
Back and Forward: Ellen Hanak
Director of the Water Policy Center on California water management
Ellen Hanak, director of the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California offers her insight into California water management.

A Community College Online?
Gov. Brown’s plan re-imagines cyber learning, but faces skeptics
Laticia Middleton perches in front of a computer at the Greater Sacramento Urban League’s job center, scanning employment ads. At 30, with two children, a high school diploma and a job at a call center, Middleton is the kind of student Gov. Jerry Brown has in mind as he pushes for a new online community college.

Rancho Cordova Puts Budget Dollars in the Community’s Hands
In 2014, Rancho Cordova voters approved Measure H, a half-cent sales tax to fund the Community Enhancement Fund program, which funnels grant money from its general fund to improvement projects submitted by residents, local businesses and other organizations that support the city’s key priority areas: public safety; education; economic development; public works; arts, culture, history, entertain

Get Spent
With the rise in online shopping, suburbs like Roseville grapple with how to compensate for declining sales tax revenues
Sales tax just isn’t what it used to be in suburban shopping meccas, as nearly half of all American households now have an Amazon Prime membership. Now, Roseville is looking to residents to help prioritize city services and mitigate the lost revenue.

California Taxpayers Could Foot the Bill to Shutter Old Oil Rigs in the Pacific
It’s been nearly three years since an oil pipeline ruptured in Santa Barbara County, coating seven miles of beaches with crude oil and killing dolphins, birds and sea lions.

Road Map
California High Speed Rail Authority CEO Brian Kelly on infrastructure, gas taxes and public transit
After five years as the Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, Brian Kelly took the helm as CEO of California High Speed Rail Authority, effective February 1. We sat down with him to talk about the state’s critical infrastructure needs and the nation’s first high-speed rail system as construction continues in the Central Valley.

Texting and Messaging in the Workplace — What’s the Risk?
In general, messaging is a more informal method of communication, which often leads to a false sense of security or lack of forethought, and has the potential to create legal exposure. It also opens the door for mistakes, by saying the wrong thing or leaving room for the wrong interpretation.

Dollars and Sense
California State Controller Betty Yee on tax reform, climate change and tips for small businesses
As the state’s fiscal watchdog, California State Controller Betty Yee has a finger on the pulse of what is now the world’s sixth largest economy. But her influence reaches far beyond just paying the State’s bills. We sat down with her recently to talk about taxes, climate change and why she is compelled to address issues like human trafficking.

California Pot Users Turn Out in Droves to Ring in Legal Sales
California rang in the new year with a newly legal product: cannabis.

Ballot Breakdown: These Initiative Ideas are Headed Your Way
Direct democracy can be an exhausting business.