California NEWS INDEX

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- On Tuesday, Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. delivered his State of the State address for 2017, departing with the traditional practice of listing every issue and restating every priority to focus on the "broader context of our country and its challenges."

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Independent Mortgage Bankers Conference (IMBC) -- Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT), a leading mortgage hedge advisory and secondary marketing technology firm, announced that its COO, Philip Rasori, will speak on a panel session on the subject of investor base optimization.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Utelogy Corporation, creator of audio/visual control, management, and analytics software, announces Joey D'Angelo joins the company as Vice President of Engineering. D'Angelo will help drive Utelogy's growth velocity and product feature sets as the company continues on its mission to deliver true, non-proprietary Software-Defined AV solutions that can be virtualized or leveraged on any common data center and network infrastructure.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Independent Mortgage Bankers Conference - OpenClose(R) an enterprise-class, multi-channel loan origination system (LOS) provider, and Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT), a leading mortgage hedge advisory and secondary marketing technology firm, jointly announced they developed an integration that eliminates manual intervention and streamlines the delivery of loan data to maximize hedging for lenders.

IRVINE, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- 5 BARS(R) announced today the appointment of Monnie McGaffigan as president of the wireless solutions firm. 5 Bars is a premier provider of master wireless plans and marketing agreements for cities and municipalities across the United States.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Rebecca House Publishing and To Love Children Educational Foundation International Inc., a 501(c)(3), announces the release of "Jeremy and the Crow Nation" (ISBN 978-0945522058) by Tatiana Strelkoff. "Jeremy" is the second book in "The Changer Trilogy."

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The annual Cursive is Cool(R) contests are presented by the Campaign for Cursive(R), a committee of the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation (AHAF) on National Handwriting Day. Each year, National Handwriting Day is celebrated on Jan. 23, the date associated with the birth of John Hancock.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona) has introduced a bill to restructure the California Transportation Commission. The bill, Assembly Bill 179, would impose certain additional expertise requirements on future appointments to the Commission.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, Calif. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) announced the members of Assembly committees. Among the changes this year, the number of women committee chairs has doubled under Speaker Rendon, and women hold membership on every committee.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Members of the Calif. Assembly Democratic Caucus today issued a letter and video addressed to all Californians, pledging to continue California’s history of leading the nation in producing policy that benefits all people.

G on Politics (OPINION): Conservatives are performing verbal somersaults as they desperately try to explain and condone the reckless rhetoric of Donald Trump. One conclusion: Republicans love Big Brother.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- ReverseVision, Inc., the leading provider of software and technology for the reverse mortgage industry, today announced the promotion of Kelly Kelleher to the role of director of corporate marketing and events. In her new role, Kelleher will refine ReverseVision's brand identity to ensure it resonates with an evolving reverse mortgage marketplace.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Long time LACC basketball coach Michael Miller is hosting his own live TV show "Time Out with Coach Miller." Coach Michael "Mike" Miller who broke numerous national records as head basketball coach at Los Angeles City College (LACC) is tearing it up in the world of live television with his new show "Time Out with Coach Miller" seen live twice a month.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT), an industry leading hedge advisory firm and developer of MCTlive!(TM), the award-winning secondary marketing software suite, announced that its chief administrative officer, Chris Anderson, has been honored by National Mortgage Professional (NMP) magazine's 2016 on its "Top 40 Most Influential Mortgage Professionals Under 40 List."

SAN DIEGO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- ReverseVision Inc., the leading provider of software and technology for the reverse mortgage industry, has teamed up with the San Diego Food Bank to help local residents in need. The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in San Diego County.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, in Washington, D.C., U.S. Representative Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) released the following statement on his decision not to attend the inauguration: “My humble and loving parents taught me to live by this saying, ‘Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres.’ It means tell me who you hang out with, and I'll tell you who you are. My wife and I have lived this truth, and we have taught it to our children.

