To returning taxing authority to local authorities, Senator Pat Bates’ (R-Laguna Niguel) bill, SB 10, would give “more local control to the process by converting the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) into a grant program.”

On Aug. 1, the 200th anniversary of his birthday, the Dana Point Historical Society held a bicentennial celebration at the Ocean Institute aboard the brig Pilgrim to share more about the life of the city’s namesake.

Fifth district Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett and state Sen. Pat Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, co-hosted the conference, co-sponsored by Age Well Senior Services, the county Office on Aging and Laguna Woods Village.

State Senate Republicans have introduced two bills to fix the roads without raising taxes.

State Sen. Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield, said in a telephone interview this week that she is cautiously optimistic that a bill she co-sponsored with state Sen. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, will pave the way for new school construction on military bases throughout California, including Camp...