California Connected Newsroom

The San Jose Mercury News reports that a new survey indicates that California youth are less interested in being in the outdoors but still care about the environment. The Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council interviewed 600 parents of children 13 to 17 across the state. The survey found that 59 percent of the […]

The Associated Press reports that Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have granted special California driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. He said he wanted to wait until guidelines for the REAL ID Act of 2001 were finalized, a federal law that is designed to secure the country against terrorists.

Driving While Illegal: A campaign […]

Photo of Coalinga State Hospital unit courtyard.
Coalinga State Hospital was designed to house about 700 of California’s sexually violent predators after they serve their prison terms. The $400 million facility includes a library, a brand new gym, art and history classes, and a woodworking shop. But it’s somewhat remote location in Fresno County has made […]

The Los Angeles Times reports that according to state health officials the nine bags of spinach that have been linked to the E. coli outbreak were sold as conventional produce now traced to the Dole label. Confusion over whether the outbreak might implicate conventional or organic farming practices arose because the spinach was packaged by […]

Photo of dry Owens River by im me.
Two big rivers central to California’s history and water needs will be restored in the coming years. The Modesto Bee reports that after 100 hours of negotiations, members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives agreed on legislation that would slowly restore the San Joaquin River over […]

Image of Google Video page featuring Robert Reich lecturing at UC Berkeley.
The San Jose Mercury News reports that Google Video and the University of California-Berkeley have launched more than 250 hours of free video content online, including lectures by some of the world’s leading scholars, teachers and thinkers. The videos cover various subjects: U.S.-China relations, […]

The New York Times and the San Jose Mercury News report that Senate Democrats, worried about the security and reliability of electronic voting machines, have proposed reimbursing counties across the country that print paper ballots as backup alternatives this Nov. 7.
“The Confidence in Voting Act of 2006,” co-sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, would […]

The Public Policy Institute of California just released a survey of the state’s electorate, measuring attitudes toward this years propositions, candidates and issues. The authors of the report conclude that Democratic candidate Phil Angelides will have to perform masterfully at next week’s televised debate. Other findings show voter uncertainty about the proposed infrastructure bonds and […]

Gov. Schwarzenegger signs AB 32 at ceremony in San Francisco.
Gov. Schwarzenegger has officially signed California’s ambitious, landmark bill to cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, his press office reports. “When I campaigned for governor three years ago, I said I wanted to make California No. 1 in the fight against global warming. This is something […]

Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a new bill last week that increases the penalties for drivers engaging in illegal street races. “Those who race their cars at high speeds on California streets and highways endanger the lives of innocent people as well as themselves,” he said in a press release. “It is disturbing to hear the many […]