Posts Tagged: job

Opinion

Making kids a top budget priority

Elementary school students in a California classroom. ((Photo: Monkey Business Images)

A new analysis of the state budget from the nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office identifies about $1.1 billion in new money available in the budget for discretionary spending. Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders have an opportunity to make spending decisions that will prioritize children, many of whom took the brunt of budget cuts over the last decade.

News

Democrat Brown draws GOP support; voters split on state’s direction

Gov. Jerry Brown in the state Capitol last year. (Photo by Max Whittaker/Getty Images)

The latest Field Poll finds nearly six in ten California voters (58%) approving of the job Jerry Brown is doing as Governor, while just 26% disapprove. This nearly equals his record approval rating of 59% that he achieved a little more than a year ago in April 2014. At present, 37% of rank-and-file Republicans currently approve of the job Brown is doing, up from 27% who said this three months ago.

News

Kevin de León on policy, politics and the future

State Senate Leader Kevin de León on Feb. 1, 2014, at the Golden Dragon Parade in Los Angeles(Photo: Betto Rodrigues, via Shutterstock)

GRIZZLY BEAR PROJECT: After some hard feelings and bruised egos, De León accepted his defeat and ran for the Senate seat that he never really wanted. But in the Senate, de León has matured and grown as a legislator. Early on, he helped ease roadblocks between the Senate and the governor’s office. In the meantime, he reconstructed and expanded his personal relationships, and was elected by his colleagues last year as the new leader of the state Senate.

News

PPIC: Brown, Legislature, economy on a roll

Gov. Brown on Jan. 9 in the state Capitol as he unveiled his 2015-16 draft budget. Brown's budget includes the newly approved "rainy day fund."(Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)

Likely voters in California are starting off the new year with some new-found optimism about the governor, the economy and — wait for it — the Legislature, according to a new survey released late Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.

News

Judge: Pension cuts difficult

Calpensions: A federal judge, who earlier ruled CalPERS pension contracts can be overturned in bankruptcy, yesterday outlined the difficulty of cutting pensions while approving Stockton’s plan to exit bankruptcy with pensions intact.

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.

News

Voters positive about state, but party, location are factors

California's Highway 1 in Marin County. (Photo: Constantine Kulikovsky)

FIELD POLL: Californians are taking a more positive view of the direction of the state than then did four years ago when near record proportions (80%) felt the state was seriously off on the wrong track. However, views about California’s overall direction vary considerably depending on where a voter lives and his or her party registration.

News

Sharp drop in Obama approval rating

FIELD POLL: There has been a sizeable decline in President Barack Obama’s job approval rating among California voters over the last few months. A statewide Field Poll completed last week found that almost as many Californians now disapprove of the job the President is doing (43%) as approve (45%). This reading is the poorest appraisal of the job performance that Obama has received of his presidency.

News

Partisan split on lawmakers’ performance, state outlook

The state Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: AMadScientist, via Wikimedia)

FIELD POLL: Slightly more voters believe California is generally on the wrong track (46%) than say it is moving in the right direction (41%). In addition, more voters disapprove (47%) than approve (35%) of the job performance of the state legislature. Opinions about both matters are directly related to the party registration of voters. Democrats offer a much more optimistic assessment of the direction of the state and hold more positive views of the job the state legislature is doing than Republicans.

Opinion

Vergara: An attack on teachers, schools, students

A California school sign alerting motorists to the presence of youngsters. (Photo: Eddie J. Rodriquez)

OPINION: From the beginning, the Vergara v. State of California lawsuit has highlighted the wrong problems, proposed the wrong solutions, and followed the wrong process. This deeply flawed lawsuit was not about helping students, but yet another attempt by millionaires and corporate special interests to undermine the teaching profession and push their agenda on California public schools and students

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