California Forward
Shrinking budgets and bipartisan politics have not shaken the trust Americans have in local governments–finds a recent Gallup Poll. However, in western states such as California, that trust is a little less bulletproof.
read moreYouth leaders stole the show at the July 14 launch of the Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions study, which focused on how youth involvement and engagement brought positive results to the communities of West Sacramento, Yuba City/Marysville and Sacramento,.
read moreGov. Jerry Brown says he has 600 bills on his desk, but many he will not sign because “there’s not 600 problems that we need those solutions for.” We suggest he locate and sign two bills, SB14 and SB15, that help solve two of his biggest problems: the annual budget mess and the lack of public trust in Sacramento’s leadership, which voters say are closely linked.
read moreWe are rapidly approaching the 100 year anniversary of the California initiative process, an occasion celebrated by some and scorned by others. The centennial of the Golden State’s system of direct democracy is provoking many to rethink this process and consider whether it needs an upgrade.
read moreAB109 is the unassuming name for the single most significant reform in a century to California’s prison system and the state’s approach to criminal justice. Beginning Oct. 1, anyone convicted of nonviolent, nonsexual and/or non-serious criminal offenses (a.k.a. triple nons) will head to county jail instead of state prison. Anyone up for parole on a similar offense will be supervised by county officials.
read moreCalifornia voters remain fed up with their legislature, as seen in the latest Field Poll, which finds that people have little confidence in the body charged with passing laws and budgeting taxpayer dollars. Their support for the governor, however, remains steady.
read moreMention of the dysfunctions and malfunctions of California state government prompted chuckles from the audience at The Commonwealth Club on Thursday, at a panel discussion on government openness and accountability.
read moreCalifornia is about to embark on far-reaching changes in the way it manages adult prisons and jails, and the PPIC takes a closer look at how this will impact county and city governments.
read moreCivic education has eroded in California schools, and the results are clear and discouraging. It’s fair to say that California’s current budgetary and governance woes can be directly traced to our naïve reliance on an uninformed, or sometimes ill-informed, electorate.
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