SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments. First: Ashleigh Aitken, 36, of Anaheim, has been appointed to the 32nd District Agricultural Association, Orange County Fair Board.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) announced today that he has been named Chair of the newly created Senate Select Committee on English Learners. The committee will focus its efforts on how to improve the academic success of California’s 1.5 million English Learner students.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) has introduced Assembly Bill 1708, amending the California Vehicle and Insurance Codes, to give California drivers the option to carry their proof of auto insurance and vehicle registration in electronic form, such as on a smartphone or other personal electronic device.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — In remarks today at a U.S./China economic forum, Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced his intention to form a China-California Joint Task Force to drive more collaboration, investment and trade between California and China.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments. First, Janet Barentson, 49, of Rocklin, has been appointed chief deputy director at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Moving to increase direct investment in California and give the state’s businesses a distinct advantage in China, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced plans to open a new trade and investment office in China.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Wednesday announced the following appointments. First, Jim Evans, 42, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy secretary for communications and strategic planning at the Business Transportation and Housing Agency.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — On Tuesday, Mayor Edwin M. Lee and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) announced that the federal government has once again demonstrated strong support for planned improvements to public transportation in San Francisco.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued the following statement after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Rating Services shifted California’s credit ratings outlook from stable to positive:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments. First: Lisa Barkett, 52, of La Jolla, has been appointed to the Race Track Leasing Commission as a representative of the 22nd District Agricultural Association, San Diego Fair Board.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Today, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) released a request for proposals (RFP) for up to 30 Super Low Emission Buses (SLEBs) and/or Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs) as part of a pilot program to evaluate burgeoning technologies for LA’s future bus fleet.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today issued the following statement regarding the resignation of Martin Gomez as City Librarian. Gomez will assume the post of Vice Dean of the University of Southern California Libraries on April 2.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments. First: A. Charles Crabb, 60, of San Luis Obispo, has been appointed to the designated local authority for the former Pismo Beach redevelopment agency, in San Luis Obispo County.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today reaffirmed their strong support for building High-Speed Rail in California.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Today S.F. Mayor Edwin M. Lee and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) announced that the number of people riding bicycles in San Francisco increased seven percent since last year and increased 71 percent over the past six years.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and community partners today launched the Greater Los Angeles Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Campaign Partnership, an annual effort to help qualified low and moderate-income families claim the tax credits they deserve.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued a Proclamation Declaring February 6th as Ronald Reagan Day in California.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the City Council, and business and community leaders launched a month of cultural events honoring African-American history and culture at the City’s annual African-American Heritage Month celebration. This year the City of Los Angeles honored Sheryl Lee Ralph, Walter Mosley, and Dr. Keith Black.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments. First, Belia Bennett, 33, of American Canyon, has been appointed to the 25th District Agricultural Association, Napa Town and Country Fair. Bennett has served as councilmember for the City of American Canyon since 2010.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments. First, Joseph Bielanski, Jr., 61, of San Francisco, has been reappointed to the California Community College Board of Governors, where he has served since 2011.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments. First, Mark Ghilarducci, 51, of El Dorado Hills, has been appointed secretary of the California Emergency Management Agency. Ghilarducci has been a partner and managing director at Diamante Partners LLC since 2011.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Wednesday announced the following appointments. First, Kimiko Burton, 47, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the State Personnel Board. Burton has been a deputy city attorney for San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera since 2003.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the appointment of Terri A. Mockler to a judgeship in the Contra Costa County Superior Court.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the appointment of Charles A. Smiley III to a judgeship in the Alameda County Superior Court.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today named twelve individuals to serve on four governing boards responsible for dissolving local redevelopment agencies in cities and counties where local agencies elected not to manage the task.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Edwin M. Lee on Tuesday broke ground on the long-awaited Port of San Francisco’s James R. Herman Cruise Terminal at Pier 27. Last week, the Board of Supervisors upheld the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the new Cruise Terminal and 34th America’s Cup events in San Francisco, allowing for construction to begin immediately.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — SF Mayor Edwin M. Lee on Firday appointed Bevan Dufty as the Mayor’s new Director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement (HOPE), addressing homeless services and better outcomes for individuals who are homeless or live in supportive housing.