Also From California Report
Examining how California is responding to climate change.
An inside look into the people and politics of state government.
A window into health in California.
The California Report | Friday, Jun 24, 2011, 4:30 PM
California's Budget Cop
On Tuesday, Controller John Chiang stopped paying legislators because they failed to pass a balanced budget. The decision was the first use of last November's "no budget, no pay" initiative, Proposition 25. But it raises a new set of questions about fact-checking budgets, and whether the state needs something akin to a budget cop.
The California Report | Thursday, Jun 23, 2011, 8:50 AM
Untangling the Web of California School Funding
As summer vacation sets in for many California school kids, their parents may be relieved they survived another year of deep budget cuts to education. This is the third year public schools have been through the financial wringer -- and part of the challenge of finding solutions is tracking the way that schools are funded.
The California Report | Wednesday, Jun 22, 2011, 8:50 AM
How School Budgets Passed From Local to State
More of California's public school districts are heading toward the financial brink. At last count, 143 are inching toward insolvency. The problem dates back to changes that shifted responsibility for funding education from local districts to the state.
The California Report | Monday, Jun 06, 2011, 8:50 AM
Spending Caps Are Nothing New in California Budgeting
The Legislature is expected to begin formal debate on the state budget this week. So far, negotiations remain stuck on the issue of taxes, and Republicans are insisting on some major policy changes, including a new formal cap on spending. The key word is "new" -- the state has had a legal spending limit for more than a generation.
The California Report | Thursday, May 26, 2011, 8:50 AM
New Citizens' Redistricting Commission Gets to Work
This may be remembered as the summer of discontent for some California politicians. For the first time, they are not drawing their own political maps. An independent commission is doing the work. But will voters like what they see?
The California Report | Thursday, May 12, 2011, 8:50 AM
New Census Data Reveals Aging Calif. Population
New Census data out Thursday show that even though California added more than three million people since the 2000 Census, the state has a quarter of a million fewer children between ages 5 and 14.
The California Report | Wednesday, Apr 13, 2011, 8:50 AM
Spring Brings Annual Debate Over Taxes
If you haven't paid your taxes yet, you're probably about to. The deadline is April 18th this year. Most Californians have mixed feelings about forking over some of our income to government. People around the state hold a wide variety of opinions -- from those who say "not a penny more" to those who think we have to spend more to fund services like roads, schools, and health care.
Forum | Thursday, Mar 31, 2011, 10:00 AM
Redistricting California
California voters passed Prop. 11 as a way to stop political gerrymandering. The measure took the drawing of legislative districts out of the hands of lawmakers, and instead put it into the hands of a bipartisan organization called the Citizens Redistricting Commission. But that group is already under fire for alleged political bias -- and its work is not yet underway.
The California Report | Thursday, Mar 24, 2011, 8:50 AM
LA Patches Together Mental Health Care for Juvenile Offenders
California's counties are assuming responsibility for juvenile corrections -- a job once handled by the state. And a central task is ensuring treatment for the many young offenders who suffer from psychological problems. In the second of two stories on youth justice, The California Report's Sarah Varney found that psychological care is key to turning young lives around -- and nowhere more important than in the state's largest county -- Los Angeles.
The California Report | Wednesday, Mar 23, 2011, 8:50 AM
California Counties Struggle to Take Over Juvenile Justice
In recent years county governments have taken an ever-larger role in rehabilitating thousands of teenage offenders, This year, Gov. Jerry Brown wanted to shut-down the four state-run youth correction facilities completely, but counties pushed back.
