Recent News

Double whammy: Dropping test scores and ‘pandemic learning loss’

Masked students outside their closed school, which shut down because of COVID-19. (Photo: Falon Koontz, via Shutterstock)

The first standardized school testing since the pandemic has confirmed what parents knew all along – Covid shutdowns and remote learning hurt student performance and wiped out years of improvement. Repairing the damage won’t be easy. “Pandemic learning loss” presents a unique set of problems for which educators have no playbook.

Recent News

CA120: A 3-legged stool and figuring out our general election

A 2019 political rally in San Diego for U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. (Photo: John Hancock, via Shutterstock)

Watching analyses of this coming election can be a bit like watching a tennis match. The lead in many races – from US Senate contests to local competitive house and legislative districts, has seemingly volleyed back and forth for months. If it all seems less stable than past elections, that’s not just your perception – it really is.

Recent News

Obit: Rosalind ‘Roz’ Wyman played key role in bringing Dodgers to LA

Roz Wyman at bat. (Photo: Screen capture, Capito, weekly oral history)

Rosalind “Roz” Wiener Wyman,  the youngest person ever elected to the Los Angeles City Council and who played a key in bringing the Dodgers to Los Angeles, has died. She was 92. Wyman, a lifelong Democrat, was a political force in California politics. She put together fund-raisers for candidates, organized major events and was a scrappy campaigner herself and had an inexhaustible supply of energy.

Recent News

PPIC survey: Dems hold edge in key House districts, Prop 30 slips

The California Capitol in Sacramento, surrounded by Capitol Park. (Photo: Merge Digital Media LLC, via Shutterstock)

 In the final weeks before Election Day on Nov. 8, support for Proposition 30, the state ballot measure on funding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has slid to less than a majority. On the congressional front, Democrats hold an overall edge across the 10 competitive districts that could determine which party controls the US House of Representatives.

Opinion

Microbusinesses play increasingly crucial role in California

An owner of a small business is ready for customers. (Photo: SaiArLawKa2, via Shutterstock)

OPINION:  As the fifth largest economy in the world, California is home to heavyweight economic industries: Silicon Valley, the entertainment industry, agriculture, tourism, and more. But anyone who lives here knows that there’s also a boom in the number of people who are starting their own microbusinesses.

Recent News

Surprises in partisan strength haunted recall election

Gov. Gavin Newsom attends a September 2021 rally in Culver City during the unsuccessful campaign to recall him from office. (Photo: Maxim Elramsisy, via Shutterstock)

Readers of Capitol Weekly understand how “blue” California is.  That’s why you’re up in the middle of the night thinking about Democrat -versus-Democrat races for State Assembly while you probably can’t name the full slate of Republican statewide candidates. But what about the average California voter?

Recent News

California Gaming with Richard Schuetz

RICHARD SCHUETZ

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Though we have covered gaming expansion attempts many times over the years, we’re no gambling experts – but our guest, Richard Schuetz, is. Schuetz’ resume is fascinating: he got his start as dealer in Las Vegas casinos, and he worked his way up to heading one of the largest gaming operations in the country. He joined us this episode from Pennsylvania, where he weighed in on the current proposals, the history of online gaming, the profound differences between commercial gaming operations and those operated by tribal organizations, and what tattoo Prop. 27 backers should get.

Recent News

Hoping to beat historic odds, GOP hopeful eyes controller’s office

State controller candidate Lanhee Chen, center, speaking with potential voters. (Photo: Chen campaign committee)

Lanhee Chen decided to become a Republican at age 10 after watching the 1988 presidential debate between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis. He has a vivid memory of watching Bush talk about “compassionate conservatism” and how important it is to encourage people to help one another. “Government is not the reflexive solution to everything,” said Chen, 44. “That was the vision.”

Recent News

The butterflies of El Segundo thrive in a little-known preserve

An El Segundo Blue butterfly. (Photo: esbcoalition.)

The 2028 Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles between July 21 and Aug. 6, 2028. The event will cost an estimated $6.9 billion, will host 15,000 athletes, and could potentially attract at least one million visitors, both foreign and domestic. Most of them will pass through Los Angeles International Airport near one

Recent News

As drought persists, crucial groundwater supplies dwindle

The cap of a well used to monitor groundwater samples in Gilroy. (Photo: Matthew Corley, via Shutterstock)

More than 60% of  California’s groundwater wells are operating at below-normal levels, endangering much of the Golden State’s population that relies on the precious resource. Although relatively unknown to many Californians, who see water supply in terms of rivers, streams and reservoirs, groundwater is a hugely vital source that is largely invisible.

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