Overall one has to say the news could have been far worse when the Pew Center on the State puts California's state retirement system into the "needs improvement" category as opposed to the lower categ ...

As we face yet another round of cuts to education in Davis that could result in the loss of an additional 30 to 50 teachers depending on how the math falls out and how the legislature and governor end ...

California is trying to pass legislation that will clear the way for Calfiornia to compete in the Race to the Top program which would make the state eligible for up to 700 million.  The money would go ...

We have spent much time on these pages discussing the issues facing UC particularly in recent weeks the massive 32% pay hike, the issue of the furloughs, the issue of accountability, and the issue of ...

As expected, a committee of the UC Regents voted on Wednesday to raise student fees by a total of 32 percent over the next year.  These hikes will bring the annual cost of a UC education above $10,000 ...

California spends $137 million per year on the death penalty and has not had an execution in almost four years, even as the state pays its employees in IOUs and releases inmates early to address overc ...

Earlier this week, the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes released a report that concluded that the furlough savings was illusory at 24.7 facilities, specifically at state hospitals, prisons, and ...

A little over a week ago, the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of UC Berkeley, Robert Birgeneau and Frank Yeary wrote an op-ed published on both coasts arguing for a new hybrid model as a means to save ...

Last week Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger attempted to balance the budget by using his line-item veto authority to cut from various sectors of government in order to balance the budget while building a hal ...

The Sacramento Bee has launched a new database to show how much money the state's new budget takes away from cities and counties.  Overall the state is taking away 2 billion dollars of direct money fr ...

There were not many pieces of good news in the budget however there was some.  For environmentalists the defeat of the Tranquillon Ridge oil drilling project in the majestic waters of the Central Coas ...

This is going to sound a lot like what I said back in February, but it is so much worse in part because these cuts are top of what was cut back in February.  The budget is an all-cuts budget that cuts ...

Suspension of Prop 98 May Be Last Sticking Point - Early yesterday the word came down that a budget agreement in Sacramento was imminent.  If true, that would have meant that the legislature's leaders ...

Debunking the Myths of California's Budget Crisis - State offices throughout the state were closed yesterday as the state endured another furlough Friday.  The July 1 deadline came and went last week ...

By Justin Smith - The California Assembly recently approved AB 155 (Mendoza), a bill that prohibits cities and counties from filing bankruptcy without state approval and is headed to the Senate. The b ...

Many on the right have argued the results of this election should be interpreted as an extension of the Tea Parties that emerged in April and a revival of the tax revolt from the 1970s.  The problem w ...

In most ways, what happened at the polls yesterday (or perhaps what did not happen as most people did not vote) is only symbolic in terms of the bigger scheme.  The voters were asked in a way to codif ...

I have gone back and forth on the ballot initiatives as to whether or not to support them.  A few weeks ago I reached what I thought was my final decision, I would simply hold my nose and vote for the ...

Critics are crying foul with the timing of Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger's announcement that the state will face a deficit of 21 billion dollars should the state not pass the ballot initiatives next Tuesd ...

There is an election one week from Tuesday and the electorate is angry.  And the electorate has every right to be angry.  According to a recently released survey from the Public Policy Institute of Ca ...