News

Delaine Eastin: a remembrance

Former California Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol Weekly

Delaine Eastin, an impassioned and feisty advocate for public education and the first – and only — woman ever to serve as California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, has died at the age of 76. In a statement released after her death, Eastin was remembered not only as the state’s only female Superintendent of Public Instruction, but also only the fifth woman elected to statewide office in California.

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Campaign expenditures aren’t as transparent as contributions, analysis finds

Loupe one hundred dollars banknotes on keyboard. Finding financial earnings on the internet concept

While California campaigns and election regulators like the California Fair Political Practices Commission have generally succeeded in providing transparency to the contribution side of the campaign finance ledger, they’ve fallen comparatively short when it comes to expenditures.

News

Senate committee goes to the dogs…and cats

Sen. Janet Nguyen, Sen. Josh Newman, Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva. Photo by Senate Republicans.

A trio of bills aimed at improving care for animals at shelters cleared the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development on Monday. The trio of bills collectively aim at reducing shelter overcrowding and improving record keeping around animal care while requiring more shelters to publicly report data on a variety of care issues, including the number of animals euthanized.

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Rising Stars: Loyal Terry, Assembly Fellow, office of Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry

Loyal Terry, photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol Weekly

The newest Capitol Weekly Rising Star, Loyal Terry, Assembly Fellow for Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), takes inspiration from the lived experiences of his late father, his aunts and uncles, and himself. Terry approaches policy from a holistic perspective, having experienced how housing, transportation, health, and more intersect to impact working-class people.

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Gaming tribes make clear they’ll lead the way on sports betting in California

Image by Marko Aliaksandr

It might be a bit of an understatement to say the November 5 election is clouded by uncertainty. But there is one thing we know for certain: two years after the most expensive ballot campaign in U.S. history, California voters will not be considering another sports betting measure in 2024. Two more proposed sports wagering initiatives were submitted to the Attorney General’s office last fall. But the effort was abandoned, ensuring that the issue will not come before voters this year, according to tribal leaders.

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Is California’s assault weapons ban on target?

Photo by Associated Press

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made national headlines touting his plan to add a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would implement what he’s called “common sense constitutional protections and gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, independent voters, and gun owners overwhelmingly support.” But there is not universal agreement that California’s gun laws actually amount to a functional ban on assault weapons.

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The different worlds of California card rooms and tribal casinos

Image by Aleksey Kurguzov

The Golden State’s two flavors of gambling establishments – tribal casinos and card rooms – are locked in perpetual conflict with one another. It is a conflict fast coming to a head in the Legislature and with California gaming regulators. To understand gaming’s future, this week we’re taking a look at the history of these two similar but also very different industries.

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Legislators debate retail theft, fentanyl, Prop. 47 at Capitol Weekly crime conference

Prop. 47 co-author Lenore Anderson speaks at Capitol Weekly's Conference on Crime. Moderator Emily Hoeven, left; Sheriff Jim Cooper, right. Photo by Joha Harrison, Capitol Weekly

State lawmakers have proposed a series of bills aimed at curbing retail thefts, dealing with opioid abuse and reforming – ever so slightly – California’s landmark Proposition 47. Last week Capitol Weekly brought together a stellar group of lawmakers, law enforcement officials, advocates and others for a deep dive into these serious and complex issues.

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