Accessory Dwelling Unit, image courtesy of United DwellingA little-discussed impact of SB9 is that it helps homeowners finance new construction on their property without tying up the equity in their existing home. We’re joined today by Steven Dietz of United Dwelling, an LA-based housing builder leading the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) industry with the most rental units built in California.
We sat down on Friday for a chat about the looming Recall election with Jonathan Brown, president of Sextant Strategies & Research, a Democratic polling firm based in Southern California. He offers his thoughts on the state of the race, what the Recall says about the parties and even offers his estimate on the final numbers.
We are joined today by Anne Dunsmore, Campaign Manager for Rescue California, the organization that is heading the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Illustration by Jason SeilerIn this episode we discuss the 2021 Top 100 list with Scott Lay, publisher of The Nooner and consummate capitol insider, and look at the forces – COVID, wildfires and the recall – that strongly shaped this edition of the list.
The decennial census data released last week by the US Census Bureau offered insights into how the country has changed since 2010 and will be instrumental in redrawing California’s political maps. Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc., offers his thoughts on what the data portend for California’s redistricting.
Longtime lobbyist Chris Micheli stops by the Capitol Weekly Podcast to talk with John Howard and Tim Foster about his TWO new case books: Introduction to California State Government and Cases and Materials on Direct Democracy in California. Micheli is a lawyer and an adjunct professor at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law.
Photo by Kelly M. Grow / California Department of Water Resources. March 2019The latest Berkeley IGS Poll finds that among likely voters, 47% favor recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom and only 50% favor his retention. Those numbers are a stark warning for a governor serving amid the most turbulent era in memory, where extreme circumstances within – and beyond – his control could impact the attitude of the electorate at any moment.
Today we welcome Randall Hagar, the Policy Consultant and Legislative Advocate for the Psychiatric Physicians Alliance of California. Hagar has been advocating for sound mental health policies for over 20 years and helped draft the language for the original Laura’s Law, a landmark state law that allows for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment. Hagar joined John Howard and Tim Foster to talk about the growing numbers of mentally ill Californians that are either homeless or behind bars, and efforts to reform the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, the 1967 legislation that put strict limits on involuntary commitment. He also outlines the big difference between a Probate Conservatorship (i.e. what pop star Britney Spears has) and the mental illness conservatorships that exist under Lanterman-Petris-Short.
We are joined this episode by Asm. Kevin McCarty of Sacramento, who walks Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster through some of the groundbreaking investments in education that are enshrined in the 2021-22 state budget, signed last Monday by Gov. Newsom. McCarty, a Democratic member of the Assembly Budget Committee, takes a victory lap, touting the unabashedly progressive education agenda outlined in the Budget.
David Quintana toasting with Lil Jon at the 2020 BashThe Bash (AKA The Back to Session Bash) has been a Capitol tradition for close to two decades now. The 2020 edition – the biggest ever – was held as usual in January, before COVID was a concern. Twelve months later, a January 2021 Bash was out of the question. The question then was: cancel