Pensions

We need to meet the financial challenges of the coronavirus pandemic while also sustaining government programs and services with ideas for tax reform.

The financial woes of a small fire district in Stanislaus County demonstrate the effects of rapidly rising pension costs.

Dashboard lists cities in fiscal distress. Report says Salinas nonprofit has been infiltrated by a gang. Toy district turns into black market for vaping.

The California economy may be flush, but recession is on the horizon, and new data from the state auditor shows pensions, questionable management and other risky fiscal business have put many Golden State cities on shaky ground.  

Joe Nation, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research: Legislative attempts at reform of public employee pensions barely made a dent in the problem. Public pension debt will continue to grow. The question is whether California’s leaders have the courage to acknowledge and implement the aggressive and comprehensive reforms that are so clearly required.

May snow, Trump vs. California, what just happened with housing, labor pressures on ridesharing, mental health, brawling councilmen and spicy news.

John Chiang says California's public pensions should stay invested in Uber and Lyft to improve worker benefits.

California opens a national Title X battle. Mandated treatment for severe mental illness works, where counties try it. A pension ruling for the status quo.

If all sides are declaring victory in the California Supreme Court’s pension ruling on Monday, it’s because the decision had a little something for all the combatants in the state’s pension wars. In a much-anticipated decision, the high court upheld a major rollback initiated during Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration—a reform that rescinded a long tradition that had […]

Former Gov. Jerry Brown, who pushed to rein in public employee pension costs, has started drawing on his $120,000-a-year pension after decades of public service. Brown officially retired Jan. 7 to his ranch in Colusa County and began drawing $9,994.29 a month after 33.5 years of service, according to Amy Morgan, a spokeswoman for the […]