After a brief debate on the Senate floor this afternoon, legislation to move California's presidential primary from June to February is on its way to the Assembly. And the leader of that chamber said today he expects the bill to … Continue reading »

The late Rodney Dangerfield was the kind of performer who wasn't afraid to acknowledge the obvious. When the act was bombing, he'd tug at his collar, wipe the sweat from his brow, and just blurt out the obvious: tough crowd. … Continue reading »

A couple of stories worth highlighting for the policy and political crowd on our weekending newsmagazine version of The California Report. Reporter Cy Musiker examines the new push to reduce the carbon content of gasoline and diesel. As he found … Continue reading »

"If the job of scheduling the presidential nominating contests were assigned to an insane asylum, this is pretty much what the patients would come up with." That's the opinion of Larry Sabato, the nationally known political scientist from the University … Continue reading »

"If the job of scheduling the presidential nominating contests were assigned to an insane asylum, this is pretty much what the patients would come up with." That's the opinion of Larry Sabato, the nationally known political scientist from the University … Continue reading »

Two things became clear in this afternoon's hearing on the budget needs for prison health care in California: the total cost is still unclear and even then, it's going to be high. In the most interesting moments of today's Senate … Continue reading »

It's hard to call what happened today in a Senate committee shocking news: legislation to move California's presidential primary in 2008 to February 5 cleared its first hurdle, with a vote by the full Senate now expected as soon as … Continue reading »

It wasn't quite tea and crumpets, but rather (from my vantage point) cookies, iced tea and almonds this afternoon for a rare Sacramento social event in the governor's cabinet room: the eight constitutional officers coming together to say hello, and … Continue reading »

[UPDATE: During a meeting with all of the state's constitutional officers this afternoon, I asked Governor Schwarzenegger what he thinks about the idea. "We have to talk about that," he said. But he added: "If it's less expensive, maybe it's … Continue reading »

Well, it's not surprising that the other shoe finally dropped on the infamous Arnold Schwarzenegger "Tapegate" story, those private audiotapes that leaked out during the final days of the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. The Los Angeles Times, and several other newspapers, … Continue reading »