On this week's Capital Notes Podcast, the usual smorgasbord of Capitol topics: health care reform gets a unified boost… prison guards lose a round in the Senate… and elected officials get a pay raise. Plus, we check to see if … Continue reading »

If there's anything that riles up certain constituencies of state government, it's the spectre of a tax increase. And that's something that every governor knows… which means they tend to stay away from anything that even remotely smells like a … Continue reading »

Funny thing about magazine covers… they get quickly outdated. Just a few days after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared on the cover of Time as two independent Republicans, one of them decided to drop the word … Continue reading »

Serious people can disagree about whether California politics has truly entered a new phase of cooperation– "post partisanship" as Governor Schwarzenegger calls it. But few can dispute that the governor has gotten awfully good at selling that message on the … Continue reading »

TO: Constitutional Officers, LegislatorsFROM: California TaxpayersSUBJECT: Salary Adjustment This is to inform you that, while we still have concerns about your overall effectiveness in your current jobs– and your long-term chances for success– our advisers have nonetheless approved salary increases … Continue reading »

On this week's edition of the Capital Notes Podcast, we look back at the following stories from this week: health care goes Hollywood, the governor opines on immigrant immersion and Central Valley water projects, and the latest on those who … Continue reading »

That's the assessement on budget negotiations made today by the Republican leader of the Assembly– just hours before the first constitutional deadline for a new spending plan comes… and goes. In a noontime speech to the Sacramento Press Club, Assembly … Continue reading »

The chances of a lawsuit over California's greenhouse gas standards for new vehicles appear to be increasing, as Governor Schwarzenegger ratchets up the rhetoric. This morning, the governor sent a strongly worded letter to the administrator of the U.S. Environmental … Continue reading »

The busiest man in Sacramento today might very well have been… Michael Moore. The documentary filmmaker embarked on a whirlwind tour of the state Capitol on the issue of health care reform, all the while promoting his new movie, "Sicko." … Continue reading »

John McCain's weeklong trip through California landed in Sacramento this morning, where he spent some time reaffirming his unusual position in national politics… arguing for more patience on the war in Iraq one moment, and more environmental protection the next. … Continue reading »