Last month, California rail officials revealed that the high-speed rail may start service with slower diesel trains. This is in an effort to continue forward with the high-speed rail project and add revenue without adding more increases to the project’s costs. A report released last month also revealed that, by 2028, electric trains capable of […]

In late April, an internal draft report by the state rail authority’s staff revealed that the cost to build the 119-mile section of the California bullet train in the Central Valley is projected to increase by $1.8 billion. If this draft report is accurate, that would mean that the total cost for this stretch of […]

In late March, the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ audit, conducted by the California Department of Finance, was released and it claims that the DMV has “significant deficiencies” and an “outdated” organizational structure that led to poor customer service and that resulted in the failed implementation of the Real ID program. It was determined by […]

In late March, a state auditor’s report found that a former state government administrator allegedly engaged in “gross misconduct” by using the influence of her position to get around California’s civil service employment process in hiring and promoting her daughter. According to state officials, the subjects of the audit are the state Department of Industrial […]

In late February, a nonpartisan report from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) claimed that an account used to fund 95 percent of California’s Department of Motor Vehicles’ expenses will soon become insolvent. LAO predicts that the $3.9 billion Motor Vehicle Account will collapse in a few years, which will affect funds for the California […]

Last month, an online financial website called WalletHub released a study that looked at which of the 50 states gave taxpayers the biggest return on their investment (ROI). In the study, taxpayer dollars are seen as an investment into the state and it turns out that California is nowhere near the top of the list. […]

California’s campaign watchdog agency, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), is proposing to expand its powers so it can act when district attorneys fail to act. Members of the FPPC believe that local prosecutors have failed to file charges in dozens of cases where officials have allegedly used public funds for political purposes. The FPPC […]

Last month, state Sen. John Moorlach offered an alternative to the proposed bullet train that could potentially help with getting from Northern California to Southern California, and vice versa, much faster. Sen. Moorlach proposed Senate Bill 319 (SB 319), which would allow California to create its own version of the German Autobahn by adding two […]

In January, Assemblyman James Gallagher proposed a bill that will make it easier to access campaign finance records for candidates in city and county races and it will hopefully increase government transparency. Californians can already access campaign finance records online for state and federal candidates, but campaign finance records for candidates in city and county […]

It turns out that San Jose has made slow progress in reaching its goal of adding 10,000 affordable homes by 2022. According to a new report from the city’s housing department, just 64 units had been completed by the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, which was in June. The report also claims that another […]