Posts Tagged: issue

News

PPIC: Voters target homelessness, favor Trump’s removal

Tents of the homeless along a Los Angeles street. (Photo: Philip Pilosian, via Shutterstock)

Less than two months before California’s presidential primary, the Democratic primary remains a three-way race between Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren. Most Californians say President Trump should be removed from office and disapprove of his handling of the situation with Iran. These are among the key findings of a statewide survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California.

News

Money, chicanery fuel college admissions uproar

The life-size bronze statue of Tommy Trojan on the campus of the University of Southern California. (Photo: Kit Leonjg, via Shutterstock)

It’s pretty much all there: money, celebrity, scandal, more money, cheating, coaches being bribed — advantage layered over advantage. In what federal law enforcement officials say is the “largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice,” federal prosecutors have accused dozens of wealthy  parents of making at least $25 million in illegal payments in one form or another to get their unqualified children into select colleges.

News

Assembly bills vs. Proposition 54

The Assembly in session on June 15, 2017, the deadline to approve the 2017-18 state budget.(Photo: Anna Frazier, Capitol Weekly)

A boost in the bill-introduction limit for members of the Assembly could allow up to 800 new pieces of legislation by the end of 2018. But a question arises: Will the crush of new bills, which likely would push the Assembly’s total above 3,000 per session, make it harder to meet the provisions of Proposition 54?

News

A push for better dental care for low-income children

A youngster pays a visit to the dentist. (Photo: Wavebreakmedia)

California lawmakers are considering a bill that would double reimbursement rates for Denti-Cal providers in order to entice more dentists to accept the insurance that covers low-income residents. The hope is to get dental care to more people – especially children. According to recent reports by the state auditor and the Little Hoover Commission, less than 38 percent of the 5 million eligible children actually received Denti-Cal care in 2014.

News

The utilities’ new electric transportation infrastructure

A black-and-white view of smoggy Century City, Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles. (Photo: trekandshoot)

OPINION: Squinting into the smog, our state’s utilities have seen the future — and it’s not fossil fuels. Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric revealed plans to invest $1 billion to build a comprehensive electric transportation infrastructure.

News

State Bar facing fiscal crisis

A gavel in a California courtroom. (Photo: bikeriderlondon, via Shutterstock)

The agency that protects Californians from unethical lawyers faces an uncertain future because of complaints about its ability to do its job. For the first time ever, the state Assembly and Senate this year were unable to agree on a bill to set the annual dues that lawyers pay to the State Bar of California because of disagreements over the extent of changes needed at the troubled agency.

Opinion

Making the case for ‘open data’

Voluminous data displayed on a computer monitor. (Photo: Dimitri Nikolaev)

“Open Data” is a hot topic in the Capitol, and as legislative deadlines approach, it’s worth updating on where the issue stands, and what to keep in mind as the state considers a path forward. Standardized and freely shared, public data can inform policymakers as well as state residents about the operations and performance of government.

News

Pensions key to Stockton bankruptcy

Waterfront, Stockton, Calif., at Weber Point. (Photo: Terrance Emerson)

Calpensions: During a hearing Oct. 1 on Stockton’s “plan of adjustment” to cut debt and emerge from bankruptcy, there may be a landmark ruling on whether CalPERS pension debt can be cut in bankruptcy.

News

Wealth gap draws Californians’ ire

FIELD POLL: Majorities of Californians are dissatisfied with the way income and wealth in the state are distributed and believe the gap between the rich and the rest of the population is greater now than in the past. Yet, the public is divided about the extent to which government should try to reduce the wealth gap.

News

Ghost of Prop. 16 haunts the Capitol

Four years after California voters in a bruising, $46 million ballot fight turned down a plan to limit the ability of local communities to set up their own utility districts and energy providers, the issue is back. This time, voters won’t be weighing in: It‘s in the form of a bill before lawmakers.

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