August 24, 2011, 12:05 AM
"Lone resident of bygone shrimper village faces eviction" tells the story of 85-year-old Frank Quan, who could be forced to move from his home in China Camp State Park, one of 70 slated for closure amid a state budget cut. Below are some frequently asked questions regarding the proposed closures....
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August 24, 2011, 12:05 AM
Frank Quan is 85 years old, and he has lived nearly his entire life in one place – a tiny wooden shack perched on the shore of San Pablo Bay. But by next summer, Quan could be forced to move: His house is in a state park slated for closure. In an unusual arrangement with...
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August 4, 2011, 12:05 AM
The California Teachers Association and California State Teachers’ Retirement System are opposing a bill that would limit pension “spiking,” the practice of boosting salaries right before retirement to increase pension payouts. SB 27, authored by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo...
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August 2, 2011, 12:05 AM
As Congress hammers out a debt deal that likely will mean huge cuts to states, some California agencies still are sitting on millions of dollars in unspent federal stimulus money from 2009. A clearly frustrated Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Van Nuys, chairman of the Senate Energy, Utilities and...
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July 27, 2011, 12:05 AM
Former State Superintendent for Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said yesterday that this year's budget, coupled with strong job growth, has convinced him that schools won't be forced into crippling service cuts. Speaking to about 60 area school officials at the Sacramento County...
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July 19, 2011, 12:05 AM
Buried on page 620 of the state budget bill are a few small cuts that could change the way we vote. To save $33 million, the bill [PDF] suspended several state mandates requiring counties to provide voting services many Californians take for granted. The state no longer requires counties to...
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July 11, 2011, 12:05 AM
The California Community Colleges Board of Governors today will consider a policy change that would free up more spaces for new students by limiting the number of times students can repeat certain courses on the state’s dime. Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott’s ...
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July 6, 2011, 12:05 AM
The budget Gov. Jerry Brown signed last week is based on optimistic revenue projections and contained a last-minute education bill [PDF] that grants protections for teachers. But if the anticipated revenue doesn't come in, school districts face up to $1.75 billion in cuts at the end...
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July 6, 2011, 12:05 AM
The California State Auditor is urging Medi-Cal to take a more aggressive stance in resolving disputes over hundreds of millions in drug rebates that pharmaceutical firms may owe the state. The matter has been raised in numerous audits throughout the last 10 years, but takes on additional...
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June 30, 2011, 4:43 PM
Gov. Jerry Brown signed an $85.9 billion budget today, bringing to a close a month that featured a veto of the first simple-majority vote budget to come out of the Legislature in decades and a subsequent decision to cut off lawmakers' pay. The budget, which establishes a roughly $500...
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June 28, 2011, 10:22 PM
For the second time in two weeks, Democratic legislators relied on a simple majority vote to pass a budget package that closes the state's current $9.6 billion deficit, a move finalized late tonight less than three days before the end of the fiscal year. Unlike the June 15 budget Gov....
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June 27, 2011, 12:05 AM
Why are college costs rising so dramatically? Not because of football, fancy dorms or gourmet dining halls, says a new report from the American Enterprise Institute. The report says universities should cut costs by targeting research and unnecessary programs while increasing faculty...
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June 27, 2011, 12:05 AM
California is shrinking retirement benefits for the managers who oversee corrections officers at state prisons, saving $9.6 million next fiscal year. The rank-and-file officers guarding inmates negotiated away the extra pension contribution they'd received for more than a decade. In...
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June 24, 2011, 12:05 AM
There was plenty of talk among lawmakers in the Capitol yesterday, but with less than a week before the start of the next fiscal year, there is still no budget deal in sight. After an unprecedented week of action – including the first majority-vote budget to come out of the legislature...
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June 21, 2011, 12:35 PM
California Controller John Chiang announced today that he will withhold legislators' salary and per diem pay until a "balanced" budget is presented to Gov. Jerry Brown, following through with his promise to voters earlier this month that he would enforce Proposition 25. Known as...
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