SACRAMENTO — A California Assembly committee on Thursday advanced a bill to tighten the state's rules on vaccination exemptions, but there remains disagreement about the measure among Assembly Democrats. Some members of the Assembly Health Committee say the bill will help protect children amid a surge in measles cases in the United...
Legislature Must Act to Protect Environment From Trump’s Assaults
California is facing an unprecedented and reckless assault by the federal government on our water quality, air quality, worker safety, fish and wildlife, and public lands. Existing federal protections in those areas keep California a special place and keep Californians healthy. But those protections are threatened. Our state government is...
Fighting for Clean Water With Climate Change Money Can Be a Problem
Combat climate change, or clean up California’s water? Those alarmed by the Legislature’s decision to dip into a greenhouse gas fund to pay for clean drinking water may need to get used to it: Constitutional restrictions on spending that money are set to expire in 2021. At issue is the...
Fresno Judge Is Latest to Rule New Murder Law Unconstitutional
Fresno County Superior Court Judge Brian Alvarez has ruled that a change made by the Legislature to the state's felony murder law is unconstitutional. His ruling adds to the growing divide about whether SB 1437, which was signed into law last year by Gov. Jerry Brown, violates the state constitution....
PG&E to Pay $1 Billion to Local Governments for Wildfire Damage
SACRAMENTO — A California utility agreed Tuesday to pay $1 billion to 14 local governments to cover damages from a series of deadly wildfires caused by its downed power lines. The settlement is a sliver of the more than $30 billion in potential damages Pacific Gas & Electric is facing...
More Bad News for Almond Growers: India Enacts 70% Tariff
India is on President Donald Trump's trade war hit list and that's bad news for California's almond growers. India has struck back against the United States by imposing tariffs on 28 products. Among them: almonds, apples, lentils, and walnuts. The 70% tariffs went into effect Sunday. They are retaliation for...
In California, a Blue Wave and Progressive Governor: So Why Are so Many Leftist Plans Going Under?
An unprecedented haul of tax dollars generated by a roaring economy. A governor who campaigned on a big-ticket policy agenda of long-time lefty favorites, including universal childcare and state-funded healthcare for all. A Legislature so thoroughly packed with Democrats it gives rise to a new term—”giga-majority.” Californians could be forgiven for expecting...
Cities Pledge to Find Solutions to California’s Homeless Crisis
With homelessness worsening, Californians are rightly frustrated that our state, with its abundance of wealth and resources, has not made better progress in helping people get off the streets and into housing. There is plenty of blame to go around. Major contributing factors include the challenges lower- and middle- income...
Deborah Norville Examines Clarence Ray Allen's Murderous Life
Clarence Ray Allen, the mastermind of the 1980 Fran's Market Murders and the last man put to death by the state of California, is the subject of the season finale of "Executed With Deborah Norville." The Allen episode will air at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday on the REELZ...
WinCo Recalls Frozen Raspberries Sold in California
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Frozen red raspberries from a Washington state farm sold by WinCo Foods are being recalled across the western U.S., including California. WinCo Foods says it sold frozen red raspberries manufactured by Rader Farms of Bellingham, Washington, that may be contaminated with norovirus. The 12-ounce packages with a...