Home construction across the U.S. staged a modest rebound last month after a big June drop, but was weaker than Wall Street had expected, with many analysts taking a bleak view of the housing market. Housing starts grew 0.9% in July from the prior month, significantly weaker than the 8.3% bounce back economists surveyed by […]
The unemployment rate among young Americans fell to its lowest level in more than 50 years this summer, though the share of young people looking for work remained well below its peak in 1989. Of Americans between 16 and 24 years old actively looking for work this summer, 9.2% were unemployed in July, the Labor […]
A surge in retail sales and rising manufacturing output suggest the U.S. economy’s strong growth in the second quarter continued into the third. Retail sales—a measure of spending at U.S. stores, websites and restaurants—rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in July from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was well ahead of economists’ […]
U.S. worker productivity accelerated this spring at the best pace in more than three years, a possible sign stronger business investment is giving workers the tools they need to boost output. The productivity of nonfarm workers, measured as the output of goods and services for each hour on the job, increased at an annualized and […]
California payrolls grew by 46,700 jobs in July, a significant gain that came as the unemployment rate held at a record low of 4.2%, according to data released Friday by the state’s Employment Development Department. The positive numbers come as a relief: June’s initial report, which said employers added only 800 jobs to payrolls that […]
Everybody deserves a second chance. Third chances? Sometimes. But one San Francisco Superior Court judge apparently believes in ninth chances. He indicated that this month he’ll release from jail one of the city’s most prolific auto burglars, a man with a lengthy rap sheet involving eight car burglaries, some of which turned violent. In April, […]
Californians have approved two water bonds in recent years, with another facing voters this November. In 2014 voters approved Prop. 1, allocating $7.1 billion for water projects. This June, voters approved Prop. 68, allocating another $4.0 billion for water projects. And this November, voters are being asked to approve Prop. 3, allocating another $8.9 billion […]
Increasingly we hear the idea there’s something wrong with wanting people to work. We hear welfare recipients shouldn’t be expected to work. We hear that requiring people to do work or activities in return for welfare is exploitation and wrong. That moving people from welfare to work is unfair because they’ll become part of the […]
Last year’s corporate tax cut is reducing U.S. tax collections, as expected. But that change is likely to ripple far beyond the country’s borders in the years ahead, shrinking other countries’ tax revenue, according to a recent paper by economists at the International Monetary Fund. The U.S. tax law will reduce what other countries collect […]
Inside you will find the Capitol office of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, an unlisted branch where elected officials can register their cars, renew their driver’s licenses – or apply for the new federally-mandated Real ID card that has been driving up wait times at DMV field offices across the state. From 8 a.m. […]
Despite complaints about escalating wait times for thousands of customers at California’s Department of Motor Vehicles, state lawmakers sided with the Brown administration Wednesday and refused to order an official audit into its management. The audit request needed at least eight supporters from the Joint Legislative Audit Committee — four from the Assembly and four […]
“It’s unclear exactly which ‘bad environmental laws’ Trump is referring to,” explained a CNN report. “Experts assume he’s talking about the age-old fight for water rights in California, which pits farmers in the state’s conservative Central Valley against big cities and against environmentalists, who want to see some water left in rivers and streams to […]
The state Supreme Court last Thursday struck down one of the biggest efforts yet to force California public employees into 401(k) plans, giving unions another win in their effort to protect defined benefit retirement plans from elected leaders who want to rein in pension costs. The court sought to write a narrow decision, finding that […]
California struck back at the Trump administration over air pollution Tuesday, unveiling a proposal that would force automakers to comply with the state’s strict standards for tailpipe emissions even as the federal government moves to weaken the rules. The proposal, released by the California Air Resources Board, sharpens the conflict between the state and President […]
Currently, there are about 369,000 electric cars on California roads, and Gov. Jerry Brown hopes to bring that number up to 5 million by 2030. That might appear to put electric cars on a collision course with a fragile power grid. But a report released Thursday by San Francisco-based think tank Next 10 suggests that […]