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Friday announced the following appointments. First: William Edgar, 72, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board. He has been the co-owner of Edgar and Associates, an accounting services firm, since 1999. Edgar was contract executive director for the Sutter-Butte Flood Control Agency from 2007 to January 2012.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. asks Los Angeles business leaders to stand with him on two major priorities for 2012: passing his balanced budget plan and persuading the legislature to enact his 12-point pension reform proposal.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — S.F. Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced that businesses are beginning to take advantage of the City’s Central Market/Tenderloin Payroll Expense Tax Exclusion.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Edwin Lee on Wednesday announced that San Francisco received the 2012 Sustainable Transport Award from the Institute for Transportation and Developmental Policy, for the City’s innovative parking management system and cycling and public space improvements.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — As part of his ongoing efforts to spur job creation, streamline regulations and boost renewable energy, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today released a package of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reforms that will simplify and expedite the approval process for key job-creating projects in California.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Edwin M. Lee on Tuesday announced that he will make $1.5 million dollars immediately available to small businesses in San Francisco through the City’s successful Small Business Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to support business expansion and job creation.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on Monday that six newly improved BusinessSource Centers are reopening across Los Angeles. The BusinessSource Centers are part of the Mayor’s strategy to create a healthy environment for job creation in Los Angeles.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced the formation of a Technology and Innovation Task Force at the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) that will demonstrate how cities can support growth of technology and new economy jobs and foster innovation in local governments through technology and transparency.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — In his 2012 State of the State speech, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. said California is “on the mend” and laid out an ambitious agenda for economic growth in the year ahead. The full text of the speech follows: (Remarks as prepared)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments. First, John Banuelos, 67, of Elk Grove, has been appointed to the California Boating and Waterways Commission. Banuelos worked at the California Conservation Corps from 1997 to 2004 and from 1977 to 1992 in multiple positions, including program and evaluation manager.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed an agreement to expand a state and federal partnership that has, over the last two years, paved the way for more than a dozen utility-scale solar energy projects and more than 130 renewable power projects in California.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments. First, Nathaniel Kirtman III, 40, of Sherman Oaks, has been appointed to the California Lottery Commission. Kirtman has been senior vice president of publicity for NBC Universal since 2009 after serving as a vice president from 2006 to 2009.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — On Tuesday, San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Supervisor Malia Cohen today introduced a resolution at the Board of Supervisors to ensure that major redevelopment projects, such as Mission Bay, the Hunters Point Shipyard, and Transbay as well as affordable housing projects under the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency can continue after the State required their elimination.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck today announced the 2011 results of the City’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) program including a successful 2011 Summer Night Lights (SNL) program resulting in a 35 percent reduction in gang related Part 1 crimes for all SNL sites.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) today announced that he will move forward with Senate Bill 331, which would prohibit new tobacco retailers from locating within 600 feet of a school.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Today San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee joined by Supervisors Scott Wiener, David Campos and Christina Olague announced the introduction at the Board of Supervisors a $1.8 million budget supplemental for HIV/AIDS care and treatment funding to protect essential services to the City’s most vulnerable despite severe budget shortfalls.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ –- Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments. First, Denise Brown, 60, of Fair Oaks, has been appointed director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — On the same day as the college football national championship game, California State Senator Alex Padilla announced he will be introducing legislation that would require that student-athletes injured during their college career be provided the necessary medical and financial support to complete their degree.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — S.F. Mayor Edwin M. Lee today appointed Christina Olague as District 5 Supervisor, filling the vacancy left by Ross Mirkarimi. ‘Christina Olague is my appointment for District 5 Supervisor,’ said Mayor Lee.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — On Friday, San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee announced that Salesforce.com is again expanding and creating more jobs in San Francisco, entering into the largest long-term lease in the City in more than a decade. Salesforce will occupy 400,000 square feet of office space at 50 Fremont, which when fully occupied, will accommodate 2,000 employees.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced today a partnership with Code for America to launch the world’s first Civic Startup Accelerator. Based in downtown San Francisco, the Code for America Accelerator will support entrepreneurs that launch companies to make City government more responsive, efficient and connected.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — This week Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Police Chief Greg Suhr released the year end crime statistics showing continued historic low crime trends for the City of San Francisco. Mayor Lee and Chief Suhr announced that 2011 violent crime rates in San Francisco are down 6 percent from last year.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck today announced the City’s 2011 year-end crime statistics that showed violent crime and property crime were reduced across Los Angeles for the 9th consecutive year.