SACRAMENTO — As the political battle to overturn California's gas tax increase intensified, the state transportation agency coordinated frequently with the public affairs firm working to block the repeal on behalf of unions, construction companies and local government groups, emails obtained by The Associated Press show. The California State Transportation...
Dan Walters: Four Measures Would Do Little About Housing Crisis
Few would doubt that California’s single most important economic/political issue is a growing housing shortage which distresses millions of Californians and is the largest single factor in the state’s highest-in-the-nation poverty rate. The state says we need to be building 180,000 new housing units each year to keep up with...
Here's Why Rent Control Measure Would Worsen Housing Crisis
California’s housing crisis has gotten the attention of the media, but it is often discussed as an issue that primarily impacts coastal communities. Despite the focus on the Bay Area and Los Angeles, parts of the Central Valley are feeling the housing pinch as well. As California’s population continues to...
Commentary: Two Arcane Ballot Measures Show Need for Reform
There’s a symbiotic relationship between two of the 11 statewide ballot measures facing voters next month, Propositions 8 and 11. Both would have voters decide very narrow union-management conflicts in two relatively small medical service sectors — with sponsors of both claiming that passage would reduce health care costs. And...
The Battle to Decide California’s Education Future
By many measures, the majority of California’s 6.2 million schoolchildren are failing to make the grade. Earlier this year California’s K-12 education was ranked 44th by U.S. News & World Report and 36th on Education Week’s “Quality Counts” report. These numbers are sobering for a state that once boasted of having the...
Resistance Finally Fading to Career Technical Education
Thirty years ago, vocational ed programs were struggling to attract students and political support. They were stigmatized as "throwaway" classes. Many educators and parents said that college preparatory classes would better prepare students for college and careers. That's not the case today. The label "vocational ed" has been replaced by...
Gov. Brown Just Says No to Supervised Drug Injection Plan
SAN FRANCISCO — California Gov. Jerry Brown rejected legislation on Sunday that would have allowed San Francisco to open what could be the nation's first supervised drug injection site under a pilot program. Advocates of "safe injection" sites say the locations would save lives by preventing drug overdoses and providing...
Mother Says It's a Miracle Her Son Survived Shark Attack
SAN DIEGO — The mother of a 13-year-old boy who suffered a large shark bite while lobster fishing in California said Monday that it's a miracle her son survived. Keane Webre-Hayes ate a cup of noodles and a doughnut and is talking and alert, said his mother, Ellie Hayes. He...
California Governor Vetoes 2 Bills to Help Immigrants
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed two bills Thursday seeking to expand the rights of immigrants living in the country illegally and protect them from deportation. One bill would have allowed anyone to serve on state boards and commissions regardless of their immigration status, while the other sought to...
Texas Police Questioned Man Days Before California Killings
LOS ANGELES — A man with a history of violence who'd been deported from the United States six times wasn't flagged for arrest by Houston police and fled to California, where he's now charged in a series of California killings, authorities said. Ramon Escobar, 47, came to the attention of...