In The News

A couple of months ago, it looked as if the California State University trustees' remedial lessons in public relations were paying off. Now, it's obvious they still don't get it.

Responding to the outcry over the San Diego State president's huge raise, the public university system's board of trustees approved a policy in January that limits executives' base pay to 10 percent more than their predecessors' salaries.

The Senate confirmed today Gov. Jerry Brown's pick to lead the state Military Department. Major General David S. Baldwin, who was appointed acting adjutant general by the Democratic governor last April, was approved by a unanimous vote of 35-0 during Monday's floor session.

By Torey Van Oot

From artisanal breads and homemade jams to gluten-free goods, some of the year's most buzzworthy food movements are sprouting under the Capitol dome. State lawmakers are set to consider a handful of food policy proposals that could shape what goods Californians keep in their pantries and what they know about what's on their plates.

So here's the story in a nutshell: California Fish and Game Commission President Daniel Richards went hunting in Idaho for mountain lions, where such hunting is legal. He came back with a picture of himself holding up a 115-pound dead cougar.

Hunting and killing mountain lions is illegal in California. State Democratic legislators found it appalling and insensitive that the guy charged with upholding California's laws should be out there in the wild gunning for big cats. They want to fire him. Bills are being readied.

SACRAMENTO—In response to a radio investigation showing that medical patients are being wrongly billed without their consent, Sen. Ted W. Lieu of Torrance recently introduced legislation to require disclosure of treatment costs.

“Too often some of California’s patients find themselves facing incredible hardships because of unexpected – and extremely high – medical expenses in non-emergency settings,” Lieu said about the need for Senate Bill 1373. “There is need for a system where sticker shock at the bill doesn’t send the patient into cardiac arrest.”