Obama's New Spokesteam

Fifty years ago next week, President John F. Kennedy addressed a crowd of 450,000 in that then-divided city to denounce the Soviet bloc and famously declare "Ich bin ein Berliner," German for "I am a Berliner." [] presidents from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton have used Berlin speeches to articulate broad themes about freedom and international alliances. Rhodes said Obama will make the case that even though the Berlin Wall came down 23 years ago and the threat of nuclear war has dissipated, the type of activism apparent during the Cold War needs to be applied to such current challenges as climate change, counterterrorism and the push for democratic values beyond the United States and Europe. A senior administration official said Obama will also renew his call to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles, including a proposed one-third reduction in U.

A budget bill awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown's signature would make it optional for local governments to comply with several key provisions of the California Public Records Act. Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, talks Friday with Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. A budget bill would make it optional for local governments to comply with the Public Records Act.

A CalPERS committee Tuesday recommended 2014 health insurance rates that will collectively raise premiums by 3.03 percent, the smallest increase since 1998.

What goes around, comes around.

After passage of a budget with a $12 million windfall for the Legislature and a likely pay increase for state workers, a commission today will consider whether to restore salary cuts for California's top elected officials. Pay commission members Tom Dalzell, Charles Murray and Wilma Wallace, left to right, deliberate during a meeting in 2012.