By: Robert Fellner Washington Examiner — Jan. 22, 2020 Soaring public pension costs are driving a wave of tax hikes across California, but many officials are reluctant to admit that fact. Instead, […]
Union rules, not wildfires, behind soaring firefighter overtime pay
By: Robert Fellner Los Angeles Daily News — 1/14/20 Overtime pay for Los Angeles firefighters is making national headlines again, thanks to eye-popping payouts that allowed several employees to pocket over $400,000 […]
LA Times misleads on upcoming tax hike
The Los Angeles County Fire Department will ask voters to approve a property tax hike in March. The department has cited an increase in medical calls, as well as the need for […]
Calpensions wrap-up: A look back at the ‘crisis’
Best summary of the California pension crisis you’re likely to come across!
250 million pageviews!
As the Transparent California team reflects on 2019, we’ve received a big piece of news — the site will eclipse 250,000,000 all-time pageviews by the end of the year! That’s not a […]
Court ruling in CalPERS lawsuit threatens to gut California’s public records law
This commentary was first published by the San Diego Union-Tribune It is going to be much easier for California governments to hide their affairs from the public if the legal standard put […]
Over 2 million public pay records are now online!
Transparent California now has more than 2 million pay records covering the 2018 year for California’s state and local government workers. We also have nearly 200,000 pay records for community college employees, which is even more […]
Oakland’s soaring OT mostly due to deficient management, new audit confirms
The Oakland City Auditor just released a report analyzing the use of overtime pay in the city’s police department. The findings are truly shocking, and repeatedly illustrate a total failure of management […]
Hostility to transparency makes Hueso unfit for public office
State Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) has put forth a bill that would essentially eliminate California’s Public Records Act. In a new op-ed for the Voice of San Diego, I argue that his long […]
Transparent California launches Facebook page!
True democracy depends on the people knowing what its government is doing, and engaging in the process directly. Transparent California has always been all about making sure we know what our government […]