Photo by Mega Pixel via ShutterstockCA Assembly Bill 77 would require the California Dept. of Public Health, which oversees vital statistics, to use such marks on birth and death certificates and marriage licenses.
Mario Vasquez Zuniga. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyMario Vasquez Zuniga is a digital strategist, co-owner of a flower shop and a passionate LGBTQ+ advocate. The 28-year-old, who immigrated from El Salvador as a young child and grew up in the Palmdale-Lancaster area, loves coming up with creative solutions to problems. “I definitely have an entrepreneur spirit,” he said.
Photo by Ray Buse via ShutterstockIn counties like Los Angeles, we see almost no increase in Latino share of votes cast from 2014-2022, and even drops in electoral impact of older Latinos.
Via ShutterstockIn California, the state that led all others in the failed social experiment of emptying psychiatric hospitals, the pendulum clearly is swinging. Not that Gov. Gavin Newsom aims to return to the days when forgotten souls were locked away in large asylums. But in a proposal to be detailed on Sunday, Newsom will call on legislators to place a $3 billion bond measure before voters in 2024 to pay to house thousands of people with severe mental illness.
Faith Colburn, Sam Chavez and Ruth Ferguson of @SHiP. Not pictured, Catie Stewart. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyIt has been over five years since more than 140 women in the California Capitol community signed a letter calling for an end to what they termed a “pervasive” atmosphere of sexual harassment and “dehumanizing behavior by men with power in our workplaces.”
Via ShutterstockThe California Victim Compensation Board is busy tracking down as many remaining victims of forced and involuntary sterilization as possible, going back to 1979, when state eugenics laws were taken off the books.
Courtesy of David JensenAnd it could involve some of the scores of companies backed with tens of millions of dollars in research awards from the $12 billion California stem cell agency.
Via ShutterstockAccording to a mid-year report in 2022 by the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness (SRCEH), one homeless person dies every two days in Sacramento.
As a committed activist for social justice reforms, Rainer Apostol has been an invaluable help as a legislative aide for Sen. Caroline Menjivar.
Via ShutterstockA growing chorus of critics say well-intentioned but archaic laws – designed to protect individual rights, with stiff restrictions on what constitutes “grave disability” – prevent desperate families from getting severely mentally ill relatives into treatment, leaving them to suffer and die on the street.