21Sep

September 21, 2016

Political Stories Top stories Lawmakers collect thousands on top of salary while absent — California lawmakers are compensated for their cost of living and eating away from their homes when they travel to Sacramento to write and pass bills, in addition to their six-figure salaries and benefits. Unlike many states, however, California has loosely worded rules […]

20Sep

September 20, 2016

Political Stories Top stories That encyclopedia in your mailbox is a voter guide — If you’re planning on casting an informed vote in November, you’ve got some homework to do. Official state voter guides have started landing in mailboxes, though given the weight of a tome that spans 17 different ballot initiatives “voter guide” seems like a bit […]

19Sep

September 19, 2016

Political Stories Top stories Dan Walters: Sneakiness abounded on last night of California Legislature’s session — The last night of the Legislature’s biennial session on Aug. 31 was, as usual, a hectic free-for-all. Walters column in Sacramento Bee How a California pension deal went wrong and cost taxpayers million — This year, state employee pensions will cost taxpayers […]

18Sep

September 18, 2016

Political Stories Top stories California bag ban: Voters to weigh industry’s fate at the ballot box — They lost in some of California’s biggest cities. They lost in the state Legislature. Now out-of-state plastic bag manufacturers are taking a final shot at keeping their product in the nation’s largest market, waging a high-stakes battle with environmentalists […]

17Sep

September 17, 2016

Political Stories Top stories  California voters oppose ending state’s death penalty — More than half of voters oppose a November ballot measure that would abolish the California death penalty, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted by SurveyMonkey. LA Times article Two-thirds of Californians favor Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to revamp prison parole rules — Gov. Jerry Brown’s […]

16Sep

September 16, 2016

Political Stories Top stories   Anger, passion drive the debate over more overtime pay for California farmworkers – Perhaps no place better captures the frustrations, tensions and emotions that remain over the issue than the San Joaquin Valley Cardenas calls home. The fight for farmworkers’ rights has roots in this 10,000-square-mile stretch of flatlands, orchards and vineyards, […]

15Sep

September 15, 2016

Political Stories Top stories  Gov. Brown signs package of climate-change bills in Fresno — A group of state lawmakers, guests and reporters gathered atop the spiral parking garage in downtown Fresno Wednesday morning to watch Gov. Jerry Brown sign a package of bills intended to help disadvantaged communities fight climate change and help Sierra communities […]

14Sep

September 14, 2016

Political Stories Top stories  As California moves to soften criminal penalties, sexual crimes are the exception — If you’ve sold your body, you deserve leniency. If your felony was low-level enough, you deserve to vote. If you sexually assaulted someone, you deserve to go to prison. Such was the message from Sacramento’s Capitol this year, as […]

13Sep

September 13, 2016

Political Stories Top stories In historic move, California expands overtime to farmworkers — Farmworkers in the nation’s largest agricultural state will be entitled to the same overtime pay as most other hourly workers under a law that Gov. Jerry Brown signed Monday. Central San Joaquin Valley growers and farm groups, however, said the law will cost […]

12Sep

September 12, 2016

Political Stories Top stories More than 235,000 ballots didn’t count in June U.S. Senate race, and some think ballot design didn’t help – A bumper crop of U.S. Senate candidates and the resulting challenge in designing ballots may be why more than 235,000 California voters had their selections for the race rejected in June. LA Times article (scroll to item) Californians worry about […]