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State personal income growth accelerated to 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2014 from 1.2 percent in the first quarter. Personal income growth ranged from 2.7 percent in North Dakota and Nebraska to 1.1 percent in New York and Alaska, with growth accelerating in 36 states. . . For the second consecutive quarter, the earnings increase in Texas was larger than the increase in every other state. Earnings in Texas, which accounted for 8.9 percent of the nation, grew $19.2 billion in the second quarter. Earnings in California, which accounted for 13.2 percent of the nation, grew $16.9 billion.

With harvest time across California, many of the state’s once-robust crops — from the grapes that make world-famous wines to popular almonds — are anticipated to be smaller than usual this year due to the state’s historic drought.

In the next decade, the state will need nearly 450,000 more workers in all areas of healthcare – from lab technicians to dental hygienists to medical support positions, according to, “California’s Health Workforce Needs: Training Allied Workers,” a report released last week from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).

It’s no small matter. The top 1 percent of California income-tax payers now finance a third of the state’s general fund, so their ability and willingness to pay taxes is central to the state’s fiscal health.

Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2014,  according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the first quarter, real GDP decreased 2.1 percent.

Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2014,  according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the first quarter, real GDP decreased 2.1 percent.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced in the U.S., expanded at an annual rate of 4.6% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday in its third estimate of the gauge. The agency previously pegged April-through-June growth at 4.2%.

Crude oil would cost at least $150 a barrel due to supply disruptions in the Middle East and North Africa were it not for rising production in North Dakota and Texas, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) chief Adam Sieminski said in an interview on Wednesday.

Crumbling and congested U.S. roadways are driving up costs for U.S. manufacturers as late deliveries and unreliable transportation undermine hard-fought gains in production efficiency, according to U.S. manufacturing executives.

The giant wholesaler that provides drinking water for half the California population has drained two-thirds of its stored supplies as the state contends with a punishing drought, officials said Monday.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Tuesday unveiled a proposed roadmap for developing massive solar and wind projects in California’s Mojave Desert while trying to minimize damage to desert habitat and animals. The plan — covering 22 million acres of public and private land— follows a renewable-energy building boom in southeastern California’s Mojave desert during the first term of the Obama administration, when the federal government gave billions of dollars in loans to developers siting sprawling, utility-scale solar projects in virgin desert.

Of 27 bills the California Chamber of Commerce labeled this year as “job killers,” just two made it to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.

One would prohibit contracts that require someone to waive his or her right to pursue a civil action for a civil rights claim. The other would hold businesses liable when subcontractors violate wage, workplace safety or workers’ compensation rules.

The second zip code is 93640, the Central Valley town of Mendota, population 11,800, with a median annual household income of $28,660, which is less than the $36,625 sticker price of a battery-powered Honda Fit EV. Mendota is in the top 10 percent of California zip codes for pollution and vulnerabilities such as childhood asthma, according to the CalEnviroScreen. And how many vehicles were purchased there under state subsidies? Exactly one, a lone car whose owner received $2,500.

Gov. Jerry Brown, appealing to world leaders for joint action on climate change, issued a forceful defense Tuesday of plans to expand California’s cap-and-trade program to vehicle fuels next year.

A few steps from the concrete footprints of Clark Gable and Bette Davis, the Democratic governor took the front-and-center seat among a crowd of dignitaries to celebrate the tax break he had come to sign into law at a desk below the theater’s decorative dragons.