TheRepublic.com - California state government News

Bill ensures paid family leave for Calif. workers

Sun, 19 May 2013 13:29:22 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - California businesses would be prohibited from firing or retaliating against employees who take advantage of the state's paid family leave program under a job-protection bill moving through the Legislature.

Report: steel tendons left exposed on Bay Bridge

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:14:35 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO - Thousands of steel tendons used to strengthen the skyway portion of the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge were exposed during construction to rainfall and salty bay mist, leading to rust and corrosion concerns.

Parking fees fight at Calif. state beaches heat up

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:15:26 -0400

LOS ANGELES - Sunbathers flocking to Southern California beaches are used to feeding the meter or paying a parking attendant. Not so along the less developed north coast where it's customary to ditch cars on the shoulder of Highway 1 to surf, swim or picnic.

Calif. AG meets with new task force on guns

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:01:05 -0400

LOS ANGELES - California Attorney General Kamala Harris met with a new statewide taskforce of district attorneys Friday to study ways to reduce gun violence and enforce existing law.

Ca. inmate wounds 2 guards with sharp toothbrush

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:44:15 -0400

SAN LUIS OBISPO, California - Prison officials say an inmate at California Men's Colony attacked two guards with a toothbrush sharpened into a knife, leaving them with head and neck wounds.

Inmate killed at Kern Ca. prison, cellmate suspect

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:41:41 -0400

DELANO, California - Corrections officials are investigating the death of a California Prison inmate. They say the death was a homicide and the man's cellmate is the suspect.

No spike in parolee arrests under new prison law

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:53:45 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - Corrections department researchers have found no spike in arrests of parolees since responsibility for many ex-convicts shifted to local authorities under the state's prison realignment law, according to a study released Thursday.

Bill calls for considering bridge suicide barriers

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:20:19 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - Suicide barriers could be included on more California bridges as a result of a bill advancing through the Legislature.

Calif. bill would limit local immigrant detentions

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:41:16 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - People living in the country illegally could not be detained for deportation if they are arrested for a minor crime, under a bill passed Thursday by the California Assembly.

Judge to hear lawsuit over high-speed rail bonds

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:57:11 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - State officials on Thursday agreed to drop a request to consolidate all lawsuits challenging California's use of voter-approved high-speed rail bonds, allowing a trial seeking to prevent the state from spending bond money to begin later this month.

Bill promotes violence-awareness in Calif. schools

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:08:50 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - The state Senate approved a bill on Thursday that would require education officials to create lesson plans about violence in American culture - the Legislature's latest reaction to mass shootings last year elsewhere in the nation.

Groups sue over Del Norte County highway project

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:26:25 -0400

CRESCENT CITY, California - Three conservation groups have filed a lawsuit to try to stop a highway-widening project in far Northern California they say will threaten ancient redwoods and endanger salmon runs.

CHP plucks teens from Sacramento River

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:10:57 -0400

REDDING, California - Five teenagers are safe after being plucked from a rock in the Sacramento River near Redding by a California Highway Patrol helicopter.

Democrat Norma Torres wins state Senate seat

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:08:11 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - Democrat Norma Torres handily won a state Senate seat in a Southern California special election after outspending her opponent in an overwhelmingly Democratic district.

Official: 'fighting chance' for 2013 bridge open

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:37:09 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - The new $6.3 billion eastern portion of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge still "has a fighting chance" to open this year, despite concerns over structural issues, officials overseeing its construction said Tuesday.

Nevada, California governors announce Tahoe pact

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:10:37 -0400

CARSON CITY, Nevada - The governors of Nevada and California are announcing an agreement that will repeal Nevada's threat to leave the decades-old Lake Tahoe Compact.

Calif. man who said he fled zombies pleads guilty

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:53:28 -0400

TEMECULA, California - A Tennessee man who stole a big-rig truck in California, caused several accidents and told investigators he was fleeing zombies when he did it has pleaded guilty to several felonies.

Assembly OKs bill preventing school bond conflicts

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:09:03 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - California lawmakers advanced a bill Monday that would prevent taxpayer money from being used to promote local bond measures.

Calif. to ask US high court to reject inmate order

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:35:08 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - Gov. Jerry Brown's administration filed notice Monday that it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to again weigh in on the long-running prison population case.

State Senate OKs ski safety legislation

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:10:05 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - The state Senate on Monday passed a bill that would require California ski resorts to prepare an annual safety plan and post those reports on their websites.

Ice Age bison fossil found during Calif road work

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:28:47 -0400

SAN DIEGO - An Ice Age bison fossil uncovered during highway construction work in north San Diego County is about to be unveiled.

Calif. struggles with experiment to shift inmates

Sun, 12 May 2013 09:56:20 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - In response to a federal court order, Gov. Jerry Brown pushed a novel approach through the Legislature two years ago to dramatically reduce California's prison population.

CHP officer injured following high-speed chase

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:55:05 -0400

SAN BERNARDINO, California - A California Highway Patrol officer was shot in the leg Thursday during a high-speed chase that ended with a murder suspect dead and another injured, authorities said.

Assembly OKs transgender student accommodations

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:02:53 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - Transgender students would have the right to use public school restrooms and participate on sports teams that correspond with their expressed genders under a bill approved Thursday in the California Assembly.

Calif. sues JPMorgan Chase over debt collection

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:53:11 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - California's attorney general sued one of the nation's largest banks Thursday, alleging that JPMorgan Chase & Co. used illegal tactics in its efforts to collect debts from more than 100,000 credit card holders.