Unlawful Immigrants Rush For CA Drivers Licenses

Emerging statistics have revealed that California’s extension of drivers licenses to unlawful immigrants aroused unexpected demand — with no end in sight. “While state officials expected 1.4 million undocumented immigrants to apply for licenses in the first three years, in the first six months since the law has been enacted more than 1.1 million undocumented immigrants have […]

CA Housing Becomes Political Football

To borrow one metaphor, California’s housing market has become a double-edged sword, reminiscent of the bonanza days before the 2008 economic crisis. That’s why, to borrow another, it has also become a political football. With residents increasingly priced out of the state’s coastal metropolises, politicians and policymakers have scrambled for an edge, creating a controversy reverberate across the local, state and federal levels. Southland struggles […]

CA Gains in Film and TV Production as Other States Lower Incentives

Hollywood could soon reclaim its once-shaky status as America’s production headquarters. After a near panic touched off by a nationwide spending spree on state incentives for film and television production, programs around the country have begun scaling back or shutting down altogether, leaving California in a persistent but much diminished race for the spoils. The Golden State’s new $330 […]

Medi-Cal Boom Strains Doctors and Budgets

With Medicaid eligibility expanded nationwide under the Affordable Care Act, Medi-Cal enrollees have discovered that care in California is not keeping up with increased demand. “Today, more than 12 million Californians, nearly one-third of the state’s total population, are enrolled in the government’s health insurance plan for low-income, disabled and disadvantaged residents,” U-T San Diego reported. Wrangling […]

Doctors Join Push For CA Assisted Suicide

In a medical community sharply divided on the issue of assisted suicide, momentum has shifted to the side that embraces the idea — with California at the forefront of the change. Two Golden State doctors with life-threatening illnesses have recently become plaintiffs in a lawsuit aimed at shielding physicians from legal liability “if they prescribe lethal medications to patients […]

Hospital Sale Hobbles Harris

Pressured by labor unions and their political allies, California Attorney General Kamala Harris has made her first big political gamble as a candidate to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2016. Urged to intervene in a hot-blooded dispute over the fate of six beleaguered Catholic hospitals, Harris approved their sale to Prime Healthcare Services. But she attached a stringent […]

Assisted Suicide Issue is Back

Physician-assisted suicide has returned to California’s political agenda. After years off the table, the issue gained new life in the wake of Brittany Maynard’s high-profile decision to end her life. Maynard, 29, an assisted-suicide activist living in Oregon, advertised her impending death as a dignified response to the “aggressive” form of terminal brain cancer that […]

Buzz is Back for Brown 2016

In just a handful of weeks, speculation has returned, and hype has built, around the idea of a Jerry Brown candidacy for president. From one perspective, he has succeeded so much in California politics that he has disqualified himself. As the soon-to-be four-time governor of one of the most indelibly blue states, Brown has developed a reputation as a […]

Covered CA Blames Cronyism on Obamacare Scramble

In an embarrassing new black eye for Covered California, the state’s implementation of Obamacare, the health exchange, has admitted it violated accepted practice by awarding $184 million in so-called “no-bid” contracts, according to a new report by the Associated Press. State governments routinely consider competing bids for work. It’s a process designed to prevent corruption and […]

CA GOP Labors to Read Latino Tea Leaves

Though the political ground has been shifting in California, new research is giving Republicans only hints about how to woo Latino voters. Much like their nationwide counterparts, for moderate-to-liberal Republicans in the Golden State, Latinos have come to represent an essential outreach opportunity. Unlike some grassroots Republicans and conservatives, centrist Republicans have broadly agreed that a pro-business message focused on […]