An illustration of stem cells used in research. (Photo: Billion Photos, via Shutterstock)California’s $3 billion stem cell research agency, which is facing its financial demise in a few short years, has formed a team of its directors to tackle transition planning and examine possible alternatives, including ones that would extend its life. The first meeting of the group of directors is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 18.
Welcome to Nipton, a tiny California town in the Mojave Desert. (Photo: Screen capture, CNN)It appears that a company’s plans to turn a remote San Bernardino County town into a marijuana tourism mecca may go up in smoke. Earlier this month, Arizona-based American Green announced it purchased the entire California town of Nipton for about $5 million to make it a hub of cannabis production mixed with bed-and-breakfast lodging and attractions like mineral baths.
The old 6th Street bridge in Los Angeles over the L.A. viaduct. (Photo: trekandshoot, vis Shutterstock)This legislation might be hard to swallow: Lawmakers are considering a bill that would clear the way for California communities to put highly treated wastewater directly into the drinking water supply. “The media likes to start off with the catchy phrase toilet to tap,” said Jennifer West, managing director of Water Reuse, about the intensive purification process. “But there’s a lot that goes on between toilet and tap.”
Former state Sen. John Dunlap. (Photo courtesy Napa Valley Register/J.L. Sousa)The California Legislature’s longest-lived political dynasty was the Coombs-Dunlap family, which included four generations and stretched over 120 years. The last legislator from the family was Sen. John F. Dunlap, who at nearly 95 is currently the fifth-oldest living former California state legislator.
A group of millennial friends looking out at an urban landscape. (Photo: Eugenio Marongiu)Millennials are better educated than previous generations; they are technologically savvy. For political types, they are a headache. They are the largest living generation. Even though there are 9.4 million California millennials, making them a potentially rich source of votes, they don’t vote in very high percentages unless they’re thrilled. They get more excited about general elections than midterms. That’s true of the electorate as a whole, usually, but it’s especially evident among millennials.
A judge's gavel and money -- two elements of the bail process. (Photo: AVN Photo Lab)Bail is supposed to make sure that a defendant returns for the court date, although critics say bail merely punishes people for being poor. Legislation is moving through the Capitol to try to resolve this issue, but it is fiercely opposed by the bail agents and bounty hunters who make their living assuring the courts that skittish defendants will show up.
A gathering of gay rights activists at the state Capitol. (Photo: Karin Hildebrand Lau)Bish Paul descended into Empress Tavern’s basement downtown and was greeted with a surprise. Over 50 capitol staffers mingled beneath the brick arches a block from the state Capitol. LGBT aides and allies drank and chatted, discussing Sacramento’s LGBT community and shared Capitol connections.
A fearful child seeks to protect herself. (Photo: 271 EAK MOTO, via Shutterstock)Preventing childhood trauma should be one of the top goals of California policymakers, a coalition of child advocates say. In California alone, more than 1.5 million children have had two or more adverse childhood experiences, according to advocacy group Children Now, another co-sponsor of the policymaker education day.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at a Capitol news conference in February. (Photo: Albert H. Teich)In the end, it all comes down to following the money – about $568 million and counting. Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the House and former speaker, is no stranger to criticism and this year is no different. But this time, the attacks are coming from fellow Democrats who are calling for the longtime House leader, who turned 77 in March and is a California political icon, to step down. So far, she’s not budging.
A pharmaceutical worker examines drugs at a dispensary. (Photo: i viewfinder, via Shutterstock)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.