VALLEY VILLAGE, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Bernie and Edy Oseransky and Long Wong and Tot Nguyen are proud to announce the marriage of their children Thomas "Tom" Oseransky and Christy "Ha Huynh" Wong on Saturday, October 1, 2016. The ceremony took place at Nativity Church of El Monte. Father Joseph presided.

MILLBRAE, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- This past week, the City of Millbrae announced that it has been awarded $200,000 from the California High-Speed Rail Authority to support the development of a comprehensive, multi-agency, multi-modal access plan to the Millbrae Intermodal Transit Station.

G on Politics (OPINION): Trump's cabinet choices include a bigot for attorney general but the foulness doesn't stop there. Mr. Bulging Neck's entire list of right-wing nut-jobs is scary and aromatic. Truly, the Clones of Dr. Trumpenstein are invading the U.S. government.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Feraz Ozel, a "brown" comedian, is a light-hearted performer driven by passion, and intelligence, says Uproar Entertainment. His is a diverse and energetic brand of insightful comedy that connects with people from all walks of life. He prides himself on putting on a show that will make you laugh till it hurts, think about a few new things, and remember that regardless of our vast differences, we can all come together for a night of comedy.

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The Laguna Art-A-Fair announces a Call for Artists Jury Day on Sunday, February 12 with an opportunity to join one of California's premier summer fine art festivals. Artists and artisans may enter three pieces of their original artwork along with a jury fee from 8 - 11 a.m. at the Boys and Girls Club, 1085 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The Calif. Assembly Special Committee on the Office of the Attorney General today voted 6-3 to recommend that the full Assembly confirm Rep. Xavier Becerra as Attorney General of California.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, Calif. Governor Brown released his proposal for the 2017-18 budget. Assemblymembers Raul Bocanegra, Sabrina Cervantes, and Kevin McCarty issued statements. As anticipated, the governor introduced a fiscally-conservative budget that forecasts lower revenues due to uncertainty at the national level.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) today released the following statement after Gov. Jerry Brown released his initial budget proposal: “The Governor’s opening budget proposal is typically cautious, with some expected issues and also some areas of concern."

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Los Angeles), the Assembly’s Democratic Majority Whip, announced his full-fledged support for Rep. Xavier Becerra’s (D-Los Angeles) appointment as California’s next Attorney General.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. proposed a balanced state budget that eliminates a projected $2 billion deficit and bolsters the state's Rainy Day Fund while continuing to invest in education, health care expansion and other core programs.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- On Monday, Calif. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the following appointments: First, Michelle Baass, 42, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy secretary of the Office of Program and Fiscal Affairs at the California Health and Human Services Agency.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- This week, Calif. Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Corona) introduced her first bill at the State Capitol. The bill, Assembly Bill 91, would help ease late-night traffic jams in Riverside County by allowing single-occupancy vehicles to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, commonly known as “carpool lanes,” during non-peak traffic hours.

TORRANCE, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Neotrope, a 33-year-old brand marketing, PR, and content development firm, today announces the launch of its 2017 annual Non-Profit PR Grants program for U.S.-based 501(c)(3) charities. Launched in 2000, the PR Grant(TM) was designed to help raise awareness of selected charities to traditional media, to the public, as well as to potential "halo" sponsors and donors.

IRVINE, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- 5 Bars(TM) a leader in wireless technology solutions, announced the appointment of Greg Steininger as National Vice President, Communities. 5 Bars is a premier provider of wireless master plans and asset marketing for cities, counties and large-scale venues.

SAN JOSE, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Crystal Riggins, based in Hoge Fenton's Silicon Valley office, is a member of the Litigation, Intellectual Property, and Ethics & Professional Liability practice groups. Hoge Fenton is a multi-service law firm.

SAN DIEGO, Calif., /California Newswire/ -- ReverseVision, the leading provider of software and technology for the reverse mortgage industry, today announced that mortgage industry expert Rob Chrisman will address attendees of RV UserCon 2017 as a special session speaker on February 9 in San Diego.

