Posts Tagged: John Chiang

In NorCal fires, weed goes up in smoke

In this Oct. 17 photo, Marcos Morales, co-founder of the cannabis company Legion of Bloom, stands on the ruins of a state-of-the-art drying shed in Glen Ellen, Calif., where 1,600 pounds of ready-to-ship cannabis were destroyed in a fire. (Associated Press/Paul Elias)

by CHUCK MCFADDEN posted 11.06.2017

It’s being called the Wine Country Fire, but the fatal October fires that blackened nearly 200,000 acres across Northern California might also be called the Cannabis Country Fire. While most of the coverage has focused on damage to the losses of homes, business structures and the wine industry, marijuana growers were also hit hard.

Villaraigosa to announce political plans

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the 2009 opening of Madame Tussauds Hollywood. (Photo: Jaguar PS, via Shutterstock)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 11.01.2016

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, long viewed in the Capitol as a potential Democratic candidate for governor in 2018, said Tuesday that he will announce his political plans “within a few days” of the Nov. 8 election. He stopped short of making a formal announcement, but left little doubt about his plans. “I think everybody knows where it’s headed,” he said.

Proposition 53: A battle over debt

Stockton businessman Dino Cortopassi, who is financing Proposition 53 on the Nov.8 ballot. (Photo: Scott Duncan, Capitol Weekly.)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 07.19.2016

He started out with $3,000 and a VW bug. Now, he’s a multimillionaire bankrolling a November ballot initiative to dramatically change the way the California borrows money for public works.