CHINA LAKE — A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet jet crashed Wednesday in the California desert and a search-and-rescue operation is underway. The single-seat jet was assigned to the "Vigilantes" of Strike Fighter Squadron 151 based at Naval Air Station Lemoore. (Read the latest version of this story at this...
Gilroy Festival Killer's Motive Still a Mystery
GILROY — The 19-year-old gunman who opened fire at a Northern California food festival was "kind of a loner" and much of his life was shrouded in mystery, the FBI said Tuesday as investigators searched for a motive. Police believe Santino William Legan fired randomly Sunday, killing three people, after cutting through...
Earthquakes Can Dry Water Supply. Californians Must Prepare
Recent earthquakes have us all thinking about emergency preparedness. Whether that’s updating the earthquake kit, putting supplies in the car trunk, or finally affixing the bookshelves to the wall, there are steps we can take personally to prepare for the worst. Critical to any earthquake kit is bottled water. This...
California Steers Toward a Future of Self-Driving Cars
California is laying the groundwork for the next, slightly scary phase in its push toward zero-emission transportation: self-driving cars packed with computers using finely tuned algorithms, high-definition cameras, radar, and other high-tech gadgetry. What the driverless cars won’t feature: steering wheels, brake pedals, and gas pedals. Autonomous vehicles, mostly electric,...
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...
In Dynamex Fight, Lawmakers Can Be Pro-Worker and Pro-Innovation
California and the Bay Area have thrived creatively, economically and culturally because we attract top talent, encourage risk-taking and give people the flexibility and freedom to pursue their dreams on their own terms. It’s a successful formula that reflects California’s indomitable entrepreneurial spirit and empowers people to do great things....
California Signs Deal With 4 Automakers to Raise Gas Mileage
DETROIT — Four major automakers have reached a deal with California to increase gas mileage and greenhouse gas emissions standards, bypassing the Trump administration's plan to freeze standards at 2021 levels. Ford, BMW, Honda, and Volkswagen are parties to the deal with the California Air Resources Board, which had been...
Lawsuit: California Should Open Presidential Primary to Independents
The way California holds its presidential primary violates the constitutional rights of political independents and misuses taxpayer dollars to “benefit wholly private political parties,” a nonpartisan election group will argue in a lawsuit it says it will file this week against the state. A draft filing from by the Independent Voter...
Walters: California Tax Revenue Is Soaring
It’s the good news that California’s political establishment — Democratic politicians and their allies in public-employee labor unions — prefer not to acknowledge. The official line from the establishment is that California’s schools, local governments, and state programs are being financially starved. The drumbeat of impoverishment is clearly aimed at...
Walters: Trump and California at It Again
President Donald Trump and the Democrats who dominate California politics are locked into a rather bizarre, symbiotic relationship. Almost daily, they fire political and legal bullets at each other across 2,728 miles – by highway – of American soil, each knowing that no matter how strange the missives may appear...