Dismantling the apse on the back of the State Capitol. 1949In 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
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
Housing and a For Sale sign, San Francisco. (Photo: Natalya Kramskaya, via Shutterstock)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.
EVs at charge. image courtesy the City of Hayward.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?
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.
Artist's rendering of the proposed new entrance to the California Capitol by Mark Cavagnero Associates.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.
With the average gasoline pump price approaching six bucks a gallon in California, we called Cathy Reheis-Boyd, President of the Western States Petroleum Association, to explain how we got here and what happens now.
These special episodes of the Capitol Weekly Podcast were recorded live on March 3, 2022 at California Crime, a discussion of Criminal Justice Policy, hosted by Capitol Weekly as part of our California Conference series.
Twenty-seven Assemblymembers who were elected to seats in 2020 will not be returning to those seats in 2022. What is driving this exodus? We asked political data whiz Paul Mitchell to weigh in on what to make of this unexpected turnover.
Mike Madrid is a longtime Republican strategist; After a lifetime as a GOP stalwart, he denounced the party’s embrace of Trumpism in 2016, and cofounded The Lincoln Project. We invited him on the Podcast to talk about the recent flurry of recalls and whether this will be the “new normal” in California politics.