Despite a budget deficit so large that it triggered the first gubernatorial recall in California history, the administration of Gov. Gray Davis has shown scant interest in stimulating the economy. But with the chaos in Sacramento - and the fact that elected officials have a smaller and smaller role to play in actually shaping the state's budget - it may be that no California governor can devise an effective economic development strategy. >>read more
An outwardly conventional apartment complex in Orange County does not clamor for attention in the same way as an architectural milestone like Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. But it might be that the suburban apartments, easily overlooked, will have a greater long-term impact on average Californians than L.A.'s spectacular new icon.
The City of San Jose Redevelopment Agency cannot use its power of eminent domain to escape from a contract that gave a company an exclusive right to negotiate a development agreement, the Sixth District Court of Appeal has ruled.
State lawmakers approved few pieces of substantial land use legislation before adjourning for the year in September. Nearly all of the high-profile proposals became two-year bills, meaning they will be revived in some form after the Legislature returns in January.
California's judicial system uses a fast-track approach to bring cases to trial quickly, but the state's plans to repair the aging courthouses in which trials are conducted are on a slow track. It is a case of maintenance deferred, leading to decrepit courtrooms and unsafe, seismically unfit buildings.
A federal appeals court has lifted an injunction against a City of Los Angeles billboard inspection fee, finding that the billboard companies that opposed the fee are unlikely to win a First Amendment lawsuit.
In a victory for the owners of senior water rights, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the operators of the Central Valley Project (CVP), in times of water shortage, could reduce a larger proportion of water from the two districts than from other entities with older water rights and separate contracts.
A decade of litigation over the status of the northern goshawk has apparently concluded with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the Fish & Wildlife Service's decision not to place the bird on the endangered species list.
