SACRAMENTO — California's beleaguered restaurant and hospitality industry rebounded in October, adding 66,000 jobs as the unemployment rate in the nation's most populous state dipped below 10% for the first time since the pandemic upended its economy in March. But the gains are likely to be short-lived as a surge...
Closing 8 California Prisons Could Save More Than $1 Billion, Report Says
SACRAMENTO — California, which has a declining prison population, could save more than $1 billion by closing eight lockups, the Legislative Analyst's Office said in a report Thursday. The report said the number of inmates, parolees and juvenile wards is a “major cost driver in spending on the state’s correctional...
2 Ex-California Prison Guards Indicted in Inmate’s Death
SACRAMENTO — Two former California state prison guards were charged Thursday with trying to cover up an attack by one officer that caused the death of an inmate. A federal grand jury in Sacramento indicted Arturo Pacheco, 38, for deprivation of rights under color of law and falsifying records in...
Police Groups Back Requiring College Classes for Recruits
SACRAMENTO — California organizations encompassing both police chiefs and rank-and-file officers proposed legislation Thursday in the wake of recent civil unrest that they said would raise standards for police recruiting and training while increasing diversity. Prospective officers should have to complete college classes that the groups said would prepare them...
Despite Pandemic, California Analyst Forecasts $26 Billion Windfall Next Year
SACRAMENTO — California overestimated what it thought would be a jaw-dropping $54 billion budget deficit, creating a one-time $26 billion windfall for lawmakers to spend next year, the state's nonpartisan legislative analyst said Wednesday. The state's spending plan was upended this year by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the closure...
Walters: French Laundry Flap Spotlights Capitol Insiders
Twenty-two years ago, on the day after Gray Davis was elected governor of California, I hopped aboard a Southwest Airlines plane bound for Los Angeles. I was heading south for Davis’ morning-after press conference and I was not alone. Several journalists and other Capitol figures were on the plane, including...
Wildfire Destroys, Damages 20 Homes in Reno Neighborhood
RENO, Nev. — A fast-moving wildfire driven by strong winds destroyed or damaged about 20 homes in a Reno neighborhood and forced the evacuation of hundreds more on the edge of the Sierra Nevada foothills, authorities said Wednesday. It was one of several blazes burning near the Nevada-California border. Preliminary...
California Could Lose Congressional Seat in LA Area
[aggregation-styles] San Francisco Chronicle Subscription While California is likely to lose at least one of its 53 congressional seats when the 2020 census is complete, the Bay Area probably won’t take the hit. “The Bay Area and Riverside County are the two fastest-growing areas in the state,” said Doug Johnson,...
4 Massive Oregon Dams to be Demolished for Fish Under Revived Agreement
PORTLAND, Ore. — An agreement announced Tuesday paves the way for the largest dam demolition in U.S. history, a project that promises to reopen hundreds of miles of waterway along the Oregon-California border to salmon that are critical to tribes but have dwindled to almost nothing in recent years. If...
LA District Attorney Accuses 2 in Voter Registration Fraud Case
LOS ANGELES — A man seeking to run for mayor of a Southern California suburb and a co-defendant allegedly submitted 8,000 fraudulent voter registration applications on behalf of homeless people, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday. Overt acts listed in the criminal complaint did not indicate any...