Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Our guests this episode are newly-elected California Legislative Black Staff Association Board Chair Alchemy Graham and Vice Chair Cassidy Denny. Graham is a lobbyist with Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange; Denny works in the office of Senator Nancy Skinner. We asked them about their goals for the Association, why a Black Staff Association is needed, and about their own paths to working in the capitol.
Podcast
Harmeet Dhillon is a prominent Republican lawyer, and a regular commenter on Fox News. She penned an Op-Ed for them last week, “The plot to destroy the Court,” that examines the leak of a draft SCOTUS decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and explores the implications of that decision. We asked her to comment on those issues and also to talk about the complexities of being a Republican who is a civil libertarian with ties to the ACLU.
Podcast
Last night Politico published a bombshell report: a leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established federal abortion rights. For this Special Episode we asked Paul Mitchell, one of California’s leading political data analysts, to weigh in on the likely effects of the decision.
Podcast
A new Ballot Measure to revise the longstanding MICRA cap was on track to appear on this year’s ballot until last week when legislative leaders and advocates from both sides announced that a deal had been reached. That deal is AB 35, sponsored by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes and Sen. Tom Umberg. We spoke with Umberg about AB 35, and also asked him about some confusing Redistricting news from Orange County.
Podcast
In our discussion with lobbyist and author Chris Micheli last month we touched on the status of the Capitol Annex Project, the billion-dollar-plus update to the historic state capitol that is currently underway. While the legislature and Governor have already moved, and construction has begun, lawsuits are challenging the legality of the effort and could
Podcast
Just a quickie this week! We’re taking a little Spring Break from the regular podcast so all we have for you this time is the Worst Week in California Politics– and if you’ve been following the news you won’t have a hard time guessing who it was…
We’ll be back with a regular
Podcast
We are joined today by San Diego Assemblyman Chris Ward. Ward represents the 78th District, which like most of the state, has been hard hit by the lack of affordable housing. While most housing affordability advocates approach this problem by focusing on strategies to increase supply, Ward has introduced a bill, AB 1771, that aims to keep prices in check by deterring house-flippers.
Podcast
With gasoline prices hovering in the mid $5 range, many Californians are taking a new look at the option of driving an Electric Vehicle. We spoke with former Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, a longtime EV fan, who established himself as one of California’s leading experts in energy, telecommunications, and technology policy while in the legislature. Will spiking gas prices move California drivers to the EV tipping point?
Podcast
Even “retired,” Daniel Zingale can’t leave the political fray. He is currently serving on the Delta Stewardship Council, is part of the California 100 Project, and recently announced that he joined the veteran lobby firm Sacramento Advocates. We also learned that he helped his former boss, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, promote his recent message to the Russian people about Ukraine.
Podcast
Lobbyist, professor and author Chris Micheli joins us to talk about his two latest books, and gives us a rundown on lobbying during the current phase of the pandemic. He also answered our questions about the ongoing legal battle over the capitol annex project and imminent destruction of the 1952 annex on the East side of the capitol building.
Alchemy Graham and Cassidy Denny of the California Legislative Black Staff Association
