L.A. Times - California Politics

Cities, counties no longer mellow about pot dispensaries

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

At least 120 cities and eight counties in California have banned medical pot shops, fearing crime and profiteering. Some cite the proliferation of dispensaries in L.A.

As hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries have opened this year in a startling rollout across California, unnerved local officials have started to push back aggressively.

Brown closes inquiry into unauthorized taping of conversations with reporters

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

California's attorney general says the tapings were done only by a rogue lieutenant who quit after his actions were revealed.

State Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown's office closed its inquiry into the unauthorized tape recording of his and some staff members' conversations with reporters, saying the tapings were done only by a rogue lieutenant who quit after his actions were revealed.

A win for Southern California citizenship applicants

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Hundreds of legal immigrants whose cases have been languishing for years will get resolution within six months because of a settlement with the U.S. government.

Hundreds of legal immigrants in Southern California who have been waiting years for citizenship will have their cases resolved as a result of a settlement with the federal government, attorneys announced Monday.

Poll: Voters skeptical of state reform proposals

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Of those surveyed, 54% want to keep the two-thirds majority required to pass a budget, 65% reject a new sales tax for service providers and 62% oppose changing Prop. 13's property-tax restrictions.

Backers of an overhaul of California's government, who hope to leverage disgust with Sacramento into support for changing how the state raises taxes and spends money, have a difficult path ahead, according to a new poll of California voters.

Taxing our credulity

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Spelling out the state's new 'interest-free loan': T-A-X

The state of California began withholding more taxes from paychecks last week. And don't believe it if you hear this isn't a tax increase.

California's best years have passed, voters say

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

In a survey of 1,500 registered voters, 80% say the state is on the wrong track. Respondents express little confidence in state politicians and candidates, even as support for Obama remains high.

Frustrated at California's woes, voters are sharply pessimistic about whether the next governor will be able to move the state in the right direction, and most believe California is in the midst of a long-term decline, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll shows.

Santa Anita racetrack played a role in WWII internment

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The extensive grounds were used as the nation's largest assembly center to house about 19,000 Japanese Americans before they were relocated to camps.

A plaque near the entrance on the sprawling grounds of the Santa Anita racetrack is the sole reminder of the track's place in World War II history as the nation's largest assembly center for Japanese Americans on their way to internment camps.

By a small margin, California voters support same-sex marriage

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

A new poll finds, however, that they don't want to vote on it in 2010.

A small majority of California voters supports the right of same-sex couples to marry, but by a much larger margin, voters oppose efforts to place the issue back on the ballot next year, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll has found.

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush cancel appearances in L.A., N.Y.

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The 42nd and 43rd presidents back out because promoters of the February panel discussion 'insisted on billing it as something it wasn't,' a Clinton spokesman says.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on Saturday abruptly pulled out of a joint appearance scheduled for this winter in Los Angeles after growing unhappy with the way the event was being promoted.

Schwarzenegger signs part of water package

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

One of the bills establishes a statewide program to measure groundwater elevations. The other adds 25 state enforcement officers to track down illegal water diversions.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went to a scruffy field in the San Fernando Valley on Friday to sign two pieces of water legislation passed earlier this week.