By Peter Hecht in The Sacramento Bee
May 15, 2016
Major homebuilders are pouring more than $575,000 into an El Dorado County campaign committee established to defeat two local slow-growth initiatives.
The contributors to the Committee to Protect El Dorado County Water and Open Space are developers who want to build more than 4,000 homes and town houses amid oak woodlands and on a former golf course in El Dorado Hills.
By The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board in The San Diego Union-Tribune
May 13, 2016
Proposition 30, the 2012 ballot measure billed as a temporary increase in sales taxes on all Californians and income taxes on the wealthy, passed thanks to some extreme hardball by Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature. They approved a 2012-13 state budget with a $6 billion shortfall that could be covered only if the measure was approved — and warned of chaos in public schools if it failed. Most voters went along, aware of the state’s fiscal woes and reassured by TV ads that someday the tax hikes would go away.
Now, however, the California Teachers Association and other groups that pushed Proposition 30 appear to have the signatures to place a measure on the November ballot that would prevent the temporary income tax hikes from expiring at the end of 2018 and keep them in place until 2030. The sales tax hike would be allowed to expire this year.
Read more at The San Diego Union-Tribune
By Ali Meyer at The Washington Free Beacon
May 9, 2016
Government regulations are responsible for adding $84,671 to the final price of a new single-family home, according to a report from the National Association of Home Builders.
According to the report, regulations implemented during the lot’s development are responsible for 14.6 percent of the total, while 9.7 percent is due to costs that accrue after the builder has purchased a finished lot.
Read more at The Washington Free Beacon
By Nate Gartrell in The Mercury News
May 6, 2016
OAKLEY — In 1912, an Italian immigrant named Venanzio Del Barba earned enough to buy and open a general store on Main Street after five years of working on the railroad and farming. In the 104 years since, the Del Barba family has held onto the structure, weathering the storm through the Great Depression, the Great Recession and two world wars.
“It’s part of the original Oakley,” family member Cindy Del Barba said.
Read more at The Mercury News
By Suzzane Phan at abc10.com
May 5, 2016
More inmates are being released from prison early and are on the streets because they are now classified as “non-violent”.
Governor Jerry Brown went before the California Supreme Court Thursday to address the issue and his amended ballot measure on juvenile justice. Those amendments would provide more good behavior credits for adult inmates and allow earlier parole for non-violent felons. It’s another move to help reduce overcrowding in California’s prisons.
Read more at abc10.com
By Dan Walters in The Sacramento Bee
May 4, 2016
“Bribe” may be too strong a word, but a bill that Gov. Jerry Brown signed last week, appropriating $16.3 million for election-related expenses, is certainly a big incentive for county clerks to count signatures on Brown’s crime initiative in time for it to make the Nov. 8 ballot.
As a condition of receiving Assembly Bill 120’s funds, clerks must by June 30 complete signature counts for ballot measures that are submitted by May 20.
Read more at The Sacramento Bee
By Maura Polan and John Myers in Los Angeles Times
May 5, 2016
The California Supreme Court appeared inclined Thursday to clear the way for a November ballot measure allowing the early release of some prison inmates.
The case carries high stakes for the state’s criminal justice system and Gov. Jerry Brown’s political legacy. It will test Brown’s effort to grant parole to perhaps thousands of inmates serving time for nonviolent felonies.
Read more at Los Angeles Times
By Jessica Floum in San Francisco Chronicle
May 3, 2016
More than half of Bay Area residents think the region will experience a significant economic downturn within the next five years, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Bay Area Council.
About 52 percent of people surveyed by the council expect the region’s economy to stumble within that time frame, while another 7 percent say a downturn could hit after five years. Twenty percent do not anticipate the Bay Area economy to shrink in the foreseeable future.
Read more at San Francisco Chronicle
By Mary Plummer at KPCC
May 3, 2016
A ballot measure that would add a parcel tax in Los Angeles County to help pay for parks came a step closer to coming before voters Tuesday.
The LA County Board of Supervisors ordered a final draft of the measure, and polling, to see whether it can succeed.
Read more at KPCC
By Dan Walters in The Sacramento Bee
May 2, 2016
Three dry statistical reports issued simultaneously Monday reveal the stark dimensions of California’s deepening housing crisis.
A Census Bureau report says that in 2015, California saw 98,188 permits for new units, up from 83,657 in 2014.