Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
BY JIM MILLER
SACRAMENTO BUREAU
jmiller@pe.com
Published: 31 January 2012 07:12 PM
SACRAMENTO — The major parties’ share of the Inland Southern California electorate dipped in 2011, new state figures show, with a significant increase in the percentage of voters who lack a party affiliation.
BY IMRAN GHORI
STAFF WRITER
ighori@pe.com
Published: 31 January 2012 11:22 PM
An influential union that is backing a proposed ballot measure to reduce San Bernardino County supervisors’ positions to part-time has more than a half-million dollars in its political action committee fund, according to campaign finance reports released this week.
BY BEN GOAD
WASHINGTON BUREAU
bgoad@pe.com
Published: 31 January 2012 05:44 PM
Candidates for contested Inland House seats raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash at the end of 2011 as they jockeyed for position heading into the current election year.
BY DUANE W. GANG AND DUG BEGLEY
STAFF WRITERS
dgang@pe.com | dbegley@pe.com
Published: 31 January 2012 09:15 AM
More than 1,000 Riverside County workers took to the streets Tuesday protesting benefit reductions and warning that additional strikes could be on the way if county officials don’t reopen contract negotiations.
The 24-hour work stoppage was expected to last until 6:59 a.m. today and marks the latest escalation between county management and the Service Employees International Union Local 721, the county’s second-largest employee group.
Jim Steinberg, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/31/2012 12:33:41 PM PST
HINKLEY – The northern boundaries of that plume of contaminated groundwater continues to advance.
Water samples from new test wells – many installed this past summer – show chromium 6 contamination, above background level, extending north of Mountain General Road for the first time.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 31, 2012 | 11:59 am
California is running out of cash, the state controller warned in a letter to lawmakers Tuesday.
Controller John Chiang said lawmakers need to scrape together $3.3 billion by March — assuming the state’s financial situation doesn’t get any worse.
By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Gov. Jerry Brown is raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for his tax campaign from California Indian tribes at the same time many tribes are seeking to renegotiate lucrative gambling compacts with him.
By Dan Walters
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
Gov. Jerry Brown is scaling back the state’s highly controversial bullet train project to keep it alive.
Just three months ago, his administration unveiled – with great fanfare – a revised “business plan” for building the north-south bullet train system to answer the embryonic project’s many critics.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
January 31, 2012
Rural and urban school districts in California that make heavy use of buses appear safe — for now.
State lawmakers are fast-tracking legislation that would transform a $248 million midyear school bus cut into a general-purpose reduction that hits each K-12 district evenly. The Assembly Budget Committee passed Senate Bill 81 with bipartisan support Tuesday, while an aide to Gov. Jerry Brown testified that the governor supports the proposal.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
January 31, 2012 | 3:30 pm
A bill requiring more prominent disclosure of political donors stalled in the California Assembly on Tuesday.
Under the proposal, television advertisements would include three seconds of a black screen listing the top donors supporting the message. Similar disclosure would be required on print advertisements or campaign mailers.
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 6B
CalSTRS is thinking of cutting its investment forecast for the second time in barely a year, a move that acknowledges the increased financial strain on the pension fund.
The teachers’ retirement board on Thursday will consider a recommendation from its actuarial consultant to cut the forecast by a quarter point, to 7.5 percent.