California’s secretary of state and a Democratic lawmaker are pushing for the state’s presidential primary to move up three months in 2020 and enter the slot in the national election cycle behind Iowa and New Hampshire. [LA Times] Senate Bill... (Continue reading)
Though California is becoming increasingly tolerant of marijuana usage and cultivation, there has been a recent surge of large-scale illegal grows in the state, particularly in national forests. Officials say the grows are killing wildlife, polluting the environment, using mass... (Continue reading)
A bill introduced in the California Legislature calls for applying sanctuary city rules to federal marijuana enforcement efforts. [Huffington Post] Assembly Bill 1578 would bar state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal crackdowns on legal marijuana growers and... (Continue reading)
Californians are overwhelmingly opposed to sanctuary city immigration policies, according to a poll commissioned by UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies (IGS). As a caveat, the director of IGS notes 99.5 percent of participants in the poll were citizens, and... (Continue reading)
A study published in a United States geophysics journal warns 31 to 67 percent of Southern California beaches could disappear by the year 2100 as a result of climate change. The study uses a newly-developed computer model called Coastal Storm... (Continue reading)
Though not typically associated with California communities, childhood lead poisoning is prevalent in several areas of the state, particularly Fresno County. At least 29 California communities have childhood lead poisoning rate that are at least as high as in Flint,... (Continue reading)
Crime in San Luis Obispo increased by 11 percent in 2016, according to the city’s police department. Violent crime, however, decreased by 7 percent. On Friday, the San Luis Obispo Police Department issued a news release detailing 2016 crime statistics... (Continue reading)
In response to a statewide teacher shortage, a pair of California senators have introduced a bill that would exempt educators from paying state income tax after five years on the job. [Sac Bee] California is struggling to recruit and retain... (Continue reading)
Democratic California lawmakers unveiled a plan Monday that would create the nation’s most generous college aid system, covering living expenses as well as tuition. [LA Times] The new program would cost an estimated $1.6 billion a year when fully implemented.... (Continue reading)
With a declining birth rate and rising life expectancy, California’s population will be getting older over the next several decades. By the year 2060, more than one quarter of the state population is projected to be 65 years or older.... (Continue reading)