San Quentin Prison, where a coronavirus outbreak was reported last year. (Photo: Mark R, via Shutterstock)For Cristina Garcia, there’s something unsettling about the idea that an unvaccinated person, confined to a prison cell, could be exposed to the corona virus because a guard or other state employee had declined an opportunity to be vaccinated.
Farm workers with masks pick strawberries near Carlsbad, San Diego County. (Photo: Simone Hogan, via Shutterstock)Back in April, when the lockdown was first beginning, a California Farm Bureau study reported that the agriculture sector had lost more than 2.4 million jobs directly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, along with the financial hit, farm workers are suffering through increased risk of deadly infection.
Daniel Zingale retired from the Governor’s office one year ago this week, stepping back from a four decade career in politics that began during Jerry Brown’s first run as governor. Now happily ensconced in a cabin in the Gold Country, he joined us to talk about the past year and to look back on a remarkable career that included stints in four gubernatorial administrations.
Pallbearers carry a coffin into a church for services. Photo: Krysja, via Shutterstock)COVID 19 is not only overwhelming California’s hospitals, it’s overwhelming cemeteries and funeral homes as well. Funeral directors across the state are being forced to tell grieving families that they have no more room and cannot serve them.
A display of "rhino pills," seen in many gas stations across the country. (Photo: Amy Martyn, FairWarning)In 2015, Nam Hyun Lee, a South Korean living in Southern California, got into the lucrative business of making herbal, over-the-counter sex supplements for men. He put an aggressive-looking rhinoceros on the label, and over the next several years shipped 10,000 capsules of “Rhino 69 9000” or “Rhino 8 8000” to distributors in Maryland and Texas, according an indictment by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana.
Almost one year to the day from his last visit to the Capitol Weekly Podcast, lobbyist, author and adjunct professor at McGeorge School of Law, Chris Micheli joins Capitol Weekly’s Tim Foster and John Howard to talk about the business of lobbying.
An eastbound driver on Interstate 15 near Baker at the Death Valley turnoff. (Photo: TS Photography, via ShutterstockGrowth – rapid, buoyant, unstoppable – has been part of California’s DNA since tough and greedy men from around the world came here in search of gold 170 years ago. Now it may be a thing of the past. There are even websites giving prospective emigrants tips on how to make stress-free moves to various states, such as Oregon, Texas and Idaho.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Photo: Amir Aziz, via Shutterstock)IGS Survey: The latest Berkeley IGS Poll conducted online last week among over 10,000 registered voters finds just 46% approving of Newsom’s performance as governor, while 48% disapprove, 31% of whom disapprove strongly. This represents a big shift in public sentiment from last year when large majorities approved of the job Newsom was doing.
Man in a hazmat suit sanitizing an apartment room with chemicals. (Photo: Ljupco Smokovski, via Shutterstock)The cost of killing bugs in California will start to rise if lawmakers adopt Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to reduce toxic pesticide use by gradually increasing fees, a measure that could affect everyone from crop dusters to home gardeners. The fee hike, phased in over four years, is included in the governor’s budget proposal.
Campaign consultant Gale Kaufman has run a ballot campaign (or two, or more) in every election cycle since 1998 – and, she’s won most of those. Many of the campaigns Kaufman has directed were tied to education, and she has been closely affiliated with the California Teachers Association for much of her career. Kaufman joined us to offer her thoughts on the lessons of 2020 and what may be in the pipeline for the 2022 election and beyond.