Stem cell research. Just passing along the one name that stuck out on this afternoon's list of new appointments e-mailed from Governor Schwarzenegger's press office: Schwarzenegger has tapped former celebrity talk show host Leeza Gibbons to serve on the committee … Continue reading »

The early read on Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill's new state budget report is not a pretty one: she forecasts a $2 billion deficit in the current fiscal year and an $8 billion operating shortfall as of next July. The sobering … Continue reading »

As cleanup continues of last week's tanker accident in San Francisco Bay, Governor Schwarzenegger has issued an executive order that temporarily bans all seafood consumption from the bay. The decision not only impacts the scheduled start of the crab season, … Continue reading »

On this week's Capital Notes Podcast, we look at the political dance this week on health care reform and the campaign to modify legislative term limits. Health care negotiations seemed to intensify this week, after Democratic leaders unveiled their modified … Continue reading »

Jerry Brown may have invented the so-called "canoe theory" of politics (paddle a little left, paddle a little right, end up in the center) but Arnold Schwarzenegger has probably come the closest to perfecting it. And this morning the two … Continue reading »

Well, now we know who the early donors are to the proposed ballot initiative that would change how California's 55 electoral votes are divvied up in the race for the White House. Some of the names are familiar ones, and … Continue reading »

This week's Capital Notes Podcast takes a look at two political stories from the week where deadlines are a big part of the story: the effort to reform health care, and the effort to place an initiative on the statewide … Continue reading »

It's a simple maxim in California initiative politics: if you've got enough money, then you'll get it on the ballot. Trouble is, we still don't know whether the controversial electoral vote initiative has met the standard. The initiative, which has … Continue reading »