Brown, Lawmakers Refocus Sights on the Budget
With this week's election safely in the rearview mirror, the state Legislature and Governor Brown are now turning their attention to California's budget. With the economy recovering and more cash than expected in state coffers, it should be a relatively painless process -- but there are some places Governor Brown and fellow Democrats may disagree. We talk with John Myers, KQED's senior editor for government and politics, about how these budget negotiations fit into the upcoming November election.
Dan Schnur on What He Learned From Political Defeat
The name Dan Schnur is familiar in California political and media circles. He's a former adviser to Republicans like Pete Wilson and John McCain, an oft-quoted political pundit and chair of the state's top political watchdog agency, the FPPC. Most recently, he headed the Jesse Unruh Institute of Politics at USC. This week, Schnur's name was also on the ballot -- as a candidate for secretary of state. Schnur left political party labels behind and ran as a non-partisan, independent candidate. But he came in fourth, just behind indicted State Senator Leland Yee. Has Schnur's take on politics changed now that he's been a candidate himself?
Drought Drives Groundwater Drilling Frenzy
There's a drilling boom in California -- and it's not for oil or gas. With little help from the sky or the Sierra snowpack this year, farmers and ranchers are leaning heavily on pumping groundwater. Counties in the farm-rich Central Valley are issuing record numbers of permits for new wells. New studies show that as groundwater is drained from the huge aquifer there, it's putting more stress on the San Andreas Fault, triggering earthquakes.
Cultural Battle Over 'Comfort Women' Statue Heads to Court
A statue in a park north of Los Angeles is the focus of a battle over something that happened during World War II, in Asia. The statue in the city of Glendale honors what were known as "comfort women," mostly Korean and Chinese women or girls forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army in the 1930s and '40s.
Retracing Buffalo Soldiers' Trek to Yosemite
This weekend, history buffs will gather in San Francisco to commemorate a little-known slice of the state's past. They'll travel from the city's old Army base, the Presidio, to Yosemite National Park. It's a sped-up version of a trek made to the Sierras more than a century ago by black Army troops known as Buffalo Soldiers. Event organizers are focusing on a chapter of the past to encourage more African-Americans to visit national parks now.