As the November election approaches, longtime labor activist Caitlin Vega is focused on what she sees as an existential battle: the effort to defeat Proposition 22 – the initiative that would classify App-based drivers as independent contractors and remove labor protections for thousands of workers.
A man shoplifts a pair of jeans at a clothing store. (Photo: Monstar Studio, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Shoplifting and stealing are becoming a bigger problem in California, which is why small businesses are showing interest in two statewide ballot measures that deal with crime and justice. Proposition 20 seeks to strengthen consequences for serial theft, while Proposition 25 is a referendum on the Legislature’s no cash bail law.
An illustration of the 2020 census. (Image: Maria Dryfout, via Shutterstock)California launched an aggressive push through Thursday night to bolster its tally, immediately following a U.S. Supreme Court decision blocking the count. “We’re pulling out all the stops,” said Ditas Katague, director of California Complete Count, the state’s census office.
Robert Klein, left, and CIRM board member Jeff Sheey, right. At center is Board Vice Chair Art Torres. (Photo: California Stem Cell Report)The two men once worked together over the last 16 years to spend $3 billion in state funds on stem cell research in California. This week, however, they were very publicly on opposite sides of a ballot initiative to spend $5.5 billion more. The initiative is Proposition 14, which would require the state to borrow the additional billions.
Five years ago this week, Shawnda Westly found herself in a hospital emergency room with “the worst headache of [her] life.” The doctor who examined her concluded that she was experiencing a migraine, prescribed some painkillers and sent her home.
Within 48 hours, she suffered a stroke that threatened to derail her life. Westly faced a harrowing and uncertain recovery, with the very real prospect that she that might never be able to live on her own again. She was just 45 years old.
An aerial view of a neighborhood in Fremont, California. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)Once again, Californians are being asked to decide on the merits of a ballot measure that roiled the political scene when many of them were in grammar school — or not even born yet. The ballot measure under challenge is Proposition 13, a constitutional amendment written by anti-tax crusader Howard Jarvis and approved nearly 2-to-1 by voters in 1978.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently signed into law major health care-related approved by lawmakers. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP)When Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom concluded the chaotic legislative year Wednesday — his deadline to sign or veto bills — what emerged wasn’t the sweeping platform he and state lawmakers had outlined at the beginning of the year. But the dozens of health care measures they approved included first-in-the-nation policies to require more comprehensive coverage of mental health and addiction, and thrusting the state into the generic drug-making business.
Longtime Sacramento journalist Joe Barr is Capital Public Radio’s Director of Content. While most news organizations have seen a stark decline in staffing over the past decade, Barr has led a major expansion in the station’s news department. Joe joined us by phone to chat about CapRadio’s approach to their news and music stations, the struggles of producing a torrent of election year news programming during a pandemic, and what’s next for CapRadio.
The state Capitol in Sacramento at night. (Photo: Susanne Pommer)With Gov. Gavin Newsom completing his bill actions on Wednesday, we can look at some of the data from the just-concluded 2019-20 California legislative session. Over the two-year session, a total of 4,848 bills were introduced between the Senate and the Assembly (2,625 in 2019 and 2,223 in 2020). In the Senate, there were a total of 1,474 SBs introduced, including 682 SBs in 2020 and 792 SBs in 2019. In the Assembly, there were a total of 3,374 ABs introduced, including 1,541 ABs in 2020 and 1,833 ABs in 2019.
California's state Capitol in Sacramento, home of the goverrnor's office and Legislature (Photo: Shutterstock)IGS Poll: As Gov. Gavin Newsom approached the mid-point of his term as governor, the Berkeley IGS Poll asked California registered voters for their opinions of the job Newsom has been doing both overall and across a wide range of issues that voters feel are important for the state to be addressing. The results indicate that Californians offer a very positive overall assessment of the Governor’s performance, but give him lower marks in a number of specific areas.