A march for women's rights on San Francisco's Market Street. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)It’s deeply concerning that a health care labor union in one of the most progressive, pro-choice states in the nation is pushing a ballot measure that could provide new ammunition to anti-abortion zealots in their quest to eliminate a woman’s right to choose.
Morning pollution over Longt Beach. (Photo: Katharine Moore, via Shutterstock)OPINION: We all have witnessed the devastation of climate change. As I write this, our California neighbors in Napa, Sonoma and up north are losing homes and businesses to wildfire. Every year, wildfire season is more severe than the year before. But the ravages of wildfire are not the only harmful result of climate change that is impacting us.
A scientist with a pipette doing cellular research. (Photo: 18percentgrey, via Shutterstock)OPINION: At a time of budget crisis, Proposition 14 commits California to spending $5 billion (plus interest) that we don’t have, on a bureaucracy we don’t need, in pursuit of cures no one can guarantee. Specifically, Prop. 14 would refinance the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), also known as the state stem cell agency.
Photo: Power CaliforniaOPINION: Everywhere in California, young people are fighting for our lives, our families and our communities. We know it is up to us to fight for our future. We are asking you to fight for us, too. We are young. We are Black, brown, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans youth and youth of color from the Central Valley, Central Coast, Southern California, Inland Valley, Bay Area, — every corner of the state.
A liquid nitrogen bank containing a suspension of stem cells. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The Golden State boasts the 5th largest economy, the biggest and best public university systems and, thanks to support from California voters, it’s the global epicenter for advancing stem cell research and treatments for chronic diseases and conditions that will afflict nearly all California families.
A pair of runners on a jaunt. (Photo: oneinchpunch, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Between the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming election, people are tuning into the news to hear the latest numbers on both, yet when it comes to COVID-19, there is another set of numbers that Americans should be aware of—the toll the virus has taken on our physical and mental health.
A doctor moves an ultrasound transducer across a woman's belly. (Photo: Andrey_Popov, via Shutterstock)OPINION: With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, expectant mothers of color in California now face two battles at once: potential exposure to a deadly virus, and long-standing inadequate access to the best prenatal and maternal healthcare. And as the Black Lives Matter protests and national conversations around racial injustice continue to spread across California, it is more important than ever that California lawmakers address the systemic racial health disparities that plague our communities and give rise to this lack of access.
A pharmacist with a digital tablet checks prescription drugs. (Photo: i viewfinder)OPINION: Millions of low-income Californians are about to have their prescription drug benefit change on January 1, 2021. Yet, you probably have not heard much about it. On his first day in office, Gov. Newsom proposed several bold initiatives to contain the cost of prescription drug prices, including “Medi-Cal Rx”, a change in how the state administers the prescription drug benefit for the nearly 11 million Medi-Cal enrollees who get their coverage through a health plan.
A sign at a downtown San Francisco rally urging support for the Affordable Care Act. (Photo: Kim Wilson, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death has placed the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) back in the headlines because the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in November in a case, California v. Texas, that seeks to repeal it. The widely publicized prospect of eliminating health care coverage for more than 20 million Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic should be enough to give our elected leaders and the high court pause.
Illustration of school children, education and the pandemic. (Photo: Felipe Sanchez, via Shutterstock)OPINION: California is dealing with cascading crises the likes of which have never been experienced before. Between February 2020 and today, California’s unemployment rate rose from a record low of 3.9% to 13.3%. Nearly two million Californians who were working then aren’t working now. And California’s clean energy economy — which employed 3% of the state’s workforce before COVID-19 — has also taken a hit.