The staying power of Nancy Pelosi

An effort to curb ‘puppy mills’

A pair of dogs in a cage, awaiting freedom.(Photo: Kitsananan, via Shutterstock)

by Amy Jesse, Elizabeth Oreck and Susan Riggs posted 07.20.2017

OPINION: Bringing a new puppy or kitten home should be a wonderful and rewarding experience, but consumers who purchase their new family member from a pet shop may not be getting the dog or cat they’ve been promised. Despite enticing claims that they only source from humane, small-scale breeders, pet stores across the country supply unsuspecting consumers with animals from puppy and kitten “mills.”

Housing: Low inventory, high prices, too much regulation

An aerial view of an affluent suburban housing tract in California. (Photo: Lightspot, via Shutterstock)

by GEOFF MCINTOSH posted 07.18.2017

OPINION: Either reduce the torrent of regulatory burdens on California home builders or face a future of high housing costs and stunted economic growth. So concludes Loren Kaye, president of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education, who penned one of several articles issued last month through the Center for California Real Estate (CCRE).

LAT: ‘Secret Life’ of former USC Med School dean, stem cell agency director

Carmen Puliafito (right), a member of the governing board of the California stem agency, and Robert Klein, then chairman of the agency. (Photo: USC, 2009)

by DAVID JENSEN posted 07.17.2017

The headline in the Los Angeles Times this morning said: “An overdose, a young companion, drug-fueled parties: The secret life of USC med school dean.” He resigned his $1.1 million position as dean in March 2016, declaring he wanted to pursue outside opportunities. He still serves, as a gubernatorial appointee, on the board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the stem cell agency is formally known.

From ARB Enviro Justice adviser: Extend cap-and-trade

A natural gas plant in Oxnard. (Photo: Henrik Lehnerer)

by ELEANOR TORRES posted 07.17.2017

OPINION: The state Legislature is currently considering a two-part proposal to extend the California greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program and target local air pollution reductions across California. As a member of the California Air Resources Board’s Environmental Justice Advisory Committee (EJAC), a resident of the Inland Empire, and a strong advocate for the pollution reductions that our families need and deserve, I support Eduardo Garcia and his leadership in helping pass AB 398 and AB 617.

In health care, PBMs are crucial — but not regulated

A pharmaceutical worker examines drugs at a dispensary. (Photo: i viewfinder, via Shutterstock)

by ANNA FRAZIER posted 07.14.2017

The PBMs originated in the 1960s to help health plans, self-insured employers and government entities, among others, to negotiate prescription drug prices and efficiently distribute medications. Since then, they have evolved into a money-making industry without regulations, experts say. By one estimate, three major PBM companies had a staggering $270 billion in revenues in 2014.

Accord needed to resolve net neutrality battle

Code on a computer screen, window to the web. (Photo: Soulart)

by MICHAEL KLEEMAN posted 07.13.2017

OPINION: On July 12, the Electric Frontier Foundation, ACLU and many tech companies and nonprofits mobilized for a day of action in support of net neutrality. At issue: making sure the Internet remains open and accessible. This is in response to the new Federal Communications Commission’s vote to start overturning the last FCC’s net neutrality policy.

Cap-and-trade deal heading for showdown

A California power plant at dusk. (Photo David Crockett)

by JOHN HOWARD posted 07.11.2017

A hotly disputed agreement to extend California’s cap-and-trade program to 2030 reflects the power shift under way in the Legislature in which moderate, business-friendly Democrats are increasingly flexing their political muscle. It also shows the lobbying clout of the petroleum industry and divisions within the environmental community.

Extending cap-and-trade is right thing to do

An oil refinery at twilight as the lights come on. (Photo: Phonix_a Pk.sarote, via Shutterstock)

by Susan Tierney, Heather Zichal and Mindy S. Lubber posted 07.12.2017

OPINION: California’s cap-and-trade program is working. Since it was launched in 2013, the system has helped drive down greenhouse gas emissions, while the state’s economy has flourished. The billions of dollars the program generates have funded “climate credit” payments to electric utility customers, low-carbon transit projects, and home weatherization improvements in low-income communities.