September 9, 2011, 12:05 AM
As Gov. Jerry Brown heralded a last-minute tax deal yesterday, a Senate report warned of the unexpected ballooning costs of corporate tax breaks. Brown and a couple of legislators announced bipartisan agreement in the state Assembly on a plan to tighten corporate tax calculations, generating...
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January 11, 2011, 12:05 AM
It might seem hard to swallow given Gov. Jerry Brown's dour budget pronouncements yesterday, but if the experts are to be believed, there's a case to be made that things here in California could be a whole lot worse. Let's start with the typical tale of woe: California's $25-...
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November 17, 2010, 9:05 PM
A widening gap between ideals and reality is starkly evident in a new survey which shows Californians want the state to spend more on public higher education even as they reject revenue-raising solutions at the ballot box. They also seem to be in a state of denial about the depth of the...
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November 12, 2010, 12:05 AM
Gov.-elect Jerry Brown will face substantial challenges in implementing many parts of his education platform, arguably the most detailed of any California governor in recent memory. The platform [PDF] received little attention during the election campaign. Instead, most discussion of...
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November 12, 2010, 12:05 AM
Jim Enochs of Ceres, Stanislaus County, has the biggest pension in the entire California State Teachers' Retirement System – a hefty $285,460. But he says he’s just as worried as anyone that the soaring cost of public employee pensions is driving the Golden State into a...
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October 12, 2010, 12:05 AM
For one night last week, the entire state budget became tangled in the complex legal and political issues surrounding sobriety checkpoints – and the financial strain they put on California's unlicensed drivers. During final budget negotiations Thursday, state Sen. Gilbert...
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August 17, 2010, 12:05 AM
Without a state budget, child care programs funded through school districts, nonprofit organizations and licensed individuals are facing financial hardships as they try to "float" their budgets until state funds are let loose. Some child care providers have been forced to close, and...
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August 3, 2010, 12:05 AM
Rather than receiving a 15-percent pay cut as intended, hundreds of state managers and other high-level workers brought home more money than usual during some furlough weeks thanks to an obscure federal labor law, a California Watch review of state records has found. During furlough weeks...
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August 2, 2010, 12:05 AM
California and Utah are the only two states actively allowing schools to cut classroom time from their instructional calendars. They join about a dozen other states that allow districts to offer a 175-day school year. More than 30 other states require a minimum of 180 days. Last year,...
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July 28, 2010, 12:05 AM
The fate of $37 million in federal stimulus funds that have been sitting for nearly a year could be delayed even further if the 2010-11 budget talks between the Legislature and the governor turns sour. According to Los Angeles Times, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has threatened to leave office in...
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July 27, 2010, 12:05 AM
Smaller districts throughout the state are being forced to shorten their school year in response to the state's budget crisis. A recent California Watch survey found 16 of the 30 largest districts in the state, with enrollments of 1.4 million students, will be trimming their school year by...
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July 26, 2010, 12:05 AM
Education advocates of all stripes shook their heads in disbelief Friday at the revelation that $71 million in education stimulus dollars sat unused for nearly a year while the state's budget crisis devoured teachers' jobs, eliminated classes, kicked kids off school buses and closed down...
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July 23, 2010, 12:05 AM
During normal times, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department hears from two to three small towns a year wondering how much taxpayer money they’d save by hiring deputies to replace their own police officers. These are not normal times. LASD’s Contract Law Enforcement...
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July 20, 2010, 12:05 AM
From Megan Fox to Owen Wilson, cash-strapped schools are increasingly getting moral and financial support from Hollywood. School districts from Lawndale to Glendale are drumming up extra money by renting their campuses as locations for movies, TV shows, and commercials, according to a report...
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July 15, 2010, 4:58 PM
Survey of the state's 30 largest school districts finds that most are cutting instruction days.
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