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Of all the committees and offices available in the California Assembly, few give a better perspective on the daily operations of the house than that of Assembly Speaker pro Tem. Sally Lieber, who served as Speaker pro Tem from 2006 to 2008, describes it as a combination of the location and the limitation that the role places on the officeholder.
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Los Angeles is close to becoming the largest U.S. city to achieve a “no kill” policy for healthy animals placed in municipal shelters. When the trial program launched in 2012, the “save rate” — a measurement that reflects the percentage of cats and dogs not euthanized — at L.A. city shelters was 57.7 percent. Through the first quarter of 2017, the save rate rose to 89.4 percent.
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There are ways to communicate successfully with elected officials that constituents, interest groups and even experienced lobbyists should keep in mind. So we offer a few basic tips for getting your message through, whether by writing (paper letter or email), telephoning or making a personal visit to the lawmaker’s state Capitol or district office.
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For decades, polling relied on a strong pool of easily reached voters with a traditional land-line telephone. Before caller-ID became prevalent, nearly every call was answered as long as someone was home. But now more voters are untethered from traditional phones (I haven’t had a land line since 1998), and those who do still have them complain that most incoming calls are from telemarketers.
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Twenty-eight states currently offer “Choose Life” license plates, but California may be the first state in the country offering solely pro-choice plates. The plate would join 14 other special-interest license plates that raise money for a number of agencies, including the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Arts Council, California Coastal Commission and Lake Tahoe and Yosemite Conservancy.
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It was a classic Coastal Commission moment – cheers, jeers and white-hot media scrutiny. When the Commission denied a controversial development in Newport Beach last September, the crowd shrieked and clapped. A two decades-long fight to build 895 homes, a 75-room resort and 45,000 square feet of retail space was over – at least for the moment.
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California’s courts impose hundreds of millions of dollars of “excessive and disproportionate” fines each year for common infractions, then use much of the money to support their own operations. A blue-ribbon panel examining the system said the fines should be collected by the executive branch — not the courts themselves — to avoid conflicts.
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C. Randal Mills, the 45-year-old CEO of California’s $3 billion stem cell research program, is a man who loves his milestones. A private pilot, he charts his course in the air from one specific point to the next. Three years ago, Mills brought that same sort of navigation to the state stem cell agency.
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Ed’s Note: Here is the full text of the response from the California stem cell agency to a query about the five most important things that it thinks Californians should know about the $3 billion effort.
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California lawmakers are considering a bill that would double reimbursement rates for Denti-Cal providers in order to entice more dentists to accept the insurance that covers low-income residents. The hope is to get dental care to more people – especially children. According to recent reports by the state auditor and the Little Hoover Commission, less than 38 percent of the 5 million eligible children actually received Denti-Cal care in 2014.
Former Assemblywoman Sally Lieber surrounded by children at a refugee camp in Greece. (Photo courtesy of Sally Lieber)
