Political Stories Top stories Lawmakers unveil California health tax plan proposal — The California Legislature on Monday unveiled a bill imposing a new tax on health insurance plans that would prevent a massive $1.1 billion hole in the state budget. AP article November: Ballot props lining up — From school bonds to the environment to condoms to drugs […]

Political Stories Top stories  California issued 605,000 new driver’s licenses for immigrants in the U.S. illegally last year — An estimated 605,000 licenses were issued under the law last year, accounting for nearly half of all new licenses, according to the California DMV. Nearly 400,000 of the licenses were issued during the first six months. LA Times […]

Political Stories Top stories Dan Walters: Brown’s projects face tests – The two immense public works projects that would be Jerry Brown legacies will soon face pivotal moments. The years-long debates over a north-south bullet train and twin water tunnels beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have focused on whether they are needed, as Brown contends, to […]

Political Stories Top stories Jerry Brown selects California’s first medical marijuana chief — California has found its czar for medical marijuana. On Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown announced the appointment of Lori Ajax, currently the chief deputy director of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, to the newly-created post overseeing the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation in the […]

Political Stories Top stories California revenue dips, possible sign of ‘revenue deterioration’ to come — It’s been a heady ride for California finances in recent years, with budget revenue outpacing estimates by billions of dollars, buoyed along by the state’s healthy economic growth in 2015. Could that trend be coming to an end? Preliminary tax revenue for […]

Political Stories Top stories Costa, Valadao pile up congressional campaign cash; opponents lag – Incumbent congressmen Jim Costa and David Valadao are totally dominating their respective races in fundraising, newly released campaign finance reports show. It’s not even close between them and their challengers. Fresno Bee article California doctors’ lobbying group formally backs marijuana legalization — California Medical […]

Political Stories Top stories  It’s back to the negotiating table for transportation funding, threat of cuts – When the California Transportation Commission said last week that it planned to sharply reduce funding for transportation projects due to declining gas tax revenue, the resulting publicity served to reinforce Gov. Jerry Brown’s appeal for new taxes and fees […]

Political Stories Top stories Dan Walters: Big budget issue for California is whether to spend or save money — The single most important factor in writing a new state budget is determining how much money there is to spend. It’s not an easy calculation under any circumstances, because it involves forecasting – or guessing – how […]

Political Stories Top stories CD 21: House hopeful keeping national party at arm’s length – for now — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has had a rough couple of election cycles against Congressman David Valadao. So there’s a big question in local Democratic circles about what role it will play in this year’s contest. Democratic candidate […]

Political Stories Top stories  Fresno County growers claim ‘arbitrary legislative targeting’ in late-session bill — In a lawsuit challenging a multimillion dollar farm labor deal struck by Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature last year, two Fresno County growers said Friday that they were illegally carved out of the agreement. Sacramento Bee article Cellphone encryption bill pits […]