The Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate again, big news for the U.S. economy but something that will likely have a muted impact on Americans' personal finances, experts say. That's because the reduction doesn't offset the increases of recent years. And as the key rate creeps closer to...
State Center College District Adds $10 Million to 2019-20 Budget
The State Center Community College District board will consider a $10 million boost to the proposed final budget for the 2019-20 school year, raising the unrestricted general fund budget to $224.9 million and the total budget to $366.5 million. District staff are recommending using $5.5 million from reserves funds for...
Vaccines, Guns, Housing Bills Await California Legislature
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers return to work Monday with one month left to pass bills before adjourning for the year. The Legislature was busy before the July recess, passing a $214.8 billion operating budget and setting up funds to pay future wildfire victims and clean up drinking water. But lawmakers still have lots to do...
Vaccines, Guns, Housing Bills Await California Legislature
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers return to work Monday with one month left to pass bills before adjourning for the year. The Legislature was busy before the July recess, passing a $214.8 billion operating budget and setting up funds to pay future wildfire victims and clean up drinking water. But lawmakers still have lots to do...
Walters: California’s Other Fiscal Crisis
Gov. Gavin Newsom and his predecessor, Jerry Brown, have repeatedly stressed the need to build state budget reserves to cushion the impact of the next recession, whenever it hits. Thanks to a vibrant economy, they’ve squirreled away nearly $20 billion in various reserve accounts. When recession hits, however, the state...
Lawmakers Return to Assess Budget and Debt Agreement
WASHINGTON — House lawmakers are returning to Washington to assess a budget and debt deal between Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump, but there's no evidence of any last-gasp drama that could upset the hard-won compromise. Reaction to the two-year deal, which would enable the government's debt-fueled...
Mayor Brand Cuts Advance Peace, $1.3M from Fresno Budget
A handful of community service officers for the Fresno Police Department and a controversial anti-gang initiative are among $1.3 million sliced from city's next budget by Mayor Lee Brand. Brand laid out seven line-item veto cuts as he announced approval Monday of the city's 2019-20 fiscal year budget. The vetoes...
California’s Housing Budget Is a Wrap. Here’s What's Inside.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders agreed to spend a fresh $2 billion to combat the state’s housing and homelessness woes. Democratic lawmakers and the new governor settled relatively quickly on the amount — which advocates say is the biggest in recent memory dedicated to housing. Ever since, they’ve been trying to resolve the...
Newsom Doubled Down on Tax Credit for Working Poor
When Berenice Solis of Bakersfield received a direct deposit of $6,775 from the government this past March, her mind raced. She could finally take her three daughters, ages 4, 6 and 9, on a trip to Disneyland. Then she thought about her goal of buying a house. Or upgrading her...
Walters: Does Spending More on Schools Pay Off?
As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first budget was being wrought, the perennial issue of spending on K-12 education was thrashed out once again. The education establishment – professional educators, their unions, their political allies and sympathetic academicians  – complained anew that California schools are being shorted the money they need to...