Monterey County Elections & Politics Digest

The state’s multibillion-dollar shortfall shapes which spending bills survived the ‘suspense file’ hearings by the Assembly and Senate appropriations committees.

More than half of the U.S. House supports a bill to extend the funds, but it can’t get out of committee.

At many universities across the country, graduation for the Class of 2024 will feel more like making it through airport security than a procession through a free-flowing campus green or a cheering stadium crowd.

A bill to rein in a proposed monthly fee on California electric bills would let California’s largest for-profit utility companies charge customers $24 per month — with fees as low as $6 for lower-income customers — as a kind of membership fee for the power grid.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new ad blasts GOP efforts to make it harder for people to leave states with abortion bans and seek treatment elsewhere.

Alejandro N. Mayorkas, a Cuban immigrant who grew up in California, is the first U.S. Cabinet official impeached in nearly 150 years.

Anti-tax groups in California have qualified a measure for the November ballot that would make raising state and local taxes much more difficult. It’s a showdown that’s been building for nearly five decades.

Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. chose Oakland to announce his vice presidential pick on Tuesday, so it wasn’t too much of a shocker that his pick was Nicole Shanahan, a Bay Area tech attorney and philanthropist.

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit of an urgent priority: shutting down access to abortion pills for women across the country.

A judge ruled GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene can move forward with their lawsuit against two California cities where rallies were canceled.

Proposition E broadens police surveillance powers and Proposition F mandates drug screening and treatment for people receiving county welfare benefits who are suspected of drug use.

The number of women elected to the state Senate and Assembly is 50 of 120 after the 2022 election. And based on the primary results so far, it’s expected to increase to at least 55 women after the November election.

At least 24 Black women are running for seats in the California Legislature this year, resulting from years of work cultivating new leaders and growing confidence among voters.

Voting in California can be complicated. Here are answers to some common questions, plus what the leading U.S. Senate candidates say they would do if they’re elected.

Here are the biggest donors in the 2024 California Senate race, both for and against the top candidates: Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, Steve Garvey and Barbara Lee.

Conservative activists who worked on the failed recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 have launched another attempt, arguing that conditions in California only worsened in the two-and-a-half years since then as Newsom’s attention shifted to national politics.

In the March 5 Primary Election, the races for Monterey County’s District 5 supervisor went up for grabs after Supervisor Mary Adams announced her retirement.

California State University students have officially created the largest undergraduate student union in United States history. The union vote passed with 97% of CSU students workers voting yes.

Four Carmel Unified School District board members were served with recall notices—the first step in an effort to remove them from their elected positions.

Of all the races on your ballot, the least information is often available on local judges. Here are some ways to find out more about these candidates.

On one side: Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ advocacy group. On the other side: Protect Kids California, a parents rights organization.

In his decision, a judge agreed that the alleged white nationalists were being selectively prosecuted instead of 'far-left extremist groups, such as Antifa.'

A lot of interesting stuff happened during the Jan. 23 Salinas City Council meeting. I’ll focus on two items: one that received a lot of media attention, and one that barely got a blip.

With the dust settled after the Feb. 19 bill introduction deadline, the California Legislature’s count for new bills this year is 2,124.

Members of the board gathered to put forward a resolution that takes responsibility for the history of discrimination against Black San Franciscans.

When and if California legalizes sports gambling, the policy should honor the laws established in partnership with tribes decades ago, says Assemblyman James Ramos.

Immigration enforcement lowers students’ ability to succeed academically and negatively affects their overall learning experience.

Carmel Unified School District’s governing board meetings will look a lot different in coming months, as the board shakes up its agenda structure and revamps the public comment section.

A suite of five bills introduced this weeks seeks to protect election integrity from bad actors using AI, especially on social media.

Companies and organizations spent more than $480 million on lobbyists who sought to influence the Legislature, the governor’s office and state agencies.

The new top Democrat in the state Senate announces his leadership team and new committee chairpersons. He rewarded some allies, and filled five of seven leadership posts with women or legislators of color.

The funds would help California ports expand to handle giant wind turbines and other equipment. California’s first offshore wind farms are on a fast track off Humboldt County and Morro Bay.