An artist's rendering of California's bullet train. (Image: High-Speed Rail Authority)State rail officials are taking the glass-half-full view. Rather than lamenting the fact High Speed Rail is absent from the president’s infrastructure plan, they’re pointing to supportive statements from Biden and his team, and insisting there’s time before Congress irons out a final deal to claim a share for California’s fast train.
Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Cross at a meeting of the board. (Photo: Screen capture, CBS13, Sacramento)Sue Frost, chair of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, did not originally support a 2002 state law that provides family members with one of the few legal avenues to get severely mentally ill relatives into intensive treatment. Like other public officials, she was concerned about patient rights and cost.
Amanda and Nick Wilcox were honored in the state Assembly for their efforts to establish "Laura's Law," named after their 19-year-old daughter who was slain by a mentally ill gunman two decades ago. (Photo: Elias Funez, The Union, Nevada County.)When Kaino Hopper’s 31-year-old daughter adamantly refused – as she often has — the mental health treatment she so desperately needs, it was a rainy, blustery January day in Sacramento, and she was homeless, sleeping in fields and suburban parks. Her mother had few choices, and contacted her daughter’s caseworker for help.
A dry field and barn off of Highway 152 in California's Pacheco Pass. (Photo: Hank Shiffman, via Shutterstock)As if the COVID-19 epidemic, economic malaise, disrupted schooling and wildfires weren’t enough, California now finds itself heading for a drought. A big drought. In fact, the U.S. Drought Monitor says that 91 percent of the state is in a drought right now.
Artichoke Joe's Casino in San Bruno, south of San Francisco. (Photo: Wikipedia)State law enforcement authorities say a settlement has been reached with Artichoke Joe’s Casino, a major California card club, for violation of money laundering laws and for misleading investigators. The casino agreed to pay a $5.3 million penalty.
Assemblymember Rob Bonta, an Alameda County Democrat, picked by Gov. Gavin Newsom as the next state attorney general. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)Rob Bonta, the first Filipino-American to serve in the California Legislature, was appointed state attorney general on Wednesday, filling the vacancy created by Xavier Becerra, who left to join President Joe Biden’s administration.
A pipette and receptacles used in stem cell research. (Photo: CI Photos)The talk at the California stem cell agency this week was of ”boiling the ocean,” the meaning of “unlikely” and “DEI.” All of which involves how $5.5 billion in taxpayer dollars will be used over the next decade or so.
An illustration of California cities that will become part of redrawn political districts for the 2022 elections. (Image: jmrainbow, via Shutterstock)California’s decennial battle to redraw the state’s political boundaries has moved into uncharted territory, a casualty of the pandemic and unprecedented delays in the release of census data. The U.S. Census Bureau recently announced its data – the foundation of political map-making — will be released to all states this year by Sept. 30, a full six months later than the original release date.
Students at San Diego State University, pre-pandemic. (Photo: Pictor Picture, via Shutterstock)A long and steady increase in the number of California students seeking financial aid came to an abrupt end this year, and while it’s too soon to know exactly why 25,000 fewer students filled out federal aid forms than last year, all signs point to the pandemic.
Animal rights activist Eric Mills of Oakland. (Photo: Screen capture, actionforanimals-oakland.com)California has seen ideological clashes throughout its 170-year history as a state, and they are not all confined to Democrats vs. Republicans, north vs. south, coast vs. inland, or rural vs. urban. One of today’s sharpest battles is between rodeo boosters and those who find rodeos cruel and silly. Foremost among the latter is Eric Mills of Oakland, who calls rodeos “just a bunch of macho crap.”