News
Amid a pandemic that has pushed millions of mothers out of the workplace, caused fertility rates to plunge and heightened the risk of death for pregnant women, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers are seeking a slate of health proposals for low-income families and children. Newsom, a self-described feminist and the father of four young children, has long advocated family-friendly health and economic policies.
News
State Sen. Holly Mitchell was appalled. Video of New jersey high school wrestler Andrew Johnson having his dreadlocks chopped off as a condition of competing in a match was spreading around the country. Johnson had competed in a previous tournament without incident, but was now being told by a white referee with a previous history of making racist comments to a black colleague that his hair was “unnatural,” and he could either cut it off or forfeit the match. Johnson chose the former.
News
The U.S. Census Bureau’s voter survey of the November 2020 election shows that, once again, California saw increased participation in general and across nearly all demographics. A startling finding in the recently released data: In 2020, African American participation hit 64%, very close to 2008’s record 65.2%, when Barack Obama ran for president for the first time.
Podcast
Since we posted FOUR new episodes this past week, we’re offering up an abbreviated version of our regular podcast… this time we’ll just look at who had the #WorstWeekCA. If you have been following the news, the answer should be pretty clear: SEIU 1000, home to 96,000 union state employees, saw a dramatic low-turnout election that unseated the longtime leader and replaced her with an outsider candidate who promised to cut all political spending, and told Gavin Newsom not to expect his union’s help in the Recall.
News
The story about Jakob, Sheersha and Clementine is a 6,000-mile biomedical tale that spans the Atlantic. The story ranges from the Saskatchewan River in Canada to the dusty Tehachapi mountains in drought-plagued Southern California. And it is a story of children with a terrible and rare genetic affliction known as the bubble baby disease.
News
A former member of the voter-approved commission that draws maps for California’s legislative and congressional districts said the panel should operate more in the open as it crafts the new boundaries.
Podcast
With Memorial Day – one of the biggest camping holidays of the year – coming up next Monday, we thought we’d check in on the status of California’s State Parks. We’re joined this week by Gloria Sandoval, Deputy Director of Public Affairs for State Parks who tells us how to get into your favorite park – and offers tips on what to do if your first option is booked.
News
In its latest statewide survey, the Berkeley IGS Poll asked registered voters how they would vote such an amendment if the election were held today. The results indicate that 44% of voters say they would vote Yes to repeal the state’s death penalty law, 35% would vote No to keep the law in force, while a relatively large proportion, 21%, are undecided.
News
In California, we have seen steady increases in Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program) enrollment since April 2020, with caseloads about 9% larger in January 2021 compared to January 2020. Expanded Medi-Cal coverage is responsible for much of the decline in the uninsured rate.
News
The California stem cell agency says it is doing “everything” it can to move forward on a gene therapy that has saved the lives of more than 50 persons but which has been pushed aside by the company that has exclusive rights to it. The issue has raised questions about the ethics of withholding care from babies and children suffering from a fatal disease.
Illustration of a pregnant woman. (Image: Tanya Antusenok,via Shutterstock)
