Political Stories – Top stories  Political Paradox: Proposition 59 asks Californians to condemn a big-money system long used here — Six years after Citizens Unitedâthe landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that says corporations and unions have a 1st Amendment right to unlimited campaign spendingâpresidential candidates across the spectrum have condemned the campaign finance system it shaped. âCorrupt,â says […]
Political Stories Top stories Stymied in Legislature, school bond backers go their own way â Home builders, school construction companies and others, bypassing the Capitol, spent millions to gather signatures to qualify a $9 billion school bond for the ballot. Eleventh-hour Capitol negotiations to craft a smaller substitute bond in June went nowhere, securing Proposition […]
Political Stories Top stories Nine weeks before election, here are the 12 California congressional races weâre watching — Thirty of Californiaâs 49 House incumbents secured more than 60% of the vote in the June primary. All were Democrats, except for Republican Reps. Tom McClintock of Elk Grove, Ed Royce of Fullerton, and Devin Nunes of […]
Political Stories Top stories George Skelton: The Legislature helped poor people and farmworkers but skipped the middle class — The California Legislature capped its two-year session by passing a load of liberal bills to help poor people, including farmworkers. Thatâs good, but what about middle-class folks? They were snubbed again. Ignoring the declining middle class […]
Political Stories Top stories Sacramento Bee: Some pressing ballot issues that arenât about the White House — Hijacked by a poser, the nation has gawked at Trumpâs antics like Sunday drivers passing a big-rig explosion. Thatâs normal; itâs instinctive to notice unusual behavior. But this ballot also asks serious policy questions that Californians donât want […]
Political Stories Top stories Californiaâs new climate change laws almost didnât happen this year. Hereâs how lawmakers pulled it off —  For Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, global warming conjured images of stricken polar bears floating away on melting ice sheets, a problem with little relevance to a politician from Californiaâs bone-dry Inland Empire. But while attending […]
Political Stories Top stories Jerry Brownâs donors offered âsmall dinnersâ with governor while he weighs legislation — While Gov. Jerry Brown prepares to act on hundreds of bills sent to him by the Legislature in its end-of-session rush, the California Democratic Party has offered prospective donors to Brownâs political causes access to a series of […]
Political Stories Top stories Jerry Brown, Democrats reach deal to spend cap-and-trade funds — Dangling the carrot at the end of cap-and-tradeâs stick, Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislative leaders announced theyâve reached a deal to spend $900 million in revenue from the climate program. Sacramento Bee article; LA Times article; San Francisco Chronicle article […]
Political Briefs Top stories Farmworker overtime vote highlights urban-rural divide — Mondayâs approval of legislation to phase in state overtime rules for farmworkers again underscored the urban-rural divide on many of the issues that come before the California Legislature. Lawmakers representing more rural or suburban parts of the Central Valley, Republican and Democrat alike, voted against Assembly Bill […]
Political Stories Top stories California farmworker overtime expansion bill sent to Gov. Brown — The California Assembly on Monday sent Gov. Jerry Brown a hard-fought and historic expansion of overtime rules for farmworkers, but it remains uncertain whether the Democratic governor will sign off. Sacramento Bee article; LA Times article;  Reuters article; Stockton Record article; […]
