Latinos' emergence as California's largest ethnic group is casting new light on an enduring paradox: Many do not vote, limiting their influence on government decisions that have a profound impact on their lives. Latinos were 39% of the state's population last year, just surpassing non-Latino whites, at 38%, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates. But in
Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee political columnist The Legislature’s Democrats were miffed when Gov. Jerry Brown insisted on using his revenue estimates as the basis for the 2015-16 state budget, rather than a higher number calculated by legislators’ budget adviser. The legislators had used the larger figure as the basis for their version of the budget,
Sacramento Bee opinion page “Soapbox” from Johannes Escudero is executive director of the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas. Tim Cremins is director of the California-Nevada Conference of Operating Engineers. Jose Mejia is director of the State Council of Laborers. State lawmakers have a golden opportunity to correct an unfortunate paradox by negotiating a follow-up budget
“Year round campaigning has evolved in the last couple of election cycles,” said Allan Hoffenblum, a longtime Republican strategist and author of the California Target Book, which tracks the state's elections. “It never used to be this way.” First-time legislative candidates are seeking sizable campaign contributions much earlier in the election cycle, he said. This
It’s been a year for high-profile liberal legislation in the California Senate, which earlier this month passed a sweep of politically ambitious proposals around poverty, tobacco use and the environment. Several appear headed for approval, including a set of aggressive renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals shared by Gov. Jerry Brown, and an expansion
Fewer of tomorrow's freeways will be free. In exchange, drivers willing and able to pay will avoid the traffic congestion that bedevils everyone else. Toll lanes are an increasingly common solution in metropolitan regions with limited public space or money to widen highways. One increasingly popular idea is to convert carpool lanes to let solo
Earlier this month, with his East Bay community facing the prospect of losing its only source of water, Edwin Pattison appeared before residents at a town hall meeting and lamented the strain of California’s growing population on dwindling water supplies. “When you increase a population significantly,” said Pattison, general manager of the Mountain House Community
The lawsuits hit the courts within days of the state mailing notices to some Central Valley irrigation districts: They were to stop diverting from rivers and streams because there wasn't enough water to go around. Unsurprising as the move may be in this fourth year of drought, to the districts, the notices amounted to an
It appears the baby recession really is over: Preliminary figures show U.S. births were up last year for the first time in seven years. About 53,000 more babies were born in 2014 than the year before — a 1 percent increase. Births were up for nearly every racial and ethnic group, and there were improvements
Our voting system in California, like most in the nation, is predicated on an antiquated notion. It assumes that on Election Day we walk to the neighborhood polling place -- perhaps a school, a fire station, a church or nearby garage -- wait in line to sign a register, step into a little canvas and