Political Stories – Top stories Dan Walters: California will see scramble if U.S. Senate seat opens up — We already know that Brown will retire from the governorship for a second time, and about a half-dozen Democrats are in the mix to replace him. When Dianne Feinstein, the state’s 83-year-old U.S. senator, announced this week that she […]
Political Stories – Top stories California revenue is growing. So why the talk of deficits? — The paradoxical budget picture is a result of revenue growing more slowly than economists had predicted after years of rapid increases from a hard-charging economy. While Brown expects revenue to be up 3 percent next year, the governor and lawmakers assumed […]
Political Stories – Top stories Jerry Brown budget plan urges ‘saving some biscuits for a rainy day’ — Amid deep uncertainty about changes in state revenue and Washington, California Gov. Jerry Brown presented a $177.1 billion state budget Tuesday that assumes the state will have billions of dollars less to spend over the next 18 months compared […]
Political Stories – Top stories Four big questions for Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget — The well-being of California’s volatile revenue mix is a constant of state budgets, and Gov. Jerry Brown has regularly warned of looming red ink since returning to the statehouse six years ago. But this month’s inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, along with […]
Political Stories – Top stories This California Republican is hoping he’ll have more luck with his immigration reform idea under Trump — Rep. Jeff Denham has been at odds with his own party’s leadership on immigration reform before, but he’s trying again with this Congress, hoping a single comment from the president-elect is a sign his idea might have a […]
Political Stories – Top stories John Myers: The only thing ‘special’ about California special elections is the cost to taxpayers – The common sense meaning of the word “special” is to describe something that, at the very least, is unusual. But there have been 50 special legislative or congressional elections in California in the last decade, according to […]
Political Stories – Top stories Foon Rhee: How democracy is growing in California cities – A new index shows that more city council members are being elected from districts and that more elections are being held on dates with higher turnouts. But there’s more work to do on campaign finance. Rhee in Sacramento Bee In rural California town […]
Political Stories- Top stories Legislature doesn’t look like California, but in some ways it’s closer than before — The California lawmakers who returned to the Capitol this week as a group are younger and much more reflective of California’s diverse racial and ethnic makeup than their counterparts about two decades ago. In all of those categories, though, […]
Political Stories – Top stories California legislators: Just like you? — There are more white men named Jim in the California Legislature than black and Asian-American women—combined. And that’s not even including another white “James”. Or a Latino Jimmy. California’s new legislative session begins in earnest this week, and a fresh class of legislators will influence everything […]
Political Stories – Top stories Dan Walters: California’s slowing population growth has many impacts – positive and negative — An aging population creates new demands for services for the elderly, including health care and specialized housing and, of course, the money to pay for them. But slow growth also lowers the retail economy and potentially creates labor shortages […]
