Posts Tagged: dollars

News

UPDATE: CA120: Probing the early primary

Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, who along with Sen. Ricardo Lara authored the early primary legislation, addressing the Assembly in May. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)

With just-passed legislation from Sen. Ricardo Lara sitting on Gov. Brown’s desk, the 2020 California Primary looks to be headed to the front of the line. Well, not the very front – the first four spots in the nominating calendar would be reserved for Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

News

California farmers in the crosshairs

Harvesting at a Central Valley farm on a summer's day. (Photo: mikeledray, Shutterstock)

California’s farmers are getting nervous — understandably. The Trump administration wants to slash the budget of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, cutting one out of every five dollars of the department’s discretionary spending.

Opinion

Memo to Brown: Affordable housing is a life and death matter

A family housing illustration by arka38, via Shutterrstock

OPINION: The same day Governor Jerry Brown delivered his proposed state budget, Barbara Brown died of exposure on a skid row street during an El Niño storm. More than the coincidence of a common last name links the two. As a literal storm killed this unfortunate woman, Gov. Brown once again ignored California’s worsening housing crisis, instead calling on the state to squirrel away $2 billion on top of required state reserves in order to save for an economic “rainy day.”

News

Stem cell agency’s key meetings going live on the Internet

A simulated view through a microscope of bacterias in the shape of California. (Illustration: Pat Bengtsson, via Shutterstock)

With no fanfare, California’s $3 billion stem cell agency is making a significant step forward in openness and transparency regarding the dealings of its governing board, which operates outside of the control of the governor and Legislature. Tuesday’s meeting of the directors’ Science Subcommittee will be available live for the first time — for all practical purposes — on the Internet and as an audiocast, including access to presentations that are used at the meeting.

Opinion

Moderate Democrats: the slaves of big oil?

Pumpjacks in a Kern County oil field, November 2013. (Photo: Christopher Halloran)

OPINION: The Paris talks brought into clearer focus just how many so-called moderate Democrats who sided with the oil industry this year re out of touch with their caucus, their party and their state. This small tribe of transactional politicians, whose campaign coffers have been filled with oil company dollars for years, did the shameless bidding of Big Oil once again this year, failing to protect Californians from greater environmental harm.

News

Fuel cut fades before oil industry

Senate Leader Kevin de Leon and Gov. Jerry Brown, left, announce scaling back SB 350. (Photo AP/Rich Pedroncelli)

To the surprise of few in the Capitol, the heart of landmark legislation to cut California’s gasoline use in half was gutted under fierce pressure from the oil industry – leaving a weakened bill and an angry Gov. Brown. An impassioned Brown said Wednesday he would push for new ways to cut climate-changing greenhouse gases during the remaining three years of his governorship, either through legislation, executive orders — or both.

Opinion

Vaccination bill dismantles parents’ informed consent

SB277 removes the right of informed consent from California parents. It slid through the Senate Floor on a Democratic Party line, and paused briefly at the Assembly Health Committee Hearing June 9th, drawing over 5,000 people in protest to the Capitol stairs and hallways of Sacramento. Its next stop, this week, the Assembly Floor Vote.

News

Election 2014: Voter apathy, money in strange mix

Voters may be apathetic on Election Day, but there are some people in California who are excited indeed about the ballot – those who have a big pocketbook interest in the outcome. Campaign spending on six ballot propositions has approached a quarter-billion dollars – a hefty price tag, even in California

News

Comeback eyed for pieces of redevelopment

Two years after Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature dismantled California’s $5 billion-a-year redevelopment program, Brown wants to bring some elements back — but he’s offering less money, a different name and a change in local voters’ approval. The crux of Brown’s plan is to expand the reach of the rarely-used, little-known Infrastructure Finance Districts. The districts, or IFDs, have taxing authority and are created with voter approval. They function on property tax dollars and focus on highways, transit and sewer projects, libraries, parks and child care centers.

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