The Voice of San Diego reports on the annual process of threatened layoffs in California schools that are subsequently rescinded, a back and forth process that discourages current teachers and dissuades potential educators. The Voice quoted Dr. Frates:
Those cycles breed skepticism about school budget cuts across the political spectrum. Teachers union president Camille Zombro disbelieved [...]
James Sweeney has a retrospective on former Speaker Fabian Nunez in the San Diego Union Tribune. Sweeney notes that Nunez leaves office with a large balance of campaign funds that could be used to assist his redistricting proposal.
Núñez will leave the Democratic Party with more than $4 million for future Assembly races, party spokesman [...]
Ben van der Meer has an interesting piece in the Modesto Bee, explaining the need for redistricting reform in California:
If you need to know why redistricting reform matters, take a look at next month’s primary ballot.
Around the Northern San Joaquin Valley, there isn’t a single contested seat in any of the party races. What’s more, [...]
From Laura Litvan’s article on Bloomberg.com:
Kennedy’s absence cuts the Democratic margin and sidelines one of the party’s best negotiators, said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California.
“It’s a significant blow,” Pitney said. “It’s a problem for the Senate Democrats because their margin is so narrow. And Ted Kennedy counts [...]
From Daniel B. Wood’s article in the Christian Science Monitor:
“The state’s YouTube videos vary in usefulness,” says Jack Pitney a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College. “The public service announcements are slick but unhelpful. Who goes on YouTube to seek propaganda from a state agency? Just because you can go on YouTube, doesn’t mean that [...]
The Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College will celebrate the 35th anniversary of its founding during a reception and luncheon on Thursday, April 24 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento.
The program will feature the inaugural presentation of the Rose Institute Award for Excellence in Public Service to Elizabeth [...]
From Steven Harmon’s article in the Mercury News:
“It’s a struggle over who frames the debate,” said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College. “Is it the allegations of Jeff Denham’s conduct, or is it the outsider trying to muscle local people?”
From Matthew T. Hall’s article in the San Diego Union-Tribune:
“I’ve heard people wax very eloquently on both sides,” said Steve Frates, a senior fellow at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College.
Dan Weintraub on Governor Schwarzenegger and Proposition 77:
…Schwarzenegger’s goal was noble: To end a system controlled by political insiders that has helped polarize the Legislature into warring camps of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans. With district lines drawn to create safe seats for members of both parties, candidates for the Legislature merely have to win [...]
Thanks to Shane Goldmacher of Capitol Alert for the link:
Redistricting is an inherently political process, as the adage goes.
So Brian Olson, a computer programmer whose Web site says he works for Google, designed a computer program to automatically draw district boundaries based on the principle that allows people to “have the lowest average distance to [...]
Inland Empire Outlook is a newsletter analyzing economic and political trends shaping California’s fastest growing region. The Lowe Institute of Political Economy and the Rose Institute of State and Local Government—two prominent research institutes at Claremont McKenna College—have joined forces to provide business and government leaders timely and sophisticated analysis of political and economic developments in this pivotal region.
The survey contains a vast amount of data about fees, taxes, costs, and incentives that affect business in more than 400 communities nationwide. Updated annually, it is a valuable resource for cities, businesses, and developers.