Opinion
OPINION: When life went online in March 2020 due to pandemic stay-at-home orders, ensuring access to high-speed broadband service quickly became one of our state’s highest priorities. Now, nearly a year later, task forces have been assembled, executive orders have been issued and the Legislature faces a flurry of new broadband bills with a dizzying array of both new and old proposed solutions.
Podcast
Political Data Inc., for 30 years the state’s largest provider of voter information to political campaigns, consultants and pollsters, announced last week that they would no longer work with Republican clients. PDI data guru Paul Mitchell joins us to talk about the decision, and what that will mean for the company – and also reacts to the announcement that census data will be coming in later than expected.
News
The first time, she had just one co-author; the second time, a dozen. And now, on her third attempt, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez has convinced nearly half of the California Assembly to co-author her bill to grant collective bargaining rights to rank-and-file Capitol staffers.
Analysis
ANALYSIS: New research released by the nonpartisan California Policy Lab finds that contrary to suggestions about a mass exodus from California, most moves in 2020 happened within the state. Exits from California in 2020 largely mirrored historical patterns, while the biggest statewide change was a decrease in people moving into California.
Opinion
OPINION: Many of the 55 elderly patients arrived for their second COVID-19 vaccines, leaning on their children’s arms or walkers. Most were Latinx or Black. All were age 75 or older, and they were eager to get vaccinated against the deadly virus.
Podcast
Today’s episode features Delaine Eastin, former Chair of the Assembly Education Committee, two term Superintendent of Public Instruction and now, candidate for California Democratic Party Chair. Eastin joins us to make the case for her campaign, and weighs in on the debate over reopening schools, arguing that it not only needs to happen, it needs to happen as fast as possible.
Opinion
OPINION: California can take significant climate actions not just in such obvious areas as energy and transportation policy, but also in policy areas that some might find unlikely. It can start with land management – an area in which past shortcomings have contributed to creating our new era of megafires.
News
In 2020, the SPLC recorded a total of 72 California-based hate groups, which they cited as promoting anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT, ant-Muslim, White Nationalist, and Neo-Nazi ideology, among others. In the past year, the SPLC has found, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered their traditional organizational strategies, prompting them to make increased outreach efforts through the use of social media platforms.
A 77-inch diameter redwood, old-growth by almost any criteria, is marked to be cut to just 80 inches tall, just off the EZN mountain biking trail in the town of Mendocino. (Photo: Samuel Goldberger, by permission)
