Free Republic

California legislators have grilled the state’s top librarian about huge sums of money tied to a statewide literacy program linked to country music legend Dolly Parton that are missing. And it’s the kids who may suffer. Greg Lucas, the state’s top librarian, has been accused of failing to account for almost $650,000 related to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library during, a literacy initiative meant to deliver free books to young children across the state. “You don’t have receipts requested six times. You don’t have bank statements requested six times from this committee,” Republican State Sen. Shannon Grove said during a budget...

A newly resurfaced video clip shows the irony of Rep. Eric Swalwell’s sticky predicament, as the Democratic frontrunner in the California governor’s race is facing a lawsuit and calls to be disqualified from June’s election as questions have been raised on whether he truly lives in the state. The 2012 video shows Swalwell — an Alameda County prosecutor at the time — criticizing the record of 20-term incumbent Pete Stark for always being in Washington D.C. and rarely spending time in his district. “I live in the district,” Swalwell says in the resurfaced clip, which features a stand-in for Stark...

California drivers and Republican legislators are furious over a Democrat-led proposal that could see motorists taxed for each mile they drive. With the state staring down a budget deficit in the billions and more Californians switching to electric vehicles, Democratic lawmakers are searching for new ways to shore up declining gas tax revenue. Californians pay the second-highest gas price in the nation behind only Hawaii. In January, the average price was $4.23 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. On Thursday, state legislators advanced Democrat Lori Wilson’s bill, AB 1421, which would direct the California Transportation Commission and the...