Posts Tagged: federal

News

Feds raised repeated concerns about O.C. jail security

Officials at the Orange County Central Men's Jail investigate the area where three inmates escaped.(Photo: Associated Press/ Nick Ut.)

Federal officials warned for years of “poor supervision” at a Southern California jail where three inmates — all charged with violent felonies — recently escaped, documents obtained by The Marshall Project show. The men’s elaborate route to freedom seemed made for the movies: They cut through layers of metal and navigated plumbing tunnels to reach the roof. They then rappelled down four stories with makeshift ropes, perhaps strung together from bedsheets or jail clothing.

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

Drought emergency: The need for a biodiversity policy

Lake Oroville ravaged by drought. (Photo: State Department of Water Resources, 2014)

Analysis: California ecosystems are losing their resilience and their ability to sustain native plants and animals. In the past, even in droughts, there were natural refuges to sustain native species. Today, most of these ecosystems are changing rapidly from human impacts and many have deteriorated to critical condition. Refuges are scarce.

News

The high-stakes fight over Medi-Cal

A physician on the night shift examining a CT scan. (Photo: Beerkoff, via Shutterstock)

It’s all about coming up with a plan to hang onto the $1.1 billion in matching funds the feds ship to California each year to help finance MediCal, the immense program that provides health care to about 12.5 million of California’s poorest patients. MediCal is larger than ever now because of the Affordable Care Act, which added more than four million Californians to the millions already receiving MediCal coverage

News

Firefighting tab at $133 million

From last year's fire season,, and aerial view in Mendocino County's Lodge Fire. (Photo: N.F. Photography)

California has spent $133 million fighting wildfires since July 1, about a third of its budgeted amount. The figure includes the costs of suppressing major blazes across the heat- and drought-ravaged state during the past month. The state has fought about 4,500 fires since January.

News

A country boy’s odyssey: Nelsen takes over Sacramento State

Robert Nelsen, the new president of California State University, Sacramento. (Photo: Sacramento State)

As a boy growing up impoverished on a Montana ranch, Robert Nelsen did not expect to go to college. Years later, he is the eighth president of California State University, Sacramento. Nelsen, 63, former president of the University of Texas-Pan American, officially took over as the chief executive officer of the 30,000-student campus in July.

News

Firefighters to drones: Buzz off

A drone and its master. (Photo: Ahturner)

Efforts to contain a July 12 brush fire in San Bernardino County were delayed for eight crucial minutes after response crews spotted a hobbyist’s drone flying close to the fire area. The drone, which US Forest Service officials suspect may have been recording footage of the fire, eventually flew off, allowing grounded air crews to resume. For firefighters, those lost minutes can be devastating as they try to contain a wildfire.

News

Hawaii, California lead fight for renewable energy

A sugar factory , Puunene, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo: Mike Brake)

Hawaii last month became the first state to establish a goal of relying 100 percent on renewable energy, setting 2045 as the year to reach this ambitious target. Meanwhile, legislation moved forward in California that would significantly expand its pioneering efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. The Golden State has an economy larger than all but six nations in the world, and almost anything it does has the potential of having global impact.

News

State-run ‘automatic IRA’ gets boost

Calpensions: President Obama said he has directed his labor department to propose rules showing states how to create what in California could be an “automatic IRA,” a payroll deduction that puts money into a tax-deferred savings plan unless workers opt out. The rules are expected to answer a key question: Is Secure Choice exempt from a federal retirement law, ERISA, that not only has employer administrative costs but may also expose employers to liability for failed investments and other problems?

News

A ‘wave goodbye’ to Lawrence Karlton

Obit: In his three decades on the federal bench, Lawrence Karlton presided over many high-profile cases including several involving California’s troubled prison system. In 2009 he forced the overhaul of California’s prison health care system and ordered the state to reduce prison overcrowding.

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