Posts Tagged: June

The drought — with a grain of salt

A parched lake bed at Lake Oroville, about 60 miles north of Sacramento. (Photo: sddatta, via Shutterstock)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 04.08.2015

As drought-parched California withers, salt water captures attention – again. Santa Barbara, which built a desalination plan more than 20 years ago and then abruptly shut it down because of costs, is considering upgrading and restarting the project and provide the city of 91,000 with about a fourth of its drinking water. The tentative price tag is $40 million. In Sacramento, the State Water Resources Control Board is poised to adopt new regulations in May governing desalination.

Court ruling could jeopardize California redistricting

by JOHN HOWARD posted 01.26.2015

California and Arizona are two states that couldn’t be further apart in temperament and size. But in one crucial issue – the drawing of political boundaries – they are joined at the hip, as California’s redistricting commission made clear Friday to the U.S. Supreme Court.

UC boots deadlines to disclose spending

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

by SAMANTHA GALLEGOS posted 12.16.2014

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.

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.

The CalSTRS board was told this month that financial experts are forecasting investment earnings of 7 percent a year or less during the next decade, below the 7.5 percent assumed by the pension fund. If that’s correct, long-sought legislation in June that phases in a $5 billion CalSTRS rate increase over the next seven years could fall short of the goal of projecting full funding in three decades.

Pensions key to Stockton bankruptcy

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

by ED MENDEL posted 09.17.2014

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.

Low turnout waits in the wings

Ventura County voters go to the polls in a California general election. (Photo: Spirit of America)

by BOB MULHOLLAND posted 07.30.2014

OPINION: I now believe the turnout this November will be closer to 45% than 50%. In the previous 8 governor primaries (1982-2010) the average turnout was 39.2% and in those eight General Elections the average turnout was 59.0%, thus, on average an increase of 19.8% from the Primary to the General.

Fight for Yamada seat: A tale of two counties

Tracks in the Napa wine country at St. Helena. Photo: Hank Shiffman.

by SAMANTHA GALLEGOS posted 04.11.2014

Thanks to newly redrawn district boundaries, Napa County has a chance to put its first lawmaker in the state capitol in more than a generation. The race to replace termed-out 4th District Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, D-Davis, promises to be hotly contested, featuring family connections, Democrats going head-to-head and a scramble for campaign funds.

Voter approval of the job that Democrat Jerry Brown is doing as Governor has reached a new high. At present, 59% of registered voters approve of his performance in office, nearly twice the proportion (32%) who disapprove. Brown also holds a huge preference lead when likely voters in the June open primary election are asked whom they would support if the election were being held today.

Six weeks before California’s first-in-the-nation law takes effect to guarantee certain rights to transgender students, foes of the new statute say they have collected enough signatures for a statewide referendum next year to let voters decide. The new law, signed by Gov. Brown in August after it was approved by the Legislature, takes effect Jan. 1.