Air Quality

Independent Expenditures “Permeate” Legislative Primary

Millions of special interest group dollars permeated California legislative races ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, prefiguring general election battle lines. Realtors, apartment interests and dentists joined the energy industry and education groups – both charter school advocates and organizations that have fought teachers unions over teacher employment policies – in opening their wallets. In many

By |2016-06-10T11:37:42-07:00June 10th, 2016|Air Quality|

Voters Generous With Local Bond Measures

California voters were in an expansive mood this week when it came to local tax and bond measures. Michael Coleman, who operates a website devoted to local government and school finances, reported Wednesday that at least 70 of the 89 tax and bond measures were passed, with several others too close to call as votes

By |2016-06-10T11:35:55-07:00June 10th, 2016|Air Quality|

Governor, Dem Leaders Agree on $122-Billion Spending for 2016-17; Republicans Call It “Broken” Budget

Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature have reached agreement on a budget for the coming fiscal year that repeals a long-criticized rule limiting welfare payments for people who have more children, as well as making an optional $2 billion deposit into the state’s rainy-day reserve. The $122.2 billion general fund pact includes $100 million more

By |2016-06-10T11:34:51-07:00June 10th, 2016|Air Quality|

Legislators May Reform Powerful State Agencies

As state legislators plowed through hundreds of bills and began fashioning a final state budget last week, a strong theme emerged – unhappiness with some powerful state agencies and an appetite for reform. Most interestingly, the sentiments were not particularly partisan, and in some cases were very bipartisan. The targets of legislative disdain included the

By |2016-06-10T11:33:09-07:00June 10th, 2016|Air Quality|

Legislator Authors Ransomware Bill, Gets Hacked

A day after the state Senate approved legislation outlawing ransomware, the bill author’s website was hit. In a tweet Thursday, Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, showed a screen shot of his hijacked Senate website. “All of our shared drive files have been encrypted with software typically used in ransomware attacks,” Hertzberg spokesman Andrew LaMar wrote

By |2016-06-10T11:31:57-07:00June 10th, 2016|Air Quality|

SF Bay Area Refineries Sue Air District

Oil refineries have sued to overturn a series of new air pollution rules aimed at reducing emissions 20 percent at each of the Bay Area's five gasoline plants, the largest source of industrial pollution in the region. The five rules were proposed in the wake of a fire and heavy smoke at the Chevron oil

By |2016-06-10T11:30:56-07:00June 10th, 2016|Air Quality|

Road Trip! Millions Hit the Highways

The great American road trip is back. It’s partly that gasoline this driving season is cheaper than it has been in 11 years, according to the AAA motor club, and that the reviving economy is making people more willing to part with their money. But there is more than that at play here. This may

By |2016-06-10T11:29:12-07:00June 10th, 2016|Air Quality|

One of World’s Largest Engineering Firms Moves HQ Employees to TX

Jacobs Engineering Group, one of the world’s largest engineering companies, is preparing to move employees from its Pasadena headquarters to Dallas, becoming the latest major corporation to relocate significant operations from California to Texas. The Fortune 500 firm, founded in Pasadena more than half a century ago, already has 300 employees in downtown Dallas and

By |2016-06-10T11:28:19-07:00June 10th, 2016|Air Quality|

2016 State Campaigns – Year of Independent Expenditures As California “Ahead of the Curve”

It’s often said that California is ahead of the curve when it comes to American politics, whether it’s environmental regulations or demographic diversity. The same could be said for unlimited political spending. While super PACs are a relative newcomer on the national scene, California has seen deep-pocketed outside groups spending top dollar on state campaigns

By |2016-06-03T11:31:18-07:00June 3rd, 2016|Air Quality|

Governor Seeks State Power Over Local Housing Density; Cities Cry “NIMBY!”

Robert Tillman owns a coin-operated laundromat in San Francisco’s Mission District, a neighborhood at the epicenter of California’s housing crisis. Over the last 21Ž2 years, he’s spent nearly $500,000 on plans to tear down the business to build apartments. But although the city has zoned the property for apartments, Tillman hasn’t gotten very far. Local

By |2016-06-03T11:25:25-07:00June 3rd, 2016|Air Quality|
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