Last week Fly took a close look at the life of Manh Nguyen, a candidate for San Jose's District 4 council seat. This week Fly turned its attention on Nguyen’s opponent in the upcoming election, Tim Orozco.

Fly predicted it was only a matter of time, and Nora Campos didn’t let us down. Instead she continues to fail her district.

Assemblymember Nora Campos (D-San Jose) and her chief of staff Sailaja Rajappan deserve credit for their consistency and determination. Over the last several years, no duo in Sacramento has shown a greater commitment to making the lives of their co-workers miserable.

Magdalena Carrasco got redemption in last June’s election, when she defeated Xavier Campos in a rematch for San Jose’s East Side council seat. But now, less than three months after taking office, sources say Carrasco already has her sights set on a run for the State Assembly.

Rose Herrera has enthusiastically embraced her role as veem (vice mayor of San Jose), but City Hall insiders worry the second-term council member might be taking her post a little too seriously.

The seams of Nora Campos’ carefully curated public image are unraveling at a garish pace. A year after San Jose Inside first reported that the San Jose assemblywoman had lost control of her office—firing employees at an unprecedented clip, wasting a half-million dollars for constituent services—a new source has come forward with details about the embarrassing state of affairs.

Four months ago Fly detailed the swift decline in power of the Campos Clan. The process now appears near completion and Assemblymember Nora Campos (D-San Jose) is understandably desperate.

People opposed to incoming Mayor-elect Sam Liccardo are also concerned with an interim appointment to the District 4 council seat, fearing it will give the mayor a governing majority. The truth is Liccardo already has a majority.

Against the backdrop of an impotent state legislature and a growing awareness of the predatory nature of payday lenders, local governments have had to pick up the slack and adopt laws to stifle the industry.

California made history this month by ending its "Wild West" policy of allowing uncontrolled groundwater pumping by nearly any landowner in the state.

Few scenes illustrate the fall of a once-powerful political family like a former labor boss passive-aggressively stalking people at Starbucks.

At this point, anyone interested in running for elected office should be required to take a crash course in social media. For example, one candidate running for San Jose City Council might want to stop posting pictures of vagina cupcakes.

California looks poised to become the first state to pass a plastic bag ban. Senate Bill 270, which passed out of the Assembly on a 44-29 vote, would phase out single-use plastic bags starting in 2015. A vote on the issue failed earlier this week, but it’s now expected to move through the Senate.

Ernie Konnyu has been on a terrifying roll when it comes to making the people he likes look bad. On Friday, Konnyu attacked the Chamber PAC and Jim Cunneen for supporting State Assembly candidate Evan Low—mainly because Low is gay and Konnyu believes gay blood kills people.

As Bay 101 floats plans to build a new casino with adjoining hotels closer to competitor Casino M8trix, our selfless public servants in Sacramento are trying to do the right thing by green-lighting the San Jose card club’s exit to Milpitas. At least that's one version of the story.

Former three-term state California Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, whose 21st Assembly District included wealthy communities on the Peninsula as well as Los Gatos and the Almaden Valley, died Thursday evening at the age of 70.