Glendale Community College near Los Angeles. (Community college photo)OPINION: Gov. Jerry Brown is trying to revamp the way funding for the state’s 114 community colleges is determined, which is smart since the current practice of funding schools in various regions of the state based almost entirely on enrollment does not do the areas with the highest need students any good.
Photo of candidate Steve Poizner from his official websiteThe first person to hold statewide office in California without aligning with a political party could be Steve Poizner. He is vying for the seat left open by Dave Jones, who is running for state attorney general. Poizner’s main opponents are Democrats Sen. Ricardo Lara and physician Asif Mahmood. The Department of Insurance has more than 1,300 employees and a $250 million budget. It oversees the state’s $300 billion insurance market, the largest in the country.
The California Aqueduct, part of the State Water Project, flows by an almond orchard in the Central Valley. (Photo: Alabn, via Shutterstock)The State Water Project comprises 700 miles of tunnels, pipelines, aqueducts and siphons that transport water from California’s north to its more arid south, serving 26 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland along the way. It’s a huge project with a lot of infrastructure, and it’s most of what DWR does. But more than 60 years later, there is a move under way to take control of the project out of the hands of DWR and place it in an independent commission.
The entrance to Pasadena Community College. (Photo: Angel DiBilio, via Shutterstock)OPINION: A certain (now disgraced) writer-producer-director is credited with saying, “80 percent of success is just showing up.” That would be nice, right? But for many of us, this just doesn’t hold true. Showing up to a job interview doesn’t get us 80 percent of the way to the job. Showing up to college doesn’t get us 80 percent of the way into the class we want.
Gov. Jerry Brown presents his 2018-19 budget draft to the Legislature. (Photo: Corben Wilson, Capitol Weekly)On Jan. 10, the governor presented his initial 2018‑19 budget plan to the Legislature. In this report, the Legislative Analyst provides a brief summary of the governor’s proposed budget. (In the coming weeks, the LAO will analyze the plan more thoroughly and release several additional budget analysis publications.)
The Assembly chamber in the state Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov)ANALYSIS: During the budget negotiations in September, there was talk in the Capitol about whether it was proper – or even legal – for California lawmakers to pass two measures amending the state budget that had been adopted three months earlier. These two bills, known as “junior” budget bills, were approved along with a half-dozen budget trailer bills making numerous policy changes in state law for the 2017-18 fiscal year. Gov. Brown signed them all.
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his legislation to repeal the ACA. (Photo: Ron Sachs/CNP, via Associated Press)Even as it entered its apparent death spiral, the latest Republican attempt to do away with Obamacare came in for fiery denunciations from California health care leaders. On the receiving end of all the vilification is a bill before the U. S. Senate that would eliminate key provisions of the Affordable Care Act and replace them with block grants to states. Its chances look grim, and that may be understating it.
Former Assembloyman Roger Niello. (Photo: rogerniello.com)He was elected to his last term in the Assembly nearly a decade ago, but it’s hard to drive around Sacramento without seeing his name constantly. From Acura to Volvo, the Niello name can be found on license plate frames throughout the region.
A woman fills nher bottle with spring water flowing over rocks. (Photo: Wollertz, via Shutterstock)For the past 5 years, parched Californians suffered through the state’s worst drought. Wildfires, reduced crop production, environmental damage, cities running dry – all were part of the misery. But with the drought now broken by an unprecedented wet season and snowpack, it’s possible to look back and see the positives, especially when it comes to the state budget.
Gov. Jerry Brown, unveiling his revised state budget, is flanked by a chart showing billions of dollars of Medi-Cal cuts. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)Gov. Jerry Brown’s state budget draft is a no-frills document reflecting fears about the policies of the Trump administration, a Republican-led Congress and the likelihood of an economic recession. “The potential of a federal reduction in aid to California is real enough,” Brown noted, as he unveiled his revised $180 billion spending plan for 2017-18.