A federal judge today granted a temporary injunction to block California’s recently signed legislation that requires presidential and gubernatorial candidates to release their tax returns to appear on the state’s primary ballot. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, U.S. District Judge Morrison England Jr. said a final ruling in the case would […]
California
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Charter Schools, Unions Call a Truce in an Epic Battle as Newsom Brokers a Deal
Gov. Gavin Newsom brokered an agreement Wednesday on a high-profile charter-school regulation proposal at the center of this year’s contentious battle between teachers unions and charter advocates, removing a key hurdle for its passage this session. The compromise on Assembly Bill 1505 comes after months of lobbying by the state’s two most influential education interest […]
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UPDATE: Republican Party, Trump Take on Golden State Over Tax Returns
UPDATE: Following in the footsteps of Judicial Watch, President Donald Trump and his campaign and the Republican state and national parties filed two separate lawsuits today over the tax return law recently signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Each case alleges California’s move to make releasing a candidate’s tax returns a prerequisite to being placed […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The Cannabis Cup Runneth Over
Seriously, though, California has way too much weed. I mean, even if you ignore all the black market stuff out there, the Golden State just has too much weed, and that’s even before that 147-acre monstrocity in Santa Barbara County comes online. Vessel Logistics, a San Francisco-based processor, manufacturer and wholesaler, recently released a 16-page […]
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How Powerful Lawmakers Kill California Bills Without a Peep
Gun control, school spending, curbs on greenhouse gases: With Democrats holding more power at the Capitol than they’ve had since the 19th century, California’s legislative pipeline is full this year with big, blue-state ideas. In theory, no Democrat’s bill should be left behind. But that’s not what’s happening, and the reason is roiling both sides […]
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California, 15 Other States Sue Trump Over ‘Manufactured’ Crisis
Sixteen states, including California, are suing the Trump administration over the border national emergency declaration, filing a complaint Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The states are alleging that Trump’s move is “unlawful and unconstitutional” and based on a “manufactured ‘crisis’” despite evidence that unlawful border entries are at a […]
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Find Yourself in the California Legislature — Or Not
There are (still) more white men named James or Jim in the California Legislature than African-American and Asian-American women combined. Throw in some white Robs, Bobs and Roberts, and you have a pretty sizable “JimBob” caucus with a membership larger than the number of Republican women, openly gay or lesbian legislators, or women from any […]
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Surf’s Up, California: With 2019, Come New Laws
Hundreds of new laws took effect in California today, regulating everything from drinking straws and bicycle helmets to worker pay and kids’ meals. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the important, noteworthy and quirky things that took effect New Year’s Day. Minimum Wage Hike: As the state continues its march toward a $15 minimum […]
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Reports Find Cannabis Bank Infeasible; Five Things You Need to Know About Public Banking in California
Once an idea batted around mostly in Occupy Wall Street circles, public banking is attracting a surge of interest among policymakers in several states, including California. “We must break Wall Street’s chokehold on state finance and develop our own state bank,” Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom said on the campaign trail. If California had a bank controlled […]
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New Survey Reveals Who Owns Guns in California — and How Many Got Them Without Background Checks
In a state that has some of the nation’s toughest gun control laws, one in four California gun owners own firearms that they somehow managed to buy without undergoing background checks, researchers at UC Davis’ Violence Prevention Research Program reported at a recent meeting. An estimated 4.2 million California adults own guns, 14 percent of […]
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John Cox and Gavin Newsom Debate, Disagree on … Pretty Much Everything
The two men competing to be the next governor of California met for their first (and, alas, probably only) one-on-one stand-off today. If you didn’t see it, that’s because the showdown—which was structured more as a spirited conversation than your standard dueling podiums-style debate—was on the radio, hosted by political reporter Scott Shafer, out of […]
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State-Splitting Initiative Qualifies for November Ballot
An initiative to split California into three states has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, according to multiple news reports. Known as the “Cal 3 Initiative,” the measure is being bankrolled by Bay Area venture capitalist Tim Draper and would create three states: “California,” which would stretch along the coast from Los […]