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Articles Tagged With ‘California’




Plans to divert state prisoners to county jails

Written on 5 Jan, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 13 comments

Newly inaugurated Gov. Jerry Brown will propose shifting low-level offenders from state prisons to county jails as one of many budget cuts to shrink California’s $28 billion deficit. [CaliforniaWatch] But this solution also poses a number of problems. First among... (Continue reading)

Laird appears headed back to Sacramento

Written on 2 Jan, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 13 comments

Former Democratic state Assemblyman John Laird, who lost last summer’s special state Senate election to Republican Sam Blakeslee, is expected to play a pivotal role in the new Jerry Brown administration. [Mercury News] Laird, 60, who also served as mayor... (Continue reading)

State senator tries again to crack down on “double-dipping”

Written on 28 Dec, 2010 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 13 comments

The California State Senate will once again try to crack down on so-called “double-dipping” by public employees after an earlier attempt was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. [San Jose Mercury News] Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) intends to introduce new... (Continue reading)

California: Who will teach our children?

Written on 14 Dec, 2010 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 26 comments

During the last seven years, the number of Californians becoming teachers has dropped 45 percent, even as student enrollments are expected to rise by 230,000 over the next decade and another 100,000 teachers are expected to retire. [California Watch] Teaching,... (Continue reading)

Coming soon to a car near you: Driver cams

Written on 28 Nov, 2010 in Daily Briefs | 12 comments

In an attempt to increase driver safety, California is giving the green light to allowing video cameras to be mounted onto vehicle windshields. [Sacramento Bee] The goal, supporters claim, is to make participants aware of bad habits by recording their behavior... (Continue reading)

Why Lois Capps is worried

Written on 22 Nov, 2010 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 39 comments

California House Democrats, including veteran representative Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara), are likely to face serious challenges to their long-held seats in the upcoming 2012 election. [North County Times] The reason: Changes in California’s election code and political boundaries make the... (Continue reading)

Californians conflicted on budget issues

Written on 21 Nov, 2010 in Daily Briefs | 9 comments

Californians simultaneously object to increasing taxes in order to pare the state’s massive budget deficit and cutting spending on programs that make up 85 percent of the state’s general fund obligations, according to a new Los Angeles Times/USC Poll. [LATimes]... (Continue reading)

Almost 411,000 Californians face loss of unemployment benefits

Written on 15 Nov, 2010 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 11 comments

Approximately 410,695 Californians are facing the potential cutoff of unemployment benefits if Congress fails to act before the end of November. [Orange County Register] In July Congress approved a bill that allowed unemployed workers to collect up to 99 weeks... (Continue reading)

Hispanic students now majority in state’s public schools

Written on 13 Nov, 2010 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 8 comments

Hispanics now make up the majority of public school students in California, crossing the 50 percent mark for the first time. [San Francisco Chronicle] New numbers released Friday by the state Department of Education shows that almost 50.4 percent of... (Continue reading)

Duh! Welfare cards banned at massage parlors, pot clubs

Written on 1 Nov, 2010 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 8 comments

California welfare recipients will no longer be able to use their state-issued debit cards at medical marijuana shops, psychics, massage parlors and other businesses. [Los Angeles Times] The governor’s office sent a letter to county welfare directors on Monday announcing... (Continue reading)