SEATTLE — Doctors who specialize in female pelvic medicine say lawsuits by four states, including Washington and California, over products used to treat pelvic floor disorders and incontinence might scare patients away from the best treatment options — or maybe even push the products off the market. Sixty-three Washington surgeons signed...
Newsom's First Budget Is $144B. And It Increases 'Rainy Day' Fund.
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a $144 billion general fund budget in his first spending plan Thursday, up 4 percent from the current year. The new governor's budget includes $13.6 billion to build the state's reserves and to pay down state debt and its growing pension liability. It's...
Walters: 'Dr. Newsom' Wants to Cure State's Tech Disease
One of the great mysteries of California politics is why, in a state that boasts of its digital innovation, its government has such a miserable record on using technology. We’ve seen an endless litany of technology projects that run up enormous costs but fail to deliver promised efficiencies, or in...
Trump Tweet: No Emergency Funding for California
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is threatening to withhold Federal Emergency Management Agency money to help California cope with wildfires if the state doesn't improve its forest management practices. However, local and state Republicans in California pushed back hard against the president's threat. Assemblyman James Gallagher and state Sen. Jim...
Is Mandating E-Receipts Smart? Or Nanny State Legislation?
SACRAMENTO — California would become the first state to require businesses to offer electronic receipts unless customers ask for paper copies under legislation proposed Tuesday. Many businesses and consumers already are moving toward e-receipts, said Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting of San Francisco. But he said a law is needed because...
Newsom Proposes Wildfire Spending and a 911 Fee
COLFAX — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday pledged fresh investments to prevent, fight and escape wildfires, including millions to help local governments improve their communication during emergencies and a fee to fund an update for the state's 911 system. Newsom outlined $105 million in new fire-related spending on top...
PG&E Credit Rating Slashed to Junk Status by S&P
NEW YORK — S&P slashed PG&E's credit rating to junk status as the utility grapples with the political and financial fallout from costly and deadly wildfires in California. The ratings agency cut the company's key rate five notches to "B'' from "BBB-." Shares have been weighed down since November and...
Newsom Hits Trump's White House Hard in Inaugural Speech
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom was sworn in Monday and immediately drew sharp battle lines with President Donald Trump, pledging to enact "progressive, principled" policies as the antidote to the White House's "corruption and incompetence." "People's lives, freedom, security, the water we drink, the air we breathe — they...
Watch the Newsom Inauguration Live Here
To watch the inauguration of Gavin Newsom as California governor in Sacramento, just click on the picture in the tweet below. https://t.co/zw3XuVEPYQ — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 7, 2019
Battle to Curb 'Epidemic' Teen E-Cigarette Use Ramps Up
Although rates for smoking traditional cigarettes are at an all-time low, there is a new player in town and it's taking over the market: electronic cigarettes. First introduced in 2003 in China, electronic cigarettes are becoming so popular with teens that U.S. health officials call the problem an "epidemic." And,...