April 12, 2011, 4:05 PM
First 5 commissions in four counties have filed legal challenges to legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown that shifts $1 billion from early childhood development programs to state health services – and more commissions are considering follow suit. Although Brown originally sought...
+ read more
April 7, 2011, 12:05 AM
An unknown out-of-state foundation has become a substantial backer of an ambitious nonprofit group that is positioning itself at the center of the state's debate over public pensions. Democratic consultant Marcia Fritz, who runs the nonprofit Californians for Fiscal Responsibility, first...
+ read more
April 6, 2011, 12:05 AM
Fresno County’s jail has whole floors of empty cells. When AB 109 takes effect, moving tens of thousands of inmates from state prisons to local facilities, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said her office has plenty of bed space to accommodate. But Mims and California’s...
+ read more
April 1, 2011, 12:05 AM
An unexpected byproduct of 41 states adopting common curriculum standards is that California schools won't be limited to textbooks and other instructional materials developed specifically for the state. Some state education experts are saying that the "common core" standards, as...
+ read more
March 31, 2011, 12:51 AM
In the end, it was old-fashioned partisanship and legislative gridlock that seems to have doomed Gov. Jerry Brown's so-called "Plan A" for solving the state's budget crisis. The governor called off negotiations with Republicans earlier this week after the two sides reached a...
+ read more
March 24, 2011, 12:05 AM
More than eight in 10 Californians agree that the state's budget presents a serious looming problem, but fewer than half believe Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed tax extensions are the right way to fix it, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday night. ...
+ read more
March 23, 2011, 4:37 PM
Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature have agreed to keep open some state youth correctional facilities, taking some of the gloss off his vision of "bringing government closer to the people." Hear more on a KQED/California Watch radio report aired on The California Report...
+ read more
March 17, 2011, 12:05 AM
As legislators begin voting on elements of Gov. Jerry Brown’s half-taxes, half-cuts budget proposal, it has quickly become clear both to decision-makers and those of us watching at home that bipartisanship under the Capitol dome is no easy feat to achieve. In fact, given the voting...
+ read more
March 14, 2011, 1:05 AM
Gov. Jerry Brown's grand vision of "bringing government closer to the people" has run into a snag – at least when it comes to the state's youth correctional system. If his plan had gone through, California would have been the first state in the country to abolish...
+ read more
March 14, 2011, 12:05 AM
State officials are moving to revamp educational classes in prisons across California following widespread complaints that the programs are poorly designed and could leave some inmates ill-prepared for life after release. A draft report released last week by the California Rehabilitation...
+ read more
March 10, 2011, 12:06 AM
It could be lights out for some smaller California fairs under Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to cut their state funding. The Legislative Analyst's Office recommended Feb. 10 that the Legislature adopt the cost-saving measure and stop spending $32 million each year to subsidize fairs....
+ read more
March 10, 2011, 12:05 AM
State lawmakers are expected to vote soon on a budget that includes a $1 billion shift from Proposition 10 to Medi-Cal. The move will likely result in deep cuts to services and programs for early childhood development, with the state's most populous counties taking the hit. Proposition 10...
+ read more
March 9, 2011, 12:06 AM
A relatively small cut in the grand scheme of the California budget is creating a significant stir among emergency room doctors. Last week, lawmakers voted to eliminate a $55 million fund that’s used to pay for care to uninsured patients who wind up in emergency rooms. Whether emergency...
+ read more
March 8, 2011, 12:08 AM
After decades of federal support, an acclaimed writing program that began at UC Berkeley 37 years ago, faces a difficult future due to budget cuts agreed to by Congress and the Obama administration. The $25 million elimination of federal funds to the National Writing Project, which...
+ read more
March 7, 2011, 12:05 AM
Nestled within Gov. Jerry Brown's program-slashing budget proposal lies a $63 million request to update and replace the Caltrans car fleet with vehicles that comply with California's clean air regulations, an expenditure [PDF] that the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office thinks is...
+ read more
