Politics

Gov. Jerry Brown reviews legislation with his wife, Anne Gust Brown, second from left and staffers Camille Wagner, left, Graciela Castillo-Krings at his Capitol office on Sunday. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California’s Legislature revved into high gear when it came to writing laws in 2018, sending the most bills to the governor’s desk in … Read more

Taft High School junior Yoeli Barag has been interested in politics for as long as he can remember, thanks to the frequent political discussions he says were part of growing up in his Woodland Hills home. But this fall the political discussions he witnesses will be taking place in the U.S. House of Representatives, where … Read more

Farmworkers take a break from picking leafy greens in San Jacinto. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) A paradox has settled across California’s velvet green fields and orchards. California farmers, who are some of the most ardent supporters of Donald Trump, would seem to be on a collision course with one of the president-elect’s … Read more

Why did California ‘kill’ its booming hemp-derived THC industry? A dark-haired man in a worn flannel coat walked into a Dino Mart convenience store on a busy street in North Hollywood one recent weekday afternoon. He perused the shelves before landing on a mini-fridge stocked with colorful cans near the chip aisle. As he purchased … Read more

‘Enjoy the basement!’ New California members of Congress move in to Capitol — as the old move out Near the cafeteria of the Rayburn House Office Building, right next to the trash bins, is a drab room with rows of cubicles wistfully called the “Departing Member Center.” After every election, sitting members of the House … Read more

But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth! Rudyard Kipling, “The Ballad of East and West” — THE TWO POLITICAL celebrities liked those lines so much that they put them on their campaign poster. … Read more

A personal connection with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s chief of staff led to Renee Zito’s selection as California’s drug and alcohol treatment czar. But more than a year into her tenure, Zito’s aptitude is being questioned by substance abuse professionals and by an independent state watchdog agency. Before she was tapped to run the California Department … Read more

Susie Wiles, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for chief of staff, will have her work cut out for her. Though the job has traditionally entailed policing who has access to the president, Trump chafed at such efforts during his first presidency as he churned through four chiefs of staff. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) As incoming … Read more

Residents attend a Durango City Council meeting to speak about the continued fluoridation of the Colorado town’s drinking water. (Christian Burney / Associated Press) For about 50 years, adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water was a popular public health measure in Yorktown, a leafy town north of New York City. But in September, the town’s … Read more

In Ohio, it really was all about the turnout — though in ways that defied the conventional political wisdom of the Buckeye State. A hugely motivated Republican base, driven in part by a “marriage protection” amendment to the state constitution, proved more than equal to the task of matching heavy increases in Democratic voting strength … Read more