CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: This episode of the podcast presents a discussion of Proposition 32, which would raise California’s Minimum Wage. The “Yes” side was presented by Saru Jayaraman of One Fair Wage. The “No” side was presented by Jot Condie of the California Restaurant Association. The moderator was Phil Willon of the Los Angeles Times.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Former California State Assemblymember and current Fair Political Practices Commissioner Catharine Baker has been appointed director of the newly opened University of California Student and Policy Center, UC’s hub in Sacramento, located just steps from the state capitol. Baker will lead public programming and outreach, aimed at introducing UC students and faculty into the capitol community – and vice versa. She joined us to talk about her goals and priorities for her new position. Plus – a DOOZY of a “Worst Week in California Politics!”
Digitally altered screencap of a sideshow in Oakland, CaliforniaCAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Last year, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed a law that criminalized spectating at the sideshows — the wildly dangerous illegal stunt driving exhibitions that have plagued Oakland and other cities for decades. The move comes as local jurisdictions attempt to curtail the outlaw events that have real costs: damage to infrastructure, injuries to participants and spectators, and increasingly, violence. Our guest today, Oaklandside reporter Jose Fermoso joined a lawsuit led by the First Amendment Coalition to challenge Alameda County’s sideshow law.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: In September 1933, in the depths of the Depression, Dr. Francis Townsend wrote a letter to the Long Beach Press-Telegram with an idea that would end the Depression and alleviate the endemic poverty for the nation’s elderly. Two years later his idea was a bill in congress. Our guest today, Dr. Edwin Amenta is the author of When Movements Matter: The Townsend Plan and the Rise of Social Security. He tells the story of the Townsend Plan, how it became a movement and how it changed the conversation about old age pensions in America and ultimately shaped the Social Security we know today.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Our guest today, Lisa Countryman-Quiroz is the CEO of Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) – a San Francisco nonprofit that helps jobseekers gain the skills and confidence to secure high quality jobs at a living wage. Since 1973, JVS has helped more than 100,000 Californians find quality jobs and gain economic mobility. While the organization is rooted in Jewish tradition, JVS serves individuals from all backgrounds, cultures, and faiths.
Dan Dunmoyer. Illustration by Chris Shary.CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Dan Dunmoyer, of the California Building Industry Association has been a regular on the Top 100 for five years, since he succeeded former CBIA President and CEO (and former state Senator) Dave Cogdill. CBIA is a major player in a state where the Housing Crisis is a top concern for most voters – and their representatives in the legislature. Dunmoyer has been on the List every year since 2019 – and he was supposed to be on this year’s edition. Hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster talk about what went wrong, and chat with Dunmoyer about California housing and how California can start to course correct after decades of anti-housing policy.
Photo by Mike Rafter, taken at the California Lowrider Holiday. Design by Ted Angel.CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster are joined by former KQED reporter and LA Times Bureau Chief John Myers, who left journalism for communications two years ago, but still keeps a watchful eye on Golden State politics. Few political observers are more respected than Myers – one of the many reasons he was a mainstay of the Top 100 List for more than a dozen years. Myers, Ehisen and Foster discuss the broad themes that underlie the 2024 list, look at the new faces, and talk about the names on the inaugural Top 100 Hall of Fame.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: We’ll be releasing a special episode on Wednesday morning to talk about the 2024 Capitol Weekly Top 100, which will publish Tuesday night…. in the meantime we’ve got a very short episode with Who Had the Worst Week in Callifornia Politics, and talking about a Big Change coming to the Top 100 this year: The Top 100 Hall of Fame!
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Last year Chris Hannan was named President of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, which represents nearly half a million members in the construction trades. Hannan had earlier served as the Executive Secretary of the Los Angeles and Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council. SBCTC is one of the biggest players in California labor politics, particularly in housing policy. President Hannan joined us to talk about the trades, about his own journey from apprentice pipe fitter to the president’s office and about the role of union construction workers in California’s future.
Kamala Harris speaking with attendees at the 2019 National Forum on Wages and Working People hosted by the Center for the American Progress Action Fund and the SEIU at the Enclave in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Gage Skidmore.CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Political data expert Paul Mitchell has been polling Joe Biden’s support in California since the president’s disastrous debate performance on June 27. The numbers were not pretty for Dems, with Biden underperforming his 2020 results, and appearing to create a drag on support for Dem candidates across the board. Would another candidate be stronger? On Friday, that was a hypothetical question, but no more.