Posts Tagged: higher

News

California’s pandemic pain increases sharply

Photo illustration of the coronavirus in California. (Photo: Maridav, via Shutterstock)

COVID-19 cases in California are spiking dramatically — more than 6,600 new cases on Tuesday alone — and scientists predict California will double its transmission rate every four to five weeks. On Wednesday, the death toll spiked to 98, bringing to 5,725 the total number of deaths so far.

Analysis

‘New Democrats’ flexing muscle

A Democratic gathering listens to presidential contender Bernie Sanders at a March 2016 rally at the Wiltem Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)

ANALYSIS: Moderate Democrats are nothing new — they have been around for decades. In the 1980’s a group of moderate Democrats called the “Gang of Five” unsuccessfully tried to unseat Speaker Willie Brown. Today, they are more organized and go by the name, “New Democrats.” Generally, a New Democrat is one who, like Republicans, is business-friendly on some key issues, such as taxes and regulation, and skeptical of some environmental controls that curtail economic growth.

News

CalPERS grapples with low earnings

The CalPERS' governing board during a meeting several years ago at the pension fund's headquarters. (Photo: CalPERS board)

Calpensions: Twice in recent decades CalPERS fell below 100 percent of the funding needed for promised pensions, and twice CalPERS climbed back. But since a $100 billion investment loss in 2008, the CalPERS funding level has not recovered.

News

Parched Californians back cuts in water use

The dry bed of Ivanpah Lake in San Barnardino County, which had been filled by the 2004-05 rains. (Photo: Ed Berlen)

Field Poll: By a nearly three-to-one margin (65% to 23%) Californians support Governor Jerry Brown’s call to require urban water districts to reduce their water use by an average of 25% statewide. Support for the Governor’s plan is broad-based and bipartisan, and spans all major subgroups of the state’s adult population.

News

To have and have not: The California debate intensifies

A homeless man in a wheelchair wiping his eyes at a pier in Oceanside, Calif. (Photo: David Little via Shutterstock)

We are moving into the post-industrial age, an era of mechanized production, where machines can increasingly do jobs that used to pay real people livable wages. In California, we have strong environmental and labor regulations that did not exist at the birth of the industrial age. These rules have improved and saved lives of workers and the communities where manufacturing plants are based. But they have also driven costs of manufacturing higher.

News

Brown: State workers should pay more for retiree health care

Gov. Brown unveils his 2015-16 budget draft in the Capitol. (Photo: State of California)

Gov. Brown wants state workers to begin paying half the cost of their future retiree health care — a big change for workers making no payments for coverage that can pay 100 percent of the premium for a retiree and 90 percent for their dependents. The governor also wants state workers to be given the option of a lower-cost health insurance plan with higher deductibles.

News

UC boots deadlines to disclose spending

Students at UC Berkeley walk for their diplomas during graduation ceremonies. (Photo: Richard Thornton)

Missing its own deadline last week, the University of California is now more than two months behind in disclosing to the state Legislature and the Department of Finance details of its expenses. The 10-campus university system first failed to meet an Oct. 1 deadline. It then submitted a seven-page preliminary account on Oct. 31 while requesting an additional six weeks to complete a final report. Those six weeks expired on Dec. 11.

News

Survey: Water bond, fiscal reform up; Prop. 45 dips

Jerry Brown maintains his strong lead among likely voters in the governor’s race against Neel Kashkari. Among two statewide ballot measures that Brown is campaigning for, Proposition 1—the $7.5 billion water bond—continues to have majority support and Proposition 2—the “rainy day fund”—has gained ground since September, with about half of likely voters in favor today.

News

Weed backers target 2016 ballot

The Marijuana Policy Project, a national group that seeks to legalize recreational marijuana use, says it intends to put the issue before California voters on the 2016 general election ballot. The group’s decision to file a committee with California Secretary of State Debra Bowen on Wednesday means it may start raising funds to help finance signature gathering and qualify the measure in California.

News

PPIC: Water bond up, Brown way up, Prop. 45 divided

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.

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