fine for CalPERS board member Priya Mathur, suggesting a $4,000 fine for a serial offender who has repeatedly failed to file campaign funding reports.