Skeptical, younger, grumpy and suspicious – that about sums up California’s independent voters. Distrustful of institutions, disenchanted with government and leery of the major political parties, the reach of the independent voter is widening, according to the head of a top research institution. “They tend to be young, highly educated, male more than female,” said
The nation's busiest port complex saw its best year since before the Great Recession, a sign of renewed economic strength across the country. Analysts said the cargo increase at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach — coming despite severe problems moving cargo off the docks and uncertainties over a new dockworker contract —
The Brown administration will be sponsoring legislation this year to streamline the process for local transportation agencies to approve toll lanes. Under the bill, local authorities could more easily convert carpool lanes into toll lanes, but also could create new "user fee" stretches along California's highways. Revenue from the tolls would be managed by local
California’s once-awesome highway system, largely built during the three decades after World War II, is pounded by more than 300 billion vehicle-miles of travel each year and is decaying rapidly. The problem is actually much larger than $59 billion in deferred maintenance because it does, as Brown says, get worse every year. Looking ahead, we
A new study that used a mountaintop sensor to measure air pollution in the Los Angeles Basin found emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, are up to 61% higher than government estimates. The study published Monday in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, is the latest to reveal official emissions inventories that underestimate the amount
As chair of the Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols plays a central role in deciding where Californians get their energy, what fuel goes in their cars and how their homes are built. She also oversees the state's ambitious program for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, one that analysts say could be a model when world leaders
Government pensions, once thought to be ironclad in California, are under attack in court once again. Two creditors have formally challenged the bankrupt city of San Bernardino’s plan to repay its debts to CalPERS, setting up another big court fight over pension plans and whether cash-strapped governments can keep their promises to retirees. The challenge
California environmental regulators are exploring how rice farmers can reduce carbon emissions, paving the way for crops to become part of the state’s greenhouse gas reduction program and affecting one of the Sacramento Valley’s powerhouse agricultural industries. The California Air Resources Board this month directed staff to begin the process for including rice in the
Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal this week to significantly boost the amount of energy California derives from renewable sources could reinvigorate the state's utility-scale solar and wind industries, as well as launch another land rush in the Mojave Desert. In his inaugural address, Brown didn't say how the state's Renewables Portfolio Standard could be raised to
Barbara Boxer’s retirement sets the stage for a dramatic and long-awaited transformation of California’s political landscape and a 2016 Senate race that seems destined to evolve into a big-spending free-for-all, pitting many of the state’s most ambitious lawmakers against each other. The announcement set off an immediate burst of speculation about possible candidates, a list