CA120: In 2020, don’t forget California’s GOP primary

Capitol Weekly Podcast: State Sen. Tom Umberg on the death penalty

by Capitol Weekly Staff posted 03.15.2019

California state Sen. Tom Umberg. a former federal prosecutor, is one of the most prominent Democrats to break with Gov. Gavin Newsom on the governor’s decision this week to put the death penalty on hold in the Golden State.

Round 2 begins over cannabis banking

Seedlings of California medicinal marijuana. (Photo: King Dragon, via Shutterstock)

by JULIA LINDBLOOM posted 03.14.2019

Closely watched by California’s cannabis industry, a new effort is underway to allow the creation of basic banking services for marijuana growers, distributors, sellers and others. Last year, similar legislation died. But supporters hope the revised bill will draw more support – including backing from newly elected Gov Gavin Newsom.

Dynamex decision threatens workers’ flexibility

A California freeway at rush hour, with traffic that includes commuters and rideshare drivers. (Photo: EGD, via Shutterstock)

by ELIZABETH RAYRAY posted 03.15.2019

OPINION: My wife and I are union members working for a union employer in the Sacramento area. As full-time employees, we make a fair living, but not nearly enough for us to be able to live the life we want. In order to supplement our wages, we have chosen to work as independent contractors driving for app-based delivery and rideshare companies that service Sacramento.

Here’s the buzz on disappearing bees

Bee hives for pollination in an almond orchard in California's Central Valley. (Photo: Richard Thornton, via Shutterstock)

by LISA RENNER posted 03.12.2019

As the world faces a declining bee population, California almond growers say they are doing their best to promote bee health. Over the last few weeks, bee keepers from all over the U.S. were in the Central Valley releasing bees to pollinate the almond crops. Almond growers use about 75 percent of the commercial beehives in the country to pollinate their crops.

Improving outpatient care is a necessity

A hospital's outpatient services unit. (Photo: Mark Winfrey, via Shutterstock)

by DEBORAH MILLER posted 03.15.2019

In his state budget proposal, Gov. Gavin Newsom made it clear that health care is a top priority for the Golden State – allocating the largest component of total state-funding to the California Department of Health Care Services (53.5% of the budget, or roughly $34.7 billion).

California’s prisons need a greater culture of rehabilitation

Inmates in the exercise yard at San Quentin Prison. (Photo: Wikipedia Commons)

by Rebecca Weiker, Jon Grobman and Kenneth E. Hartman posted 03.13.2019

OPINION: California spends over $12 billion on its prison system each year. Given that stunning investment of public dollars, the residents of California deserve to understand the actual impact of incarceration: Does it create public safety and rehabilitate those who are incarcerated under its care?

Veteran Prison Industry chief departs

Chuck Pattillo, former general manager of the California Prison Industry Authority. (Photo: CalPIA)

by JESSICA HICE posted 03.11.2019

The head of the California Prison Industry Authority, an internationally known agency that trains inmates for such diverse occupations as carpentry, deep-sea diving, computer coding and farming, is retiring after more than a decade on the job.

Ending the drought — in water data

Rushing water flows through Whitewater Canyon in the Southern California desert. (Photo: Steve Minkler, via Shutterstock)

by Kathleen Miller and Michael Kiparsky posted 03.11.2019

OPINION: California’s recent drought may have officially ended, but the state’s water data drought remains in full effect. Shockingly, we don’t always know the answers to basic questions such as how much water is available in our state, let alone where and when. That’s why improving California’s woefully deficient stream gage network should be a top priority for the state.