Major construction, equipment and engineering firms around the world, responding to a solicitation to form a partnership with the California high-speed rail project, have raised serious concerns about the state's shortage of funding, the potential need for long-term operating subsidies and whether the project can meet the current construction schedule. The comments were included in
Commentary from Fresno Bee Gov. Jerry Brown was forced to remove a 50 percent cut in auto petroleum use from a sweeping expansion of his crusade against greenhouse gases to win legislative passage. In the aftermath, however, administration and legislative staffers began peddling an alternate version to journalists – that it wasn’t a big win for
A little more than a year ago, Gov. Jerry Brown was touting an outbreak of bipartisanship in the Capitol. Lawmakers from both parties backed crucial deals on water and state finances — "a high point in our work together," the governor said. That spirit has been absent as Brown has struggled to find a deal
As 2016 quickly approaches, Republicans are struggling to find top recruits in a trio of competitive House districts in California — a state where the party has suffered defeat at the congressional level for decades. The National Republican Congressional Committee sent a staffer out to the Golden State last week to search for and meet
A politician who will soon hold one of the most powerful positions in California was walking along the industrial banks of the Los Angeles River last week when an artist smoking a cigarette stopped him to lodge a few complaints. The area has graffiti but no murals, Robert Cortes said. Too few trees and too
AT&T. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Chevron. Indian gaming tribes. It sounds like a who’s who list of campaign contributors — and it is. But these groups also excel at another type of giving, one that’s often overlooked and is about to get a little less transparent: Behested payments. It’s no secret to even casual
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom hold an early lead in voter support in the 2018 race for governor, according to a new poll. The Field Poll, released Thursday, comes three years before the wide-open election to succeed Gov. Jerry Brown. Forty-two percent of registered voters say they are inclined
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
Gov. Jerry Brown is picking a fight over a two-decade-old law that can make it difficult to increase water rates, raising the possibility of a new battle over the issue at the ballot box next year. He’s turning his attention to the issue as he seeks more flexibility to fund infrastructure improvements and use financial
Gov. Jerry Brown often quotes erudite authors and ancient texts to help explain his thinking. But in a raft of vetoes issued ahead of Sunday's midnight deadline to act on legislation, his message came through loud and clear -- Legislature, you messed up. Lawmakers this year neglected several of the governor's priorities, including his desire