Investigation-May, 2011Court Decision Could Spur Prison ReformMonday, May 23rd, 2011 MAY 23, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Today's U.S. Supreme Court decision mandating California state prison reductions must lead to long-needed reforms. The decision upheld a lower court ruling that from 38,000 to 46,000 must be released due to overcrowding that violated the Eight Amendment's ban on "cr... Berkeley’s Reactionary RecyclersWednesday, May 18th, 2011 MAY 18, 2011 By K. LLOYD BILLINGSLEY When cities outsource services to save money, they often take heat from workers. It’s different in Berkeley, where a revolutionary plan to “insource” services to the city drew the wrath of recycling reactionaries. Berkeley’s progressive pretensio... May Revise Blows $6.6 B Tax WindfallMonday, May 16th, 2011 MAY 16, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Call it Government Math. In his January budget proposal for fiscal 2011-12, Gov. Jerry Brown insisted on $12 billion in yearly tax increases to help close a $25 billion budget deficit. Today, in his May Revise to the budget, he announced that the state will enjoy $6... California Water Cold War Heats UpTuesday, May 10th, 2011 MAY 10, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Long gone are the hot wars of the 1920’s when Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's William Mulholland took over Mono County and Owens Lake with his own shotgun militia. And local farmers resisted the taking of their water rights and land by dynamiting... |