Starting Friday, thousands of farmworkers and their supporters from across the U.S. will gather in Bakersfield for a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the United Farmworkers Union. One of the featured speakers is Dolores Huerta, a longtime activist who, together with Cesar Chavez, began organizing California farmworkers five decades ago.

Lawyers for a new non-profit focused on education filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week, challenging the constitutionality of state laws which they say protect ineffective teachers at the expense of low-income and minority children.

Santa Monica Airport is surrounded by densely populated neighborhoods. For years, the city has tightly regulated noise pollution with strict rules about when planes can take off and land -- but that doesn't protect neighbors from air pollution. Now some local officials are talking about getting rid of the airport altogether, even if that means taking on the federal government.

Four-day work weeks for state workers and fewer services for some of California's most vulnerable residents are among the grim proposals outlined in Governor Brown's new spending plan. The state's budget deficit has ballooned to nearly $16 billion.

A hefty chunk of Governor Jerry Brown's newly proposed $8 billion in cuts may end up coming from state health care programs -- although previous attempts have been stymied by lawsuits or federal agencies.

The revised state budget slashes spending in almost every part of government, except for public education. But Governor Brown is warning again that schools are on the chopping block if voters don't approve the November tax measure he's backing.

The sprawling southern California counties of Riverside and San Bernardino are known locally as the Inland Empire. It's been one of the fastest-growing parts of California for the past decade. But since the recession hit, the region has been mired in stubborn unemployment and a very high home foreclosure rate -- and that may change the political climate.