
Woodland Gears Up for Central Transit Hub
City evaluating a $4.9 million transit center near downtown
Looking to boost Woodland’s downtown, streamline bus routes and combine transportation options, the community is evaluating a proposed $4.9 million transit center. The first step is figuring out just where to build the facility.

Banning the Box
A new state law aiming to help those with a criminal record rejoin society is changing how companies hire
Giving ex-offenders a better chance at reintegration is behind the California Fair Chance Act, which took effect in January. With exceptions for a few types of jobs, the new law forbids businesses with five or more employees from asking applicants about criminal history until late in the hiring process — which could mean big changes in how many employers hire.

Rebelling Against California’s ‘Sanctuary’ Laws—from Inside California
The political whirlwind raging around California’s “sanctuary” laws isn’t doing much damage to the laws themselves, according to many state legal experts. In fact, the brunt of any legal damage may be felt most by the small city that started the rebellion.

Taxing California: Highest in the Nation And Unstable too
California’s major revenue sources have shifted over time. Until 1995, the biggest was property taxes. Today, it’s personal income taxes.
And California ranks fairly high in overall taxation: 10th highest both per capita and as a percentage of personal income, based on the latest available data from the U.S. Census.

Lead Paint Makers Balk At Huge Bill For Toxic Cleanup
Three companies found to have sold toxic lead paint for decades—despite knowing it posed health hazards for children—are waging a major battle to avoid paying the several hundred millions of dollars in liability that California courts have slapped on them.
And they’re asking you, the California voter, to help them get their way.

California Launches Online Directory of Business Incentives
Government entities can upload information on new portal designed to spur economic development
Businesses in California now have a new centralized directory with which to find information about relevant state and local incentives.

Roseville Plans to Turn Historic Homestead into Events Center
For the past year, the Fiddyment House, a former pioneer homestead dating to the mid-19th century, has sat vacant in West Roseville. All around it, land is being developed into residential neighborhoods, as the owner of that historic house — the City of Roseville — considers the future of the property.

Retro-Republican John Cox in Second Place, for Now
John Cox wants to slash the California income tax—abolish it, if possible. Maybe you disagree, but he thinks he can convince you.

Leading The Force
Q&A with Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn
Raised in Oak Park and a Sacramento State graduate, Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn brings a lifetime of local experience to the job. Rich Ehisen sat down with Hahn last January — exactly two months prior to the officer shooting of Stephon Clark — to discuss Hahn’s priorities for our April issue, which went to press just days after details of the shooting began to surface. We have updated the Q&A with a follow-up interview that took place in early April.

CalPERS Weighs Push for Sexual-Harassment Corporate Disclosure
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. pension fund, is weighing a policy to urge companies in which it invests to disclose sexual-harassment settlements.