United States wine exports generated a record $1.62 billion in revenue for wineries in 2016. Ninety of the country’s wine exports came from California, according to the Wine Institute, a California wine industry advocacy group. The value of American wine... (Continue reading)
More than 180,000 Northern California residents received evacuation orders Sunday over fears that the emergency spillway at the Oroville Dam will fail and possibly cause massive flooding. [Oroville MR] The Oroville Dam, which is 770 feet high, is the tallest... (Continue reading)
At a time when union membership is decreasing nationwide, participation in organized labor is rising in California. [OC Register] In 2016, there were 2.55 million union members in California, the highest total in the nation, according to a report released... (Continue reading)
California school districts will soon divert billions of dollars from classrooms in order to backfill pensions, education officials say. The skyrocketing pensions costs are expected to eat up much of California’s increased spending on education. [SF Chronicle] The school district... (Continue reading)
California is tabling its plan to allow illegal immigrants to buy health insurance from the exchange created by the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Though congressional Republicans have launched an effort to repeal Obamacare, a California lawmaker is... (Continue reading)
After a billionaire Republican completed an improbable run to the White House, another billionaire Republican is considering a possible bid for governor of Democrat-controlled California. [Politico] Peter Thiel, a libertarian-leaning gay Republican, is a co-founder of PayPal and was an... (Continue reading)
After a federal court judge ruled that the government must pay for depriving a property owner of their water rights, the California State Water Resources Control Board extended the time to finalize its Bay-Delta Plan. The Bay-Delta-Plan includes mandates to... (Continue reading)
California Gov. Jerry Brown and leaders in the state Legislature are vowing to go around the incoming Trump administration and work directly with other nations and states in order to defend and strengthen California’s climate change policies. [New York Times]... (Continue reading)
The New Year is right around the corner and with it comes new laws about hands-free cell phones, minimum wage, drinking alcohol at beauty shops and many other issues. Here are some of the laws that will likely impact California... (Continue reading)
A Santa Monica rabbi arrived at his synagogue early on Sunday, the first morning of Hanukkah, and found the front window smeared with feces and rice. The vandalism was on display in close proximity to the synagogue’s menorah. [LA Times]... (Continue reading)