DENVER — John Hickenlooper will drop out of the Democratic presidential primary on Thursday, according to a Democrat close to him. The former two-term Colorado governor, who ran as a moderate warning of the perils of extreme partisanship, struggled with fundraising and low polling numbers. His planned departure from the...
Vaccines, Guns, Housing Bills Await California Legislature
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers return to work Monday with one month left to pass bills before adjourning for the year. The Legislature was busy before the July recess, passing a $214.8 billion operating budget and setting up funds to pay future wildfire victims and clean up drinking water. But lawmakers still have lots to do...
Vaccines, Guns, Housing Bills Await California Legislature
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers return to work Monday with one month left to pass bills before adjourning for the year. The Legislature was busy before the July recess, passing a $214.8 billion operating budget and setting up funds to pay future wildfire victims and clean up drinking water. But lawmakers still have lots to do...
4 Sue to Block California Tax Return Law Aimed at Trump
SACRAMENTO — Four California voters have sued to block a new state law aimed at forcing Republican President Donald Trump to release his income tax returns. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law last week that requires presidential candidates to file five years of their income tax returns with the California secretary...
On Trump’s Tax Returns and More, Newsom’s Agenda Isn’t Jerry Brown’s
As governor, Jerry Brown vetoed a 2017 measure to keep presidential candidates off the California primary ballot unless they release their tax returns. With a stern veto message, he said the Trump-trolling bill would create a political “slippery slope.” “Today we require tax returns, but what would be next? Five...
Walters: New Bill Reignites California's 'Reading Wars'
For decades – close to a century, in fact – America’s educators and politicians have argued furiously over how best to teach children to read, pitting advocates of “phonics” against those of “whole language,” a conflict dubbed "reading wars." Phonics stresses fundamental instruction in the letters and letter combinations that...
Walters: A Cross-Continental Game of Political Chicken
There are dozens of cross-continental disputes between the Trump administration in Washington and California’s Democrat-dominated state government, most manifesting themselves in lawsuits. However, few if any surpass in importance their conflict over how much greenhouse gases cars will be allowed to emit in the future. The federal government saved General...
House Ready to Pass Emergency Funding Bill for Migrants
WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders in the House proposed somewhat tighter requirements for the care of unaccompanied refugee children as they sought to pass a $4.5 billion emergency funding bill to address the humanitarian crisis involving the thousands of migrant families detained after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Lawmakers and aides said...
Buttigieg Criticized at Emotional Town Hall After Shooting
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg faced criticism Sunday from angry residents of South Bend, Indiana, at an emotional town hall meeting a week after a white police officer fatally shot a black man in the city where he is mayor. Buttigieg said he would call for...
911 Upgrade Could Cost Californians Despite Budget Surplus
SACRAMENTO — A $214.8 billion budget approved Thursday by California lawmakers would upgrade the state's aging 911 system following the most devastating wildfire season in state history and help middle class families pay their monthly health insurance premiums. To fund those changes, however, lawmakers want to impose a new monthly...