After an expensive campaign, Los Angeles schools executive Marshall Tuck is narrowly leading in his race to become the state's top public education official. With 96% of precincts counted, Tuck leads Assemblyman Tony Thurmond 51% - 49% in the superintendent of public instruction race. The race has been seen as...
Watch Candidates Spar Over Direction of Fresno Unified
Candidates debated the future path of the Fresno Unified School District in a series of televised forums produced by GV Wire in collaboration with the Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC). On Nov. 6, voters will choose trustees to represent four regions in the 74,000 student school district. The candidates outlined their priorities...
Mayor Lee Brand's 2018 State of the City Address
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand gave his 2018 State of the City address on June 20 at the Fresno Convention Center. The luncheon event is organized annually by the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. Brand talked about a variety of issues including water, homelessness, public safety, fiscal challenges and economic development. You...
The Best Story You'll Ever Read on California Taxes
Politicians, special interest groups and taxpayer advocates make all kinds of claims about California taxes. As voters gear up for the June 5 primary, they deserve to know the facts about California's tax burden — and where those public dollars are spent. Judy Lin of CALmatters digs out the facts...
Who Runs California? A Baker's Dozen of Movers, Shakers & Blockers
One vote can make all the difference, we are told. But in California there are people and forces that wield a thousand — if not a billion — times the power of the voter. That influence flows from talent, persistence and, most of all, money. In the last election cycle,...
Central Unified Secrets Revealed In Superintendent Firing
The Central Unified School District board, in closed session, voted against offering a one-year contract extension to its superintendent in January. Six weeks later, the trustees fired Mark Sutton. That is just one revelation found in nearly 1,000 pages of documents the district provided in response to a California Public...
Newsom’s Support Drops in PPIC Poll. Should He Be Worried?
Over the next few weeks, we will learn a lot about the power of political televisions ads. Thus far, the race to pick Gov. Jerry Brown's successor is a snoozer. Going forward, all of the serious candidates must focus their resources on stirring voter passion. So expect to see a...
These 4 Charts Show How Trump Tariffs Hurt All. Not Just China.
On March 22, the Trump administration lobbed its second volley in a planned escalation of punitive trade measures against America’s trading partners. The latest salvo targets China, the largest U.S. trading partner, and covers a much wider range of products than the first set of tariffs, which focused on steel...
Battle Isn't Over for Homeschoolers. New Regulations Ahead?
Days after homeschool supporters rallied at the Capitol against a bill that required home fire inspections, new legislation is creating a path for more regulations. Assemblywoman Susan Eggman (D-Stockton) amended AB 2926 on Tuesday (March 20). Her amendments call for the creation of a committee that would advise the state...
Grownups Have Messed Up School Budgets. Turn It Over to the Kids.
California education finances are an unholy mess — with incomprehensible budget formulas, equity funding that doesn’t produce equity, and cuts to schools even during the current economic expansion. And our state’s so-called education leaders refuse to fix the system. We should let the kids fix it instead. This isn’t a...