An Assembly race involving Gov. Brown's former political adviser Steve Glazer is trumping all other campaigns when it comes to independent expenditures.
Jim Miller reports for the Sacramento Bee: "The 16th Assembly District in the San Francisco East Bay has had more than $1.3 million in independent expenditures, more than five times as much as any other contest."
A report by the Public Policy Institute of California found the state’s new primary system did not improve lame voter turnout in 2012.
Jean Merl reports in the Los Angeles Times: “"Many had hoped that the additional choices offered to voters in the top-two system would encourage participation in primary elections. Instead," the report found, "turnout in the June 2012 primary was one of the lowest on record" even though there was a presidential election, which typically spurs more people to vote.”
“That may have been partly because both the Democratic and Republican nominees for president were largely decided before California's primary occurred, the author suggested.”
Los Angeles still reigns as the most populous, but the Bay Area is now the fastest growing region in the state.
Melody Gutierrez reports in The San Francisco Chronicle: “Overall, the Golden State added 356,000 residents last year - nearly a 1 percent increase that brings the state's total to 38.3 million. The new figures released by the state Department of Finance ranked Santa Clara and Alameda counties the two fastest-growing counties in California.”
Legislators may want to expand California’s film and TV production tax credit to stifle job losses, even if the return on investment is questionable.
Michae B. Moris reports for Bloomberg: “For every $1 of subsidy, the state gets back about 65 cents in sales, income and use taxes, the Legislative Analyst’s Office said yesterday in a report citing the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. Local and federal agencies separately collect 46 cents, according to the report.”
“This sort of competition can be characterized as a race to the bottom,” Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said in the report. “It is unclear how these sorts of competitions end.”
Mother of three Antonia Aguilar was deported by immigration authorities despite private congressional effort to rejoin her with her family in the Bay Area.
David E. Early reports for the Mercury News: “Aguilar lived in the U.S. for 11 years with her children until three years ago, when she returned to Mexico to pay a final visit her dying father. She attempted -- six times -- to return and rejoin her kids, but she never made it back to the Bay Area.”
“In early March, Aguilar was part of a campaign called "Bring Them Home," where hundreds of Mexicans applied for asylum after illegally crossing the border. However, immigration judges determined that she did not meet the legal requirements for asylum.”
In 1998, voters approved a measure requiring public schools teach in English. One lawmaker is hoping to repeal that law.
Patrick McGreevy reports for the Los Angeles Times: “The proposal to restore bilingual education programs in the state was made by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), who said the ballot measure has stifled the ability of students to become multilingual.”
“The top educational systems around the world all require students to learn multiple languages,” Lara told the panel. “New research has shown that children have an innate ability to absorb multiple languages at once, where previously it was thought to confuse them.”
Toronto’s infamous crack-smoking mayor has decided to seek treatment after another video surfaced of him toking a peculiar pipe.
Rob Gillies reports for the Associated Press: “Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will take an immediate leave of absence to seek help for alcohol, he said, as a report surfaced about a second video of the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine.”
“Ford also said he would take a leave from his campaign for re-election in an Oct. 27 vote. One of his campaign rivals and other Toronto politicians demanded he resign.”
