Opinion

A math professor’s effort to dismantle remedial classes

An instructor in a college math class prepares to call on a student. (Photo: Juice Dash, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: I helped create these remedial structures because I believed they would help students be successful. But over the last decade I’ve worked to dismantle them, eliminating both remedial courses and placement tests. Why? Because enrolling in a remedial class makes students less – not more – likely to be successful in college.

News

CA120: Numbers showing sparse turnout for the primary

Signs at a site in San Francisco show the way to the polls. (Photo: Kevin McGovern, via Shutterstock)

Going into this gubernatorial primary election, one could have rightly expected to see a pretty good turnout. There are more than 30 open legislative seats for the first time in nearly a decade and competitive congressional races after the shakeup of redistricting. But with just a few days to go, we are at just 13% total turnout statewide. In some key battlegrounds, like the hot L.A. Mayor’s race, turnout is even lower at just 10%,

Opinion

Call it what you like, but solitary confinement equals torture

An artist's rendering of an inmate in solitary confinement. (Photo: LaHellen, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Prolonged solitary confinement is torture. Whether it is referred to as administrative segregation, secure housing, or protective custody, the effect on an individual is the same. Significant psychological harm, and mental and physical damage that can be permanent.

Analysis

Bitterness over speakership fray permeates the Assembly

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. (Photo: Rendon's Twitter feed.)

Timing is crucial in politics, and the battle over the Assembly speakership is no exception. The clock is ticking. If Rendon continues through the end of the current two-year session, then any change in the speakership will be decided in the next session, following the November elections, when all 80 Assembly seats are up for election.

Recent News

State stormwater permit would stall housing, infrastructure

A stormwater runoff system under construction. (Photo: Maksim Safaniuk, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Gov. Gavin Newsom has boldly promoted the goal of building more than 3 million new homes by 2025 to address the significant supply/demand imbalance and bring down the cost of housing. Given California’s challenging regulatory processes, we’re already falling woefully short of those ambitious goals. In spite of this, an excessive new proposal by the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) – comprised of gubernatorial appointees — will further stall new housing production.

Recent News

Nearly half-century later, lawyers and doctors see peace over MICRA

Illustration of the elements of medicine and the law. (Illustration: vchal, via Shutterstock)

The latest chapter in a decades-long battle between physicians and lawyers is unfolding through compromise in Sacramento and so far, almost everyone involved has come aboard. The political battle revolves around California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) which limits the amount of money patients can receive if injured by a physician in connection with medical treatment.

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Surprise MICRA compromise!

A doctor and a lawyer shake hands, an illustration of the MICRA compromise. (Photo: FocusStalker, via Shutterstock)

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.

News

California’s stem cell program — big money, but lackluster oversight

A Liquid Nitrogen bank containing suspended stem cells. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich)

California’s multibillion-dollar, cell and gene therapy program has a special spot in the pantheon of the hundreds of government departments in the Golden State. It is immune from the normal oversight of the governor and state lawmakers. Its cash — now set at $5.5 billion over the next decade — flows freely and directly to the stem cell agency with no inconvenient meddling by elected officials.

Opinion

California must keep its critical investments in roads, bridges

A Los Angeles freeway interchange. (Photo: oneinchpunch, via Shutterstock)

OPINION:Transportation California opposes syphoning dedicated transportation funding away at the pump. It will harm projects currently underway throughout California to upgrade bridges and overpasses to meet earthquake safety standards and to improve the safety of our roads – whether by personal vehicle, bicycle, transit, or on foot.

Opinion

As Kern County goes, so goes the nation

A historic section of downtown Bakersfield at sunset. (Photo: Matt Gush, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Some in California hold our state as an example as the proving ground for climate policy, and the model for the rest of the U.S. – and beyond. So, it’s fair to ask – are California’s climate policies actually helping communities and, if so, should they serve as a template for other states?

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