Political Stories Top stories Lawmakers may wait on Gov. Brown’s ambitious pension plan – one he wants now — As Sacramento kicks off its yearly scramble to pass a state budget, lawmakers have yet to agree whether one controversial provision will make the cut: an untested $6 billion scheme that the governor says could […]
Political Stories Top stories California takes many hits, big and small, in Trump’s 2018 budget proposal – California loses big time in President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal 2018 budget, made public to scathing political reviews Tuesday. Some Central Valley farm spending would fall. Nutrition programs would shrink. Certain school grants would be handcuffed, University […]
Political Stories Top stories The price on universal health care is in, and it’s bigger than California’s budget — It would cost $400 billion per year to remake California’s health insurance marketplace and create a publicly funded universal heath care system, according to a state financial analysis released Monday. Sacramento Bee article; Sacramento Bee editorial; LA […]
Political Stories Top stories Dan Walters: Borrowing scheme for CalPERS deserves more scrutiny — When local pension bonds have fallen short, Crane points out, borrowers then face double debts, one for the bond and the other for pensions. As Taylor advises, this may work out, but before the state takes a major plunge into […]
Political Stories Top stories Dan Walters: Democrats dominate California but squabble among themselves — One might think that a political party wielding virtually total control of the nation’s most populous state – i.e. Democrats in California – would be satisfied. One would be wrong because of a dependable political axiom – by eliminating competition […]
Political Stories Top stories Lawmakers pass budget bills in Sacramento, but they’re almost completely blank –The official record will show that the state Assembly passed all of the bills related to a new state budget on Thursday, almost a month before the constitutional deadline to do so. But the record will also show those […]
Political Stories Top stories Retaking Congress, battling Trump: California Democrats prepare for 2018 – Is fighting President Donald Trump at every turn enough? Could California help Democrats retake the House next year? Is it time to replace some of the state’s longtime political leaders with fresh faces? That’s the backdrop to the state’s Democratic […]
Political Stories – Top stories Trump’s man in Congress: Fewer on Capitol Hill are closer to President Trump than Bakersfield’s Kevin McCarthy — On paper, McCarthy is the second-most powerful member in the House after Speaker Paul Ryan, but in reality, no politician has more clout with the Trump White House than he does. CALmatters […]
Political Stories Top stories One GOP lawmakers wants Trump to come clean on sharing classified info. Another isn’t talking — One day after the Washington Post reported that President Donald Trump revealed classified information to the Russian foreign minister, Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, urged the administration to be forthcoming about the matter. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, […]
Political Stories Top stories Dan Walters: AG Becerra muffs chance to crack down on local government corruption — California’s new attorney general, Xavier Becerra, was given a golden opportunity Monday to change his department’s passive attitude toward governmental corruption. He muffed it. Walters column in Sacramento Bee Judge compares Trump travel ban to […]
