Posts Tagged: ruling

Recent News

CEQA at heart of Supreme Court decision on UC Berkeley

Students pass through Sather Gate, which leads from Sproul Plaza to the center of the UC Berkeley. (Photo: David A Litman, via Shutterstock)

California’s premier environmental protection law was at the core of a fierce dispute between UC Berkeley and its surrounding neighborhoods — and the neighborhoods won. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court decided in their favor, saying that the university’s plan to build more student housing ran afoul of the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, which requires projects to undergo extensive environmental and legal review before proceeding.

News

Dynamex ruling roils workforce

Adult entertainment clubs a decade ago in San Francisco's North Beach district. (Photo: James Kirkikis, via Shutterstock)

No one at the strip club wanted to talk about Dynamex. Dynamex refers to a landmark decision by the California Supreme Court, officially known as Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, that set standards to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

News

CA120: Poll shows angry two-thirds back Judge Persky recall

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky. (Photo: Jason Doiy/The Recorder via AP)

To further explore the issue of Judge Persky’s possible recall, we conducted a poll of 776 registered voters within the county who would be passing judgement on a recall if it were to qualify for a future ballot. And, rather than a few loud voices of protest, our poll finds that two-thirds (67%) of Santa Clara County voters support a recall. Women, and especially younger women, are at the center of the storm with a more than 4-to-1 support.

Opinion

A ‘little guy’ and the water board

Watering crops in California's Central Valley. (Photo: CRSHELARE, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The State Water Resources Control Board (Board) has tried for too long to bully Byron- Bethany Irrigation District (BBID), and we’ve had enough. It’s time the Board’s misguided case against BBID ends and remove the regulatory limbo the farmers within BBID currently face.

News

Redistricting panel prepares U.S. Supreme Court filing

California’s voter-approved commission that draws the boundaries for legislative and congressional districts is going to the U.S. Supreme Court to support a similar commission in Arizona, which is locked in a power struggle with that state’s Legislature.

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

San Jose vote may derail pension ‘rights’ ruling

A freeway approach to the San Jose city limit. (Photo: Visions of America)

Calpensions: An appeal of a San Jose pension reform ruling that could cause the state Supreme Court to revisit “vested rights” may be halted by a settlement with unions, if candidates aligned with the policies of Mayor Chuck Reed are defeated next month. Labor unions opposed to the pension reform are backing a candidate for mayor to replace Reed and three candidates for open city council seats, more than enough to shift the power balance.

News

Pensions remain a puzzle in Stockton bankruptcy

A view of downtown Stockton. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Calpensions: A federal judge ruled last week that Stockton’s CalPERS pensions can be cut in bankruptcy. But Stockton does not want to cut pensions, and the lone holdout creditor says it can be paid without cutting pensions. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein may have clarified the legal issue of whether CalPERS pensions, widely regarded as untouchable, can be cut if any of the 1,581 local governments in the giant system take the drastic step of bankruptcy.

News

Support for death penalty at 50-year low

Gurney used for lethal injections, San Quentin Prison. (Photo: Department of Corrections)

Field Poll: Support for the death penalty as a punishment for serious crimes in California is now at its lowest point in nearly fifty years. The latest Field Poll finds 56% of voters in favor of keeping the death penalty and 34% opposed. The 56% supporting continuation of the state’s capital punishment laws is down from 69% in 2011. Throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s eight in ten California voters favored keeping the death penalty.

News

Can public pensions be cut in bankruptcy?

Bus stop in Stockton, Delta College. (Photo: San Joaquin RTD)

Calpensions: Stockton filed a revised debt-cutting plan last week that could lead to a deal with a holdout creditor, Franklin bonds, possibly enabling the city to emerge from bankruptcy without cutting pensions. But however that plays out, a federal judge may rule on whether public pensions issued through the California Public Employees Retirement System can be cut in bankruptcy like other debts.

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