News

Housing costs push Californians around

Tightly packed housing in the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles. (Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)>

More than four in 10 California adults are seriously considering moving away from their part of the state because of the cost of housing, with the highest proportion in the coastal counties and the lowest in the state’s interior. A slight majority of those recently surveyed by the Public Policy Institute of California — 55 percent — are staying put.

News

Wait begins for free community college

Students gather in the school library for a study session. (Photo: rawpixel.com, via Shutterstock)

It will take awhile before Californians can enjoy the much-heralded free community college offer recently approved by Gov. Jerry Brown. The earliest the free tuition could go into effect is fall 2018 and that’s only if the Legislature agrees to budget the $31.1 million needed to pay for the expected 19,000 students who would take advantage of the waiver.

Opinion

Oversight urged for 340B drug discount program

A woman shops for medications in a pharmacy. (Photo: Tyler Olson, via Shutterstock

OPINION: Mark Twain once proclaimed, “The government of my country snubs honest simplicity, but fondles artistic villainy, and I think I might have developed into a very capable pickpocket if I had remained in the public service a year or two.” These humorous words may elicit a smile, but clearly ring true more than a century later, and most certainly apply to the 340B drug discount program.

News

Stem cell: Arthritic knee research in $33 million award

A stem cell researcher at work. (Photo: 18percentgrey, via Shutterstock)

The California stem cell agency has awarded $33 million for clinical trial research, but not before some governing board members questioned the appropriateness of backing an effort to treat osteoarthritis of the knee. The awards on Thursday bring to 43 the number of clinical trials funded by the stem cell agency, formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). 

News

Rent control may roil 2018 ballot

A house goes up for rent. (Photo: Andy Dean Photography)

So far, most of the sound and fury in California politics has revolved around candidates.  But there are increasing signs that ballot initiatives may trigger additional uproar in 2018. The latest November filing is an effort to remove a 20-year barrier to local rent control, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.

News

Follow CA’s political money: New rules in 2018

Photo illustration, political cash on the move: IQoncept, via Shutterstock

The Disclose Act, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed earlier this month, passed the Legislature after years of negotiations with labor unions and other interest groups. Supporters call it the strongest campaign money transparency law in the nation, but others say interest groups had too much sway over the bill.

Analysis

Voters like Brown, Feinstein, but also seek change

Gov. Brown at Hall of Fame ceremonies in Sacramento last year. (Photo: By Randy Miramontez)

ANALYSIS: California is a solid Democratic state, Republicans in the foreseeable future have little chance of winning a statewide office, and Democratic icons Jerry Brown and Dianne Feinstein viewed more positively than negatively. But voters still want change.

News

Judge tosses out $417 million verdict in cancer case

Johnson & Johnson baby powder products on a store shelf. (Photo: Raihana Asra, va Shutterstock)

Overriding a huge jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson, a Los Angeles judge has ordered a new trial in the case of an ovarian cancer victim who claimed she contracted the disease through longtime use of the company’s talc powders for feminine hygiene.

News

Senate race: Delving into DiFi

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein during a Senate confirmation hearing for John Roberts as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. (Photo: Rob Crandall, via Shutterstock)

Dianne Feinstein’s long political life has been marked by gunfire, victories, toughness and tragedy. The smart money says it’s not over yet. Dianne Feinstein, now 84 and the oldest member of the U. S. Senate, has announced she will run for re-election in 2018, seeking her fifth full term.

News

CA120: 2016’s Trump Voters – what do they think now?

People at a 2016 political rally in Anaheim for Republican presidential contender Donald Trump. (Photo: mikeledray, via Shutterstock)

Throughout the 2016 election cycle, Capitol Weekly conducted several polls. Two of them, one during the primary and the other during the general, were targeted to voters right after they had mailed in their ballots. In total, more than 80,000 Californians participated in these surveys. Now, we’ve gone back asked these voters how they feel about the candidates they backed and about the issues, and we sought their perceptions about the political climate. We’ll start with the Trump voters.

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