California’s polls will look decidedly different in June. Instead of the customary partisan primary ballots, this year’s options will include all the candidates for a particular office, and voters can choose any candidate, regardless of their own party registration.

Barely a month into Barack Obamas presidency, his administration announced a major effort to help millions of underwater homeowners refinance into mortgages with lower interest rates. But the Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, came with limitations that stifled its effectiveness.

Jeff Michael, 42, is the director of the Business Forecasting Center at the University of the Pacific. 

There was a raucous debate on the political stage last year over whether California companies were giving up on the Golden State and moving to Texas.

This year, for the first time in a decade, California is likely to see seriously contested races for Congress. That is because the new Citizens Redistricting Commission dismantled the 2001 congressional gerrymander that kept almost all districts safe for incumbent parties.

Companies in the Sacramento region have long counted on government contracts to smooth out the gyrations of economic cycles. Local, state and federal governments had deep pockets and a seemingly unending appetite for goods and services.

Companies in the Sacramento region have long counted on government contracts to smooth out the gyrations of economic cycles. Local, state and federal governments had deep pockets and a seemingly unending appetite for goods and services.

When newly elected mayor Kevin Johnson proposed in 2008 a strong-mayor form of city government, the City Council soundly rejected the plan.

The Federal Reserve calls it Operation Twist, named after the 1961 Chubby Checker hit that sparked gyrating hips in dance halls across America. That was also the first year the Fed embarked on a mission to purchase long-term Treasury notes in an effort to drive down interest rates on long-term loans.

When it comes to the California public pension system, one thing is crystal clear: it absolutely must and will change. The question is when and how. Practically every expert who has analyzed the state’s pension figures uses the word “unsustainable” to describe the system.

In 2003, California’s workers’ compensation rates led the nation, setting off a debate about the cost of doing business here. Enter former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his sweeping 2004 reforms to the system — everything from disability payments to medical care guidelines to return-to-work benefits got an overhaul.