AUG. 31, 2010 By KATY GRIMES A small Contra Costa city appears to have an unusual amount of pull in the Capitol. A bill working through the Legislature would designate property tax revenues from a proposed power plant in the small city of Oakley, to specifically benefit the city's redevelopmen...
August, 2010Redevelopment giveaway for Oakley?Tuesday, August 31st, 2010Do high taxes cost state jobs?Monday, August 30th, 2010 AUGUST 30, 2010 By JOHN SEILER It's become a commonplace among many Republicans, conservatives and libertarians that California's high-tax climate kills jobs. The jobs are either destroyed, driven to other states, or not created here in the first place. A different view comes from some work... State Paying for Bullet Train StationFriday, August 27th, 2010AUG. 27, 2010 By KATY GRIMES A bill designed to formally authorize the proposed bullet train system expenditures is only now working through the legislature even though the project has been rolling ahead at full throttle. Though a glance at the California High-Speed Rail Authority website app... How Severe is U.S. pension debt?Thursday, August 26th, 2010AUGUST 27, 2010 By STEVEN GREENHUT This piece was originally published on the Nieman Watchdog site. As the economy boomed, few people worried much about the debt that local and state governments were amassing to pay for increasingly generous pension and health-care benefits for public emplo... Is Steinberg Calling Oropeza, Wiggins Back?Thursday, August 26th, 2010AUG. 26, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO With the end of the California legislative session looming (it was supposed to be this Friday, but has been pushed back to Tuesday, Aug. 30), all sorts of questions are flying around the state Capitol. The biggest of which is the most obvious: When is the bud... Is Holocaust Rail Bill Protectionism?Thursday, August 26th, 2010AUGUST 26, 2010 By KATY GRIMES Legislators want to require companies competing for contracts to build California’s new high-speed rail system, to disclose involvement in deportations to concentration camps during World War II, as well as disclose any restitution made to survivors. What st... Union Anti-Bankruptcy Bill Rises AgainWednesday, August 25th, 2010AUGUST 24, 2010 By KATY GRIMES Instead of allowing cities or municipalities to make the difficult decision whether to file for bankruptcy, a bill is being heard again in the Senate that would provide that a local public entity may only file under federal bankruptcy law with the approval of the... Bill Gives Students Extra Time to VoteTuesday, August 24th, 2010AUGUST 24, 2010 By KATY GRIMES College kids are stressed out and have so little time because of exams and college life, they should be allowed an extra five days to vote on campus, according to legislators in the Senate and Assembly. A Senate bill authored by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leand... More Government Health Care?Monday, August 23rd, 2010AUG. 23, 2010 By KATY GRIMES “Consumer friendly, seamless enrollment, affordable health coverage is on the way in California,” says Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara. What's more, “an independent public entity not affiliated with an agency or department” will bring it about. Last... Return-To-Work Rights Coming Soon?Friday, August 20th, 2010AUG. 20, 2010 By KATY GRIMES Should permanent employees of school districts and community colleges who are elected to the Legislature be entitled to a leave of absence while serving their term of office and get to return to their old job after leaving politics? Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-L... |