Subsidized Childcare Costs Will Increase for the Working Poor

(Editor’s Note: Corrections have been made to this post. The total income figures in the chart linked to in this post are not total State Median Income, as the post initially said, but actually the 75 percent of State Median Income maximum for childcare eligibility.  So $3,769 is 75 percent of a family of three’s toital monthly income of $5,025.    Read more »

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February Receipts Drop But Still Up $1.3 Billion for the Year

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang released March 9 his monthly report covering California’s cash balance, receipts and disbursements in February. Total receipts for the month were $139.4 million lower — 2.4 percent — than estimates found in the governor’s proposed budget.

“After the first 8 months into the fiscal year, we are $1.3 billion ahead of projections,” said Chiang.    Read more »

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The Diamond Bar Republican Has a New Twist on Fundraising

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Based on the Qualifications, It’s No Surprise They’re Ineligible

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How the Legislature Proposes to Cut Welfare by $1.1 Billion

Of the approximately $12 billion in spending reductions proposed by the Legislature in its budget, $1.1 billion fall on the 1.4 million Californians – two-thirds of them children – who receive aid under CalWORKs, the state’s welfare program.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s January budget plan contained $1.5 billion in cuts to welfare recipients, including a 13 percent reduction in monthly support checks and a limit of four years – instead of five – for parents and children to receive assistance.    Read more »

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Chris Norby, the Assembly’s Poet Laureate, Waxes Fulsome

This is a portion of the Irvine Republican’s electronically promulgated Norby Notes 4 from early March 2011 — with annotation:

My weekly Monday flight from Orange County to Sacramento was particularly spectacular as the wintery majesty of our Golden State below gives no hint of the paralysis of its government.    Read more »

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A Tidbit from the Controller’s Redevelopment Agency Audit

FINDING 4 — Most Redevelopment Agencies Charged Expenditures That Were Questionable can be found on Page 9 of State Controller John Chiang’s audit, released March 7, of 18 large and small redevelopment agencies around the state.

As an example of such expenditures, the audit cites the City of San Jose which charged 25 percent of the salary and fringe benefits of the mayor, the 12 members of the city council and 40 city council staff members to the redevelopment agency.    Read more »

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Controller Releases Findings of Redevelopment Agency Audit

SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang on March 7 released the results of a five-week, limited-scope review of 18 redevelopment agencies across the State of California.

The Controller found no reliable means to measure the impact of redevelopment activity on job growth because redevelopment agencies either do not track them or their methodologies lack uniformity and are often arbitrary.    Read more »

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Unemployment Rate in January Down Slightly to 12.4 Percent

SACRAMENTO – California nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 12,500 in January, with 5 of 11 industry sectors showing gains, according to data released March 4 by the California Employment Development Department from two separate surveys.

The unemployment rate was 12.4 percent, following an annual revision of monthly employment estimates.

The U.S.    Read more »

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More than 2,000 Pieces of Legislation Introduced in February

Shattering its January output of 248 bill introductions, the Assembly and the Senate produced nearly 10 times as many measures in February – 2,023, to be exact.

In the Senate and the Assembly, the deadline to introduce bills was February 18 although committee bills rather than those introduced by an individual members could be logged later.    Read more »

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