Opinion
OPINION: The California Legislature has taken an important to protect unaccompanied immigrant children by passing AB 1140, the Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Protections Act. The bill guarantees that unaccompanied migrants cared for in California-licensed residential facilities and homes are safe and have the same rights as all other children in these facilities.
Opinion
OPINION: Health care is once again front and center in Congress. And once again Californians will play a critical role in the federal budget debate that could result in the biggest expansion of help to access, afford, and improve health coverage since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act.
Opinion
OPINION: Roads and development create massive barriers for wildlife. Mountain lions, desert tortoises, California tiger salamanders and many other creatures have watched their home turf shrink. Building or upgrading wildlife crossings and preserving existing habitat can go a long way toward saving the state’s most imperiled species.
Opinion
OPINION: Offshore wind energy in California would create quality jobs. Legislators should put the state on a path to development. In California, we know that building a clean energy economy means high-quality blue-collar jobs.
Opinion
OPINION: Local solar power — on our roofs and in our neighborhoods — has always been a more nimble and resilient form of clean energy, but now we know that consumer solar is also cost-effective leaving little doubt that it should be a key element of the state’s energy transition.
Opinion
OPINION: The California Legislature is considering a bill by State Senator Ben Allen that would prohibit a broad spectrum of packaging and consumer products from being labeled with the familiar “chasing arrows” recycling symbol or any other information deeming it recyclable, based on stringent criteria.
Opinion
OPINION: The Foreign Labor Contractor Registration bill is a quiet piece of legislation with the potential to speak loudly to our values and commitment to human rights. If passed, AB 364 would extend anti-trafficking protections to all temporary workers in California, particularly by targeting unethical, and often criminal foreign labor contractors (FLCs).
Opinion
OPINION: The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare numerous issues related to health, equity and justice in our state. One of the most dire circumstances highlighted by the pandemic are the deadly conditions faced by those in immigrant detention facilities in California.
Opinion
OPINION: With explosive wildfires once again raging across California, public safety must be paramount as legislators take final action on bills. Action is needed now to ensure that Governor Newsom’s $6 billion broadband plan enacted in July protects all Californians no matter which provider or network delivers their communications service.
Opinion
OPINION: The state is at it again. This time, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is attempting, in an end-run around the normal regulatory process, to impose “emergency” harsh and unjustified new rules on the metal-recycling industry — the one aspect of California’s troubled recycling sector that is still going strong. Why? Because they believe they can, I guess.
Demonstrators at a 2019 protest in San Francisco show photos of immigrant children who died in custody without adequate care. (Photo: Suzette Leg Anthony, via Shutterstock)
