California Ends Money Bail, But Reformers Say Landmark Law Gives Judges Too...
When legislators introduced the bill to abolish money bail in California, it promised to be a victory for progressives trying to reverse the crisis of mass incarceration. By the time SB 10 became law,...
View ArticleGov. Brown Signs Slew of Laws on Criminal Justice, Cannabis, Net Neutrality,...
In his cumulative 16 years as California governor, Jerry Brown has signed nearly 20,000 bills, including 1,016 this year and the final one—an interest-rate cap on loans above $2,500—on Sunday night. He...
View ArticleCouncilman Raul Peralez Urges San Jose to Reaffirm Support for Unions in Wake...
The Supreme Court dealt a huge blow to public-sector unions by ruling in Janus v. AFSCME that they can no longer collect mandatory “fair share” fees from non-members to cover the costs of collective...
View ArticleNew California Laws Open Some Law Enforcement Records
First Amendment and civil rights advocates say the governor’s signature on two new state laws dealing with the release of police records will go a long way toward improving transparency of information...
View ArticleElection 2018: With California School Bonds, Rich Get Richer
Schools in California’s wealthier communities have been reaping far more local bond money than poorer districts, a CALmatters analysis shows—a reality that amplifies existing inequities for the state’s...
View ArticleJerry Brown Signed $1 Billion in Wildfire Prevention—and None of It Applies...
Protecting California from devastating wildfires was the Legislature’s biggest focus in this year’s session. Recognizing the urgency, lawmakers formed a special wildfire committee, heard from numerous...
View ArticleTony Thurmond Becomes California’s New Superintendent of Public Schools—Now...
With bucks and boots on the ground from California teachers’ unions, Bay Area Democratic Assemblyman Tony Thurmond declared victory Saturday as the state’s new superintendent of public instruction, an...
View ArticleWhy Does PG&E Get to Decide When to Turn Off the Power?
It’s been two weeks since the Camp Fire broke out in Butte County, and the Bay Area air remained filled with smoke from the catastrophic blaze that destroyed the town of Paradise until the rains fell...
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How Silicon Valley’s Lila Rose Became the Face of Millennial Anti-Abortion...
Lila Rose has had a very good year. In October, she starred in a just-released mini-documentary from The Atlantic about the anti-abortion organization she founded in her parents’ San Jose living room...
View ArticleRedevelopment 2.0: State Sens. Jim Beall, Mike McGuire Push New Affordable...
Silicon Valley’s state Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose) has teamed up with North Bay counterpart Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) in the first big affordable-housing legislative foray of the 2018–19...
View ArticleFive Remarkably Candid Tips From Departing Gov. Brown
Don’t hold regular press conferences. Reward loyalty. If you’re a Californian with presidential aspirations, move to New York. Are you taking notes, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom? In the final days of his...
View ArticleMore than 1,000 New California Laws Take Effect in 2019
Gov. Jerry Brown signed more than 1,000 new laws into existence during his final year in office—some bizarre, some useful, some designed to temper the disruptive reign of President Donald Trump. The...
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Senate Report: U.S. Approved Thousands of Child Marriages
American immigration authorities approved thousands of requests to bring in child brides in the past decade, the majority involving significant age gaps between partners. That’s according to a new...
View ArticleSanta Clara County DA: ‘No Matter How Long It Takes, We Will Bend the Arc...
The following is a transcript of Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s speech delivered Jan. 23, 2019, at his swearing-in to a third term. WE BEND THE ARC OF JUSTICE In The Beginning On my...
View ArticleCan Reformers Trust Xavier Becerra to Police the Police?
In his two years on the job, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has crafted an image as a progressive warrior, suing the Trump Administration and delivering the Democrats’ Spanish-language...
View ArticleJobs Report Argues For Offshore Wind Farm on Central Coast
Now that ambitious goal-setter Gov. Jerry Brown has left office, it’ll be up to new Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration to start implementing Brown’s goal to wean California off fossil fuels and shift...
View ArticleState Sen. Jim Beall Renews Focus on Mental Health, Housing During Final Two...
It touches virtually every major public policy issue—criminal justice, homelessness, family dysfunction, education, economic productivity—but care for the mentally ill rarely, if ever, featured so...
View ArticlePot Shots: California Cannabis Bureau Seeks Applicants for $10 Million in...
The California Bureau of Cannabis Control announced last week that it’s now accepting grant applications from cities to help give their budding minority-owned businesses and cannabis equity program...
View ArticleSan Jose Considers Launching Cannabis Equity Program
San Jose is home to 16 legal cannabis shops—a small number considering the city’s size. But even smaller are the demographics of the dispensary owners. None of those 16 are helmed by ethnic minorities....
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San Jose Homicide Renews Debate Over Sanctuary Laws
Santa Clara County enacted its sanctuary policy in reaction to a federal immigration crackdown that resulted in unprecedented numbers of deportations. The kind that nearly separated Cecilia “Cecy”...
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