Shutting the door on the most needy students at UC Irvine

Guest Blog Post from HOPE Leadership Institute Participant- Class of 2009:
One issue affecting my community in the current budget crisis is the closing of a TRIO student support services unit at UC Irvine, my alma mater. The Student Academic Advancement Services Office is funded in part by a federal grant that is awarded to meet [...]

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How will your city be affected by the state budget?

The new state budget will borrow $2 billion dollars from local governments to cover  the deficit. The Sacramento Bee released a database tool today that allows you to see how your city will be affected by cuts. For example, California will borrow $28 per resident of the City of Los Angeles. The numbers are drawn [...]

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A Deal — at last

A deal — at last
kyamamura@sacbee.com
Published Tuesday, Jul. 21, 2009

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders agreed Monday to erase California’s $26 billion deficit by cutting broadly across state government, shifting costs into the future and taking funds from cities and counties.
State leaders believe their budget plan is good enough to end the state’s [...]

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Support for Sotomayor Holds Steady at 53%

As the Senate begins its confirmation hearings of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor Monday, a new Gallup Poll finds Americans in favor of her winning Senate approval, by 53% to 33%. Since late May, shortly after her nomination was announced, the percentage in favor of her confirmation has changed little, [...]

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CA Voters Prefer Spending Cuts to Tax Increases

With the May 19th Special Election rapidly approaching, Governor Schwarzeneggar is campaigning across the state to gain support for the propositions.
A California Field Poll commissioned for the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert revealed that voters overwhelmingly support solving the state budget crisis by reducing spending as opposed to increasing taxes. Although the voters support spending cuts, [...]

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Voters have an ugly choice

From the Los Angeles Times:
Voters’ choice: bad policy or deeper debt
Proposition 1C, the lottery measure, is an ugly measure for an ugly time
George Skelton
Capitol Journal
From Sacramento — Californians will face a dreadful choice next month. They can vote for horrible public policy. Or they can plunge the state deeper into the deficit hole.
If their [...]

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HOPE Statement on Palin Effigy

As reported in the LA Times Tuesday, an effigy of Sarah Palin hanging from a noose had been displayed in the front yard of a West Hollywood couple. The display also included a John McCain doll with flames coming out from under him on top of the chimney. Although no criminal laws were broken by the Palin [...]

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Court: Granting Illegal Immigrants In-State Tuition Violates Federal Law

A state appellate court ruled on Monday that a state law granting subsidized in-state tuition rates to undocumented California college students conflicts with federal law.
California’s AB 540 law had allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition if they had attended a state high school for three years and if they attended one of the state’s [...]

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Battle of the Budget

In Legislative Budget Fight, there will be blood
By Dan Walters

Article Launched: 07/11/2008 01:32:01 AM PDT
If nothing else, the California budget imbroglio has brought the Capitol’s stark ideological conflict – very liberal Democrats vs. very conservative Republicans and no more than a handful of even semi-moderates – into razor-sharp focus.
With the Democrats now insisting on more than [...]

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