California’s raging fire season is totally because we don’t have enough water out here to fight fires because we wasted it by sending it out to the Pacific Ocean. At least that’s what a certain tweet-mad president opined on the social...
SC Gov Signs HB 3114 SOUTH CAROLINA Gov. Nikki Haley (R) signs HB 3114 , which makes it illegal for a woman to get an abortion once her pregnancy reaches 20 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest. Women will be able to obtain an abortion after...
NE Legislature Approves LB 947 The NEBRASKA Legislature approves LB 947 , a bill that would allow so-called “dreamers” – immigrants who entered the country illegally but were granted lawful status by the federal government –...
With baby boomer retirements diminishing the ranks of California teachers, nearly one in three educators in the state leaving the job within the first seven years, and modest starting salaries doing little to attract people to the fill those positions...
There is a saying that goes, “beauty is only skin deep but ugly is to the bone.” You could say something similar about stupid, and point to Washington D.C. Councilman Trayon White Sr. as an example. White is the intellectual giant who recently...
California Gov. Jerry Brown gave his 16 th and final – we think – State of the State address last month. Although he can still speechify with the best of them, the 79-year-old Brown is these days a far more humble version of himself than the...
ME Governor Signs HB 798 MAINE Gov. Janet Mills (D) signs HB 586 , a bill that eliminates religious and philosophical exemptions for receiving immunizations required by Pine Tree State schools and day cares. The law takes effect 90 days after lawmakers...
After being short-handed for over a year, due to the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a full-strength U.S. Supreme Court began its fall term last week with a docket full of major cases. They include: Gill v. Whitford , No. 16-1161, in which the court...
Last week Juneau Superior Court Judge Philip Pallenberg struck down an Alaska law barring independent candidates from running in the state’s partisan primary elections. The state’s Democratic Party had challenged the law, contending it restricted...
In 1912 Montana passed a law prohibiting all corporate spending in the state’s elections. The law remained in place for 100 years, until the U.S. Supreme Court declared it to be in conflict with the court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC...
Gov. Rick Snyder (R) announces the Wolverine State will recognize over 300 same-sex marriages performed in 2014 during a time period when a court had lifted the state’s ban on those unions. Snyder said the state would not appeal the decision rendered...
VT House and Senate Approve HB 511 The VERMONT House and Senate give final approval to HB 511 , which allows people 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to grow up to two plants to maturity. It moves now to Gov. Phil Scott (R), who...
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks MI Law A federal judge temporarily blocks a MISSISSIPPI law that would ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, at about six weeks of pregnancy. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves previously banned a Magnolia...
Going On In NJ The NEW JERSEY Department of Environmental Protection enacts a new rule to cap the amount of compounds known as PFNAs, short for perfluorononanoic acids, in Garden State drinking water. The man-made, toxic chemical compounds, once used...
CA Assembly Endorses AB 5 The CALIFORNIA Assembly endorses AB 5 , a bill that could require employers to officially recognize hundreds of thousands of so-called “gig” workers as employees. Under the bill, employers seeking to avoid having...
FDA Bans 19 Chemicals The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issues a rule banning 19 chemicals commonly used in anti-bacterial soaps. The FDA said the chemicals are unnecessary and in some cases even dangerous. Companies that make the soaps were given...
TX Senate Approves SB 11 The TEXAS Senate approves SB 11 , a broad school safety measure that would, among several things, require that classrooms be equipped with phones and establish threat assessment teams to help identify potentially dangerous...
CA Governor Signs AB 1985 Following a state audit that found significant underreporting of hate crimes, CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 1985 , which sets minimum standards for how local law enforcement agencies investigate and report those...
KS Supreme Court Rules The KANSAS Supreme Court rules that women in the Sunflower State have a constitutional right to obtain an abortion. Justices ruled that both the state and U.S. constitutions support that right. Opponents vowed to seek to amend...
ME Senate Approves HB 1115 The MAINE Senate approves to HB 1115 , which would ban retailers from offering single-use plastic bags. Each chamber must endorse the bill again for it to go to Gov. Janet Mills (D) for consideration (BANGOR DAILY NEWS).
President Barack Obama makes permanent a 2010 executive order deeming ALASKA's Bristol Bay off limits to oil and gas exploration. The president's original order was set to expire in 2017, but now can only be overturned by a new executive directive...
California Signs AB 562 CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs AB 562 , which makes it a misdemeanor crime for anyone to interfere with, obstruct or impede a State Auditor’s investigation, with violators facing a fine of up to $5,000 (LEXISNEXIS...
Beverly Hills City Council Approves an Ordinance The BEVERLY HILLS City Council approves an ordinance making it the fist city in America to fully ban the sale of all tobacco products. The measure, which takes effect in 2021, allows cigar lounges to...
Editor: Rich Ehisen Associate Editor: Korey Clark Editorial Advisor: Lou Cannon Contributing Editor: Mary Peck , David Giusti Correspondents: Cathy Santsche, Felicia Carrillo Graphic Design: Vanessa Perez Design
Although motor vehicle subscription services - similar to auto leases but with no long-term commitment, the ability to change vehicles periodically and insurance and maintenance bundled in - have only been around for a few years, they’ve been embraced...