Politics

When President Barack Obama announced last month that he is taking executive action to ban the solitary confinement of juveniles in federal prisons, it was a rare case of Washington setting policy more liberal than what comes out of Sacramento. In California’s Democratic-controlled Legislature, bills to restrict the use of solitary confinement on youth have […]

In 1976, a year into his first term as governor, Jerry Brown signed a bill that came to be seen as one of the strongest environmental protection laws in the country. The California Coastal Act limited development along the 1,100-mile shoreline and guaranteed public access to the beach. Yet just two years later, Brown had […]

Is it safe for children to play on fields made of ground up old tires? Recycled tires on California parks The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery gives grants to communities that use products made of recycled tires in their construction projects. Here are a few that won grants for using the substance known […]

Gov. Jerry Brown fired the opening salvo of California’s budget season on Jan. 7 when he unveiled his spending proposal for the fiscal year that will start July 1. While the final state budget will likely look much different in June when it is scheduled to be adopted by the Legislature, Brown’s proposal is the […]

Lobbyists in Sacramento talk about the “inside game” and the “outside game.” The inside game is the one they play under the Capitol dome: testifying in committee hearings, meeting with legislative staff, nabbing lawmakers in the hallway on the way to a crucial vote. “Other” lobbying is huge – and hard to track An excerpt […]

A culture clash separates California’s Capitol from the Silicon Valley companies that are transforming the state’s economy. Technology entrepreneurs move fast, and see rewards for disrupting the status quo. In Sacramento, however, decisions unfurl slowly, with lots of pressure to keep things the way they are. The divide is significant because the stakes are high: […]

Shortly after the new year begins, Gov. Jerry Brown will declare a special election to fill a vacant spot in the Legislature. The election will cost Fresno County, one of the poorest areas of the state, more than $500,000. A small fraction of voters will likely participate, creating the potential that the seat flips parties […]

Hours after Greg Campbell awoke from surgery in 2013, the phone rang in his Sacramento hospital room. It was Gov. Jerry Brown, calling to wish him a speedy recovery from the operation that removed a large tumor from his brain. Campbell – a powerful, behind-the-scenes staffer in the Capitol – thanked Brown for the call. […]

This week’s shooting in San Bernardino comes as a debate over gun control that has divided Democrats in the state Capitol could head to the voters of California next year. Nearly three years ago, after a man killed 26 women and children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Democrats in the state Legislature […]

The California Teachers Association, one of Sacramento’s most powerful interests, is heading into an extraordinary year with decisions on the ballot, in the Capitol and in the courts holding the potential to impact its clout for many years to come. Billions of dollars for schools will likely be at stake on the 2016 ballot as […]