California's state Capitol in Sacramento, viewed from the 10th Street side. (Photo: Kit Leong, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Have you heard of the Capitol Annex Project? Probably not, though with a price tag of more than $1 billion (coming from taxpayers’ wallets), you should have. It’s no surprise the general public isn’t aware since this plan to uproot the Capitol grounds has been mired in secrecy since its inception.
Traffic approaching the toll plaza for the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge. (Photo: Ann Baldwin, via Shutterstock)Skipping out on paying a highway or bridge toll has long been a surefire way to get hit with a big fine. But if a raft of pending lawsuits seeking to overturn how toll operators share information about scofflaws is successful, California toll operators say taxpayers may end up taking the biggest hit.
A California home with solar panels installed on the roof. (Photo: orachonphoto, via Shutterstock)OPINION: A point of pride for the people of California is our state’s leadership in the clean energy economy. Over the past decade, Californians have had access to a great tool that puts homeowners front and center in the fight against climate change. This tool, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), enables homeowners to conveniently finance renewable energy, energy and water efficiency, and earthquake safety upgrades to their homes.
Downtown Los Angeles, as traffic zips along. (Photo: Sean Pavone)Six months after Gov. Jerry Brown called for a special session of the Legislature to fix the state’s crumbling roads, the potholes are just as deep, the motorists are just as irritated and the multibillion-dollar price tag is just as high. The goal is to offer a package to improve the worst of the state’s 50,000 miles of state-run roads and 13,000 bridges, and provide new capacity in freight-clogged zones and provide a regular source of funding over time.