School has begun for the 40,000-plus students of Sweetwater Union High School District. But the district’s crisis never ends. Sweetwater rarely makes the statewide news, but it’s California’s largest secondary school district. Sweetwater's high schools and middle schools serve oft-forgotten communities near the U.S.-Mexico border—Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City,...
Why California Should Close Failing School Districts
School has begun for the 40,000-plus students of Sweetwater Union High School District. But the district’s crisis never ends. Sweetwater rarely makes the statewide news, but it’s California’s largest secondary school district. Sweetwater's high schools and middle schools serve oft-forgotten communities near the U.S.-Mexico border—Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City,...
California's 113-Month Job Growth Ties Record Set in 1960s
SACRAMENTO — California officials announced Friday that job growth in the world's fifth-largest economy is in its 113th month — tying the expansion of the 1960s as the longest on record. The country's most populous state needs between 8,000 and 9,000 new jobs each month to keep up with its...
Hidden in Plain Sight: California Illegal Pot Market Booming
LOS ANGELES — California's struggling legal cannabis industry is expected to grow this year to $3.1 billion, but it remains outmatched by a thriving illegal market ripe with bargains, a report concluded Thursday. Consumers are spending roughly $3 in the state's underground pot economy for every $1 in the legal...
Lawsuit Challenges California's Assault Weapons Ban
SAN DIEGO — A gun-rights group sued Thursday to block California from enforcing its assault weapons ban, contending it violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The lawsuit was the latest among gun advocacy and lobbying groups to challenge California's firearms laws, which are among the strictest in the...
California Alleges Doctor Killed 4 Patients With Opioids
SACRAMENTO — California's attorney general said Wednesday that he is charging a Northern California doctor with killing four patients by overprescribing opioids and narcotics, crimes he linked to the nationwide opioid epidemic. Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed multiple criminal charges against Dr. Thomas McNeese Keller, 72, of Santa Rosa related...
Quake Damage Estimate Tops $5B at California Navy Base
LOS ANGELES — Earthquakes that struck California last month caused more than $5 billion in damage to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, a sprawling desert facility where some of the military's most advanced weapons are tested, according to an estimate made public Wednesday. A survey of nearly 3,600 buildings...
Walters: 2020 Property Tax Measure Altered
Sponsors of a 2020 ballot measure to increase property taxes on factories, stores, warehouses, office buildings and other commercial real estate withdrew it this week and launched a revised version. It would be, the union-led sponsoring coalition said, an improvement that eases the potential impact on small business. More likely,...
Walters: 2020 Property Tax Measure Altered
Sponsors of a 2020 ballot measure to increase property taxes on factories, stores, warehouses, office buildings and other commercial real estate withdrew it this week and launched a revised version. It would be, the union-led sponsoring coalition said, an improvement that eases the potential impact on small business. More likely,...
Modesto City Council Bans Weapons, Masks at Rallies
Modesto has banned firearms, glass bottles, baseball bats, and other items that can be used as weapons at rallies and protests. The Modesto City Council approved the ordinance Tuesday that also prohibits participants from wearing masks or anything that hides their faces. City spokesman Thomas Reeves says the ordinance initially...