It’s been a heady ride for California finances in recent years, with budget revenue outpacing estimates by billions of dollars, buoyed along by the state’s healthy economic growth in 2015. Could that trend be coming to an end? Preliminary tax revenue for January stands at a net $167 million less than estimates in Gov. Jerry
Gasoline consumption in California rose 2.4 percent during the 2014-15 fiscal year, the largest annual increase since the 2003-04 fiscal year and a likely byproduct of the Golden State’s improving economy, according to the state Board of Equalization. Cheaper fuel costs likely contributed as well, according to energy analysts. In fiscal year 2014-15, the board
Three years before the next gubernatorial election, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and his rivals are making inroads into inland California, touring farms, holding receptions and speaking to small crowds. In addition to Newsom, two other Democrats who are expected to run, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state Controller Steve Westly, have both
For two decades, the Newhall Land & Farming Co. has envisioned a new city rising in the foothills north of Los Angeles. Situated on nearly 12,000 acres along the Santa Clara River, the planned community would house 58,000 people and offer stores, golf courses, schools and recreational centers. Los Angeles County’s elected supervisors approved the
The board of the Southland's water importer voted to pursue the purchase of four farm islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the ecologically troubled center of California's sprawling water system. The islands would put the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in control of about 20,000 acres of land in the delta, a source
Sacramento Bee Commentary When Proposition 20, California’s landmark coastal protection law, went before voters in 1972, the campaign for it focused on public access to beaches. The law itself, as later interpreted and implemented by the Legislature, took a somewhat broader view. The Coastal Commission, appointed by the governor and legislative leaders, would have development
Two research sites in Central Valley have earned a $12.3-million dollar grant to study how the drought is triggering genetic changes in plants. The goal is to see how plants respond genetically to drought conditions and if more hardy plants can reveal the secrets of how they survive. The scientists will work at the UC
Biologist Greg Asner first heard the numbers in April, but they did little to prepare him for what he saw. The Forest Service had estimated that nearly 12.5 million trees in the state's southern and central forests were dead. But as Asner peered down upon the same forests from his airplane at 6,000 feet, he
Sen. Dianne Feinstein moderated a raucous public hearing in the California desert over her proposal to set aside three swaths of Southern California as national monuments. The sometimes wild meeting illustrated that when it comes to public land management decisions, reaching consensus is no easier in California than it is in Washington, D.C. At issue
Gazing out of a turboprop high above his company’s main asset — 34,000 acres in the Mojave Desert with billions of gallons of fresh water locked deep below the sagebrush-dotted land — Scott Slater paints a lush picture that has enticed a hardy band of investors for a quarter-century. Yes, Mr. Slater admits, his company,