G on Politics (OPINION): Like every conservative, Trump uses words to fool the dim-witted. Here is a quick peek at the hidden meanings behind some of the Trump blather, bunk, baloney, hokum, hooey, and humbug. We have obviously fallen into The Outer Zone of Twilight Limits.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) released the following statement to announce they have hired outside legal counsel to deal with potential challenges from the incoming Trump Administration ....

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- On Tuesday, in Washington, D.C., U.S. Representative Tony Cardenas (CA-29), released the following statement to mark the beginning of the 115th Congress: "At the outset of this Congress, we are faced with more uncertainty than ever."

G on Politics (OPINION): We are proud to join the frivolity of Awards Season by recognizing a few of the more spectacular "fails" by some very well-known people and institutions. When it comes to the fine art of losing, here are some big winners.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The Everest Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3), has made it its core passion to help the Graduate Medical Education community. The foundation is renowned in circles of Medical Schools, Universities and Residency Programs. The foundation, in part, assists with funding of research, personnel, edu-initiatives, and residency training slots.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- California State Assemblymember Ash Kalra has been named Chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging & Long-Term Care by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. It is relatively rare for a newly elected Assemblymember to be appointed as Chair and Kalra is one of only four newly elected legislators in the Assembly to be appointed Chair of a Standing Committee and one of only two who have never previously served in the Assembly to be appointed as a Committee Chair.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D – Paramount) today named Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D- Sacramento) Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance. The Chairmanship oversees the largest component of California’s multi-billion dollar annual budget, which in 2016 spent $88.3 billion on K-12 education programs and $30 billion supporting California’s Community College, CSU and UC systems. McCarty previously served as Chair of the Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance in the 2015-16 legislative session.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, Calif. Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D – Long Beach) was renamed as Chair of the Assembly Education Committee by Speaker Anthony Rendon. The committee is instrumental in shaping state policy impacting schools, students and teachers in California. Assemblymember O’Donnell issued the following statement on the appointment....

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Calif. Assemblymember Kevin McCarty’s (D –Sacramento) efforts to diversify and increase the number of credentialed K-12 teachers in California received a multi-million dollar boost when the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing recently awarded $20 million (twenty million dollars) in grants to help 1,000 classified school employees become credentialed teachers.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) announced committee chair and Democratic leadership appointments. The appointments are effective immediately.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- SecuGen, a world leading optical fingerprint device and technology vendor, is excited to announce the immediate availability of the UN20 Serial(TM) a standalone, optical, OEM fingerprint sensor that is FAP 20 certified by the FBI.

G on Politics (OPINION): The fantasy of performing a comedy club set is something that appeals to a lot of us. So I stepped into the shower, used my back scrubber as a microphone, and tried out some new material.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- iMobie Inc., a leading iOS related software company, announced today the biggest ever holiday sale promotion to celebrate Christmas and New Year with customers. In appreciation of their long-term support, iMobie is giving out the best iPhone Cleaner PhoneClean as a FREE gift for customers who buy iPhone manager AnyTrans, aiming to free up more storage space for iPhone and iPad users so they can fully enjoy holiday photos, music, and videos on their iOS device.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- The Mortgage Collaborative, the industry's premier mortgage cooperative, today released year-end data on its 2016 growth. "Adding 50 new lender members and 20 new Preferred Partners in 2016 met the aggressive goals established by our Board, and grew our aggregate origination volume to over $150 billion," said David G. Kittle, CMB, the Collaborative's President.

G on Politics (OPINION): Having an aversion to facts appears to be a requirement for holding a management position in the Trump administration. Also an aversion to morality. Just who's in charge around here, anyway?

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Today, Calif. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) announced the reappointment of Paul E. Fearer to the board of the California Health Benefit Exchange. More than 2.8 million Californians have purchased health insurance through Covered California since the exchange opened its doors in 2014.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ -- Utelogy Corporation, creator of software for control and management of audiovisual systems for business and education, brings Rod Gummerman on board as Senior Developer in the company's most recent hire.