longtime writer on California politics
Columnist for the California Progress Report; former Editorial Page editor and columnist for the Sacramento Bee; author of Final Test: The Struggle for Adequacy in America's Schools, Paradise Lost: California's Experience, America's Future and, most recently, California: America’s High Stakes Experiment
What's at Stake in Tomorrow's Election? Despite record spending by candidates, their supporters and special interest groups, experts predict a low turnout tomorrow — less than a third of registered voters. But, in case you're fed up with politics, one initiative measure could mean it won't be conducted the same way any more. We hear more about Proposition 14 , which would establish what's called an "open primary," and several other issues on tomorrow's ballot .
The State Budget and the End of the California Dream Governor Schwarzenegger today signed last week's budget compromise into law, minus $656 million in cuts he said were necessary to balance the measure. He called it "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."
Top Five Homeowner Names Are Latino The five most common surnames of homebuyers in California are García, Hernandez, Rodriguez, Lopez and Martinez--all Latino. Nationwide, four of the 10 most common homebuyers' names are Latino. That's from a column by Peter Schrag, who writes for the Sacramento Bee .
Arnold Schwarzenegger on the State of the State In his State of the State address, Governor Schwarzenegger said tonight that California has the ideas of ancient Athens and the power of Sparta. He said this state can lead the nation and the world into the future, and he called for massive new borrowing to equal the $43 billion in bonds passed by voters last year. He reminded reminded the legislature of last year's bipartisan agreements on the minimum wage, prescription drug costs and reducing greenhouse gases, and proposed that California move away from fossil fuels and foreign oil. We hear what he said and how he said it, and talk with several commentators, including historian Kevin Starr, who helped shape the Governor's vision.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.