Aug 31 Watch Wildfires Rage In California, Killing Two Firefighters Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for four California counties Monday as raging wildfires burned across nearly 86,00 acres, threatening as many as 12,000 homes outside of Los Angeles. Two firefighters died after their vehicle slid down a… Continue watching
Aug 19 Watch California Budget Woes Squeeze Overcrowded Prisons As California continues to struggle over budget gaps, Spencer Michels measures the likely effects of funding cuts on the state's overcrowded prisons. Continue watching
Aug 17 Watch California Grapples with Cuts to Safety Net Programs Local governments across the Golden State are beginning to feel the impact of the $4 billion in budget cuts made by lawmakers in the state's general assembly earlier this year. Spencer Michels explores the impact on California cities and counties. Continue watching
Aug 12 Recycling a Museum's 'Trash' Back Into Art When the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art recently deaccessioned a trove of costumes from its collection, a textile artist stumbled upon an auction catalog. His new project was born when he scooped up more than 50 deaccessioned costumes. Continue reading
Aug 04 Watch Obama Meets With Democrats to Calm Spending Concerns President Obama called Senate Democrats to the White House on Tuesday in an effort to ease the worries over a trio of spending measures being pushed by the administration. Gwen Ifill reports. Continue watching
Jul 28 Watch Other News: Sotomayor Nomination Heads to Full Senate In other news, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 to recommend Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic justice, and consumer confidence fell for a second straight month. Continue watching
Jul 21 Watch Calif. Strikes Deal to Close $26 Billion Budget Gap Lawmakers in California on Tuesday agreed on a plan to close a $26 billion budget gap, ending weeks of stalemate that left the state's chief accountant having to issue IOUs to creditors. Ray Suarez reports. Continue watching
Jul 17 A Little Poetry for California's Crisis Paul Solman: Questions keep coming in about the likelihood and consequences of a California default on its bonds. One unexpected result might be anger for the ages. Here’s Lake Poet William Wordsworth on the 1842 bond default of Pennsylvania,… Continue reading
Jul 13 Is California Printing Its Own Money? Question: Is California printing its own money? Paul Solman: Funny you should ask. The State of California Franchise Tax Board website currently features this statement: “We will accept registered warrants…towards the payment of tax liabilities.” State taxes, of… Continue reading
Jul 02 Watch Other News: After Budget Failure, California Begins Issuing IOUs In other news, California began issuing IOU notes after the governor failed to reach a deal on the state's budget, and Vice President Joe Biden visited troops in Iraq. Continue watching