WhatMatters

Good morning, California. Local governments have set sights on taxing soda. Enter Californians for Accountability and Transparency in Government Spending, a campaign committee set up to promote a November initiative to ban local taxes and fees without approval of two-thirds of the voters. Top funder: Soda companies at $5 million-plus. Who should pay for wildfires? Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, center, […]

Good morning, California. Charter school advocates already are spending $9.5 million to elect former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as  governor. On Wednesday, they disclosed they’re spending $2 million to elect Villaraigosa’s former aide, Marshall Tuck as California superintendent of public instruction. Public school unions back his opponent, Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, a Richmond Democrat. An initiative funder’s sad hope […]

Good morning, California. “If you care about this state, it’s time to sound the alarm about the crisis in media and what it means for the health of democracy in the world’s sixth largest economy.”–CALmatters GOP’s gas-tax bank shot California’s congressional Republicans are all in on an initiative to repeal the state’s 12-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax. As they […]

Good morning, California. Sen. Kamala Harris, contemplating a presidential run, told a New York radio station she won’t take corporate political action committee money. Harris had taken $260,000 in corporate PAC money since 2015. Here comes the flood Get ready for the deluge of campaign ads and the puffery that goes with them. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the […]

Good Monday morning, California. Death penalty: What would candidates do A life-or-death decision: California’s next governor could quickly face a stark choice: allow an execution to take place or commute it. As part of our 2018 election guide, which we introduce today, we asked major candidates for governor how they would confront that decision, and compiled their answers […]

Good morning, California. Happy 4/20, for those who care, including the Sacramento lobbyists who are making bank on their many cannabis clients. California to Trump: Take ‘yes’ for an answer Working out policy is hard, especially when it involves President Trump and the Mexican border, and when it’s done by Twitter. Let’s review: Trump demanded that Texas, New […]

Good morning, California. Gov. Jerry Brown  announced he’s sending National Guard troops to the border, to fight crime. That’s Brown’s use of jiu jitsu to end a fight with President Trump. A #MeToo movement moment Organized labor and big business tangle annually. This year, no battle will be bigger than one over arbitration clauses in employment contracts. These […]

Good morning, California. How about The Santa Rosa Press Democrat! What’s your privacy worth? California, which regulates many things, is considering going far beyond its borders to regulate the Internet. Reacting to privacy concerns and data breaches, legislators and an initiative promoter are trying to rein in Internet companies. One bill would crack down on Facebook and […]

Good morning, California. How about those Warriors and the Sharks? Happy Tax Day. Pleased to meet you: I’m Dan Morain. I came to CALmatters because I want to help build a great and lasting journalism organization. This newsletter, which CALmatters launches today, is part of my contribution. My goal is to deliver quick and timely takes that explain California […]