Love her or hate her, former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer was one of the most influential and impactful politicians in California history. As such, when we sat down with her to conduct an oral history interview, we knew we needed someone as iconic as her to ask the questions. So we were thrilled to have the estimable Carla Marinucci of Politico do the honors.
A view of homes and stores along Bridgeway Street, Sausalito.(Photo: Boris Vetshev, viua Shutterstock)OPINION: During last month’s PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs, like so many across California, my family lost electricity for four days. We couldn’t turn on the lights, access the internet or charge our phones. But we didn’t lose water for a moment, thanks to the steps our water provider had taken to prepare for this kind of emergency.
Erin Schrode, candidate for the 2nd Congressional District. (Photo: Teens Turning Greeg. org Twenty-five-year-old Erin Schrode, a Democrat, is running for the House in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes coastal counties north of the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon line. She is the youngest candidate in any of California’s 53 House races and may be the youngest in the nation. She actually turned 25 during the campaign – the minimum required age to serve in the House.
San Quentin prison, as seen from San Francisco Bay. (Photo: San Quentin News, prison newspaper)ANALYSIS: What if, instead of building prisons in remote locations, we put them near cities, accessible to family members and to the resources — educational, vocational, therapeutic, recreational, cultural — that are scarce in most prison towns?
Boats cluster together at drought-ravaged Shasta Lake. (Photo: David Greitzer). People across California pay dramatically different amounts for the same amount of water, with price tags set by individual agencies from Crescent City to El Centro. North or south, inland or coastal, what Californians pay for their water is locally driven. Ultimately, retail water’s value is determined in a way similar to real estate – location, location, location.
U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, speaking to her grandson, announced Thursday on YouTube that she won't seek a fifth term. (Photo: Screen capture, YouTube)Ready, set, run! A firestorm of political speculation erupted Thursday across California after U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer announced she wouldn’t seek a fifth term, a move that prompted a close look at California’s new open primary. Two top contenders — Attorney General Kamala Harris and former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom — are represented by the same consultants, SCN. Things are getting interesting.
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.
Nearly three out of every four Californians are registered to vote, an increase of nearly 751,000 since 2010 and a reflection of the growing number of voters who decline to state a party preference. The major parties experienced declines in registration. Of California’s 24 million eligible voters, about 17.7 million actually have registered, or about 73.41 percent, according to the secretary of state’s office. The figures reflect registration through Dec. 31, 2013.
Backers of an initiative that would give new Ventura County employees a 401(k)-style plan, rather than a pension, sometimes mention a lawsuit filed last fall by a former sheriff. Bob Brooks, whose salary as Ventura County sheriff was $227,600 a year when he retired in January 2011, received an annual pension of $283,000. He filed a suit last September seeking an additional pension of $75,000 under a supplemental plan.
The California Republican Party isn’t dead but there sure are plenty of tubes connected to life support.
That’s pretty much the Number One topic of the November election post mortem: A post mortem on the Golden State’s Grand Old Party.
“Can the party be restored as a viable organization that effectively does what