Parent Trigger Law Proving Difficult to Implement
California's "parent trigger law" was supposed to give parents the power to turn around failing schools, from converting a campus into a charter school to firing the principal. That's not what happened when some parents in Compton tried to pull the trigger.
New Census Data Reveals Aging Calif. Population
We can't talk about this enough. There's a massive population bulge headed for our state's nursing homes, hospitals, and other places...
Legislators Want State to Regulate Health Care Costs
This only highlights how little power there is at the local, state and federal levels of government to shelter the self-insured from rising coverage costs.
Investors Who Bought IndyMac Make Bank
We talk a lot about the Californians who lost out as a result of the housing crisis. Not so much about the Californians who did well...
Gov. Brown's Plan to Create Jobs: Change Tax Structure
Attempts to do much more than reshuffle the deck chairs on the Tita- I mean, California, mostly seem to die quick deaths.
Lauren Sommer, Reporter, QUEST
Combating Bay Invaders
San Francisco Bay has a huge problem with invasive species that have been brought in through international shipping. California is phasing in regulations meant to limit the introduction of new species, but questions remain about how well current regulations are being enforced.
Climate Change Could Mean Cloudy Future for Lake Tahoe
Over the last 15 years, more than a billion dollars has been spent to protect Lake Tahoe's clear waters from runoff and erosion. Now, new threats to the lake's clarity are emerging, just as restoration funding is drying up.
Ian Hill, online community engagement specialist, KQED News
What's next for Silicon Valley?
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg caused a bit of a stir in October when he told an audience at Stanford that, if he could go back in time, he would never have left Boston for Palo Alto. He said Silicon Valley is too focused on short-term success and that "it’s not the only place to be."
While Facebook's HQ isn't going anywhere, Zuckerberg's comments reflect what could be a nagging problem for one of the Bay Area's biggest economic engines. Silicon Valley is no longer the only region in the country providing resources for Internet startups. Technology (ironically) has made it easier to start a successful online business anywhere. If a group of talented, inspired entrepreneurs decide to incubate in, say, New York City, government officials in the Peninsula may suddenly find themselves having to compete for the tax dollars created by new tech businesses.