22Mar

March 22, 2017

Political Stories Top stories   Dan Walters: Brown has been unwilling to update political reform law — Since returning to the governorship after a 28-year hiatus, however, Brown has been somewhat disdainful of shining more light on politicians’ financial dealings, often vetoing reform bills. One victim of Brown’s much-changed attitude has been an effort to tighten […]

21Mar

March 21, 2017

Political Stories – Top stories Tax rebates for Californians? It’s a distant possibility amid budget dispute — California taxpayers could be in line for their first budget rebate checks in three decades under a vestige of the state’s nationally watched “taxpayer revolt” in the late 1970s. But a lot stands in the way of that happening – […]

20Mar

March 20, 2017

Political Stories Top stories   Dan Walters: Jerry Brown would undermine a spending limit he sponsored — Brown’s proposed 2017-18 budget would put spending just a few billion dollars under the Gann Limit, Taylor’s office has calculated. Furthermore, Taylor believes that state revenues are likely to be several billion more than Brown has projected, which could […]

19Mar

March 19, 2017

Political Stories – Top stories Will California farms find enough workers amid Trump’s immigration crackdown? — As the spring picking season approaches, farmworkers are convinced the fields will be raided by federal agents intent on rounding up undocumented immigrants and shipping them back to Mexico or Central America. With many fearing the authorities will also set up […]

18Mar

March 18, 2017

Political Stories – Top stories Trump’s proposed budget cuts would hit Valley hard in housing, health, broadcasting areas — President Donald Trump’s federal budget proposes big funding cuts that Valley officials say could have devastating effects on federally funded services at the local level, including public housing, health and broadcasting systems. But local officials say the president’s proposal is just the first step in […]

17Mar

March 17, 2017

Political Stories – Top stories From arts to prisons, Trump’s budget means cuts in California – For every California winner, there’s a loser in the 50-plus budget blueprint, making parts of the broad proposal unpalatable for Golden State lawmakers, including some Republicans. Its long-term congressional political prospects are uncertain, at best. McClatchy Newspapers article; Sacramento Bee editorial Dan Walters: California […]

16Mar

March 16, 2017

Political Stories – Top stories U.S. budget cuts would be widely felt across California — President Donald Trump’s budget would deliver a painful financial blow to California, with the potential to push a state that has struggled for years to keep its books balanced back into the kind of red ink that consumed it after the housing […]

15Mar

March 15, 2017

Political Stories – Top stories Fuller steps down as state Senate Republican leader — State Republican legislators finally found someone to take Jean Fuller’s job. Following a two-month search for a state senator willing to lead the Republican caucus of a legislative body dominated by Democrats, Fuller’s colleagues elected Patricia “Pat” Bates of Laguna Niguel on Tuesday. Bakersfield […]

14Mar

March, 14 2017

Political Stories – Top stories 24 million would lose health coverage under GOP repeal bill in first decade, CBO says — An estimated 14 million people would lose health insurance in the first year of the Republican proposal to overturn Obamacare, according to a new estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The number would rise over […]