May 19, 2011, 12:05 AM
More than one in four retiring state workers last year cashed out more than the state-allowed limit of unused vacation, costing the state millions of dollars and showing that the pressure of banked vacation on the state’s long-term liabilities isn’t likely to ease any time soon. ...
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May 19, 2011, 12:05 AM
A proposal to eliminate the California Postsecondary Education Commission would significantly impact the state's ability to protect its investment in public higher education, according to a state analyst. The policy and planning agency for the state's public colleges and universities...
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May 18, 2011, 12:05 AM
Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled budget proposals Monday that were relatively mild compared to cuts suggested and enacted in recent years, buoyed by an unexpected windfall from the state’s wealthiest taxpayers. But even as some advocates for the poor and disabled can breathe a sigh of...
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May 17, 2011, 12:05 AM
Even as school districts around California are shrinking their school year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington is trying to push states to move in the opposite direction. Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, and other Democratic and GOP lawmakers, have introduced the Time for...
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May 17, 2011, 12:05 AM
Gov. Jerry Brown says he can save taxpayers millions by downsizing government. Just don’t expect to get the state budget balanced on the back of the California Commercial Sea Urchin Advisory Committee, one of 43 boards, commissions and other entities targeted for elimination in the...
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May 13, 2011, 12:05 AM
Thousands of California teachers will receive final layoff notices by a state-imposed deadline of May 15, even though school districts are still in the dark about their financial status in the coming school year. The May 15 deadline follows a March 15 deadline, when school districts were...
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May 6, 2011, 12:05 AM
Among the first organizations in California to feel the pain of Washington's drive to slash federal spending is the Berkeley-based National Writing Project, which has issued layoff notices to 60 percent of its employees. As California Watch noted in March, the project was dealt ...
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May 4, 2011, 12:05 AM
A new California law that cuts off Cal Grants to colleges whose students default on federal loans at high rates will produce less than half of the previously expected budget savings – thanks to a data mix-up by the U.S. Department of Education. An analysis of the new, corrected data...
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May 3, 2011, 12:05 AM
In some very small schools in remote parts of California, the state is paying about $200,000 per student to educate them. That's according to a report released yesterday by the Legislative Analyst's Office. The main thrust of the report is to throw cold water on the idea...
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April 28, 2011, 12:05 AM
Fear of teacher layoffs and other cuts to public schools is leading a majority of Californians to support some combination of spending cuts and taxes in order to close the state's $26 billion budget gap, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released today. A majority...
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April 26, 2011, 12:05 AM
The likelihood is growing that many school districts will have to cut the number of days students spend in class in response to the state's deepening budget crisis, according to state education leaders and experts. But despite fears that the coming school year could shrink...
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April 21, 2011, 12:05 AM
UPDATE: Ron Yank, director of the state Department of Personnel Administration, has responded to our post (and the LA Times'), effectively arguing that vacation caps for corrections officers are practically impossible to enforce. See his full letter after the jump. Last year we told you...
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April 19, 2011, 12:06 AM
Yesterday was the deadline to file 2010 tax returns, but California is still waiting on billions of dollars in back taxes, with some tax liens dating as far back as 1996. California does not receive an estimated $6.5 billion in taxes that it's owed annually. The state Franchise...
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April 15, 2011, 12:06 AM
The First 5 commission in Los Angeles announced yesterday that it will sue the state over legislation that transfers $1 billion from early childhood development programs to state health services. First 5 LA joins a growing list of commissions challenging the legislation, signed by Gov. Jerry...
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April 15, 2011, 12:05 AM
Full professors at Stanford University make on average $39,000 more than their counterparts at UC Berkeley, reinforcing fears about UC's ability to recruit and retain top professors in the face of deep reductions in state support. A full professor at UC Berkeley makes an average of...
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