An artist's rendering of California's proposed bullet train. (Image: High-Speed Rail Authority)For more than a decade, California’s bullet train has faced obstacle after obstacle. The latest hurdle: the pandemic. Last week, the Authority postponed the approval of its 2020 business plan until Dec. 15 in order to assess the impacts of COVID-19.
A coronavirus anti-body testing station in Palo Alto run by Stanford University. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a multimillion-dollar state initiative to bring COVID-19 testing to the people and places with the least access: rural towns and disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods. California is now halting its expansion, citing costs, even as the state is getting walloped by record-setting spikes in new infections and double-digit increases in hospitalizations.
Senator Kamala Harris looms large on Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s list of potential VP picks – he has said that he will pick a woman as running mate, and Harris is leading the ‘pundit polls’ as the most likely choice. If Harris is selected, and the Biden/Harris ticket goes on to win the November election, who would Governor Gavin Newsom appoint as her successor?
Rudy Giuliani, left, and Robert Hariri. (Photo: Hariri Twitter page.)California’s stem cell agency last week awarded $750,000 to a New Jersey firm to help finance a clinical trial for the firm’s proposed Covid-19 treatment — a therapy that has been hailed by President Trump’s personal attorney as having “real potential.” The firm is Celularity, Inc. Its president and co-founder is Robert Hariri, who describes himself as a longtime friend of Rudy Giuliani.
Geeta Anand, newly appointed interim dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. (Photo: UC Berkeley)Geeta Anand, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author, has been named interim dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, replacing Edward Wasserman, who stepped down after serving seven years as dean.
Photo illustration of the coronavirus in California. (Photo: Maridav, via Shutterstock)COVID-19 cases in California are spiking dramatically — more than 6,600 new cases on Tuesday alone — and scientists predict California will double its transmission rate every four to five weeks. On Wednesday, the death toll spiked to 98, bringing to 5,725 the total number of deaths so far.
Longtime Clean Air activist Bill Magavern joins us to chat, and brings some welcome good news: with the COVID-19 pandemic keeping people out of their cars, many areas of California have seen a decrease in air pollution.
A cancer stem cell researcher in the laboratory. (Photo: science photo, via Shutterstock)A $5.5 billion stem cell bond measure qualified this afternoon for the November ballot, but the campaign to win voter approval is facing an array of hurdles that its supporters never envisioned last summer when they were formulating the initiative.
A homeless student sleeps on a park bench at night. (Photo: E_Photos, via Shutterstock)Facing the pandemic and financial woes, California’s community colleges are struggling to provide programs to meet some of their students’ most basic needs, such as food and shelter. The efforts come as many community college students report a loss of income, increased h0melessness and a worsening financial situation.
Jackie Fielder, candidate in the 11th Senate District. (Photo: Fielder campaign)Jackie Fielder is an activist and educator with her sights set on California’s 11th Senate District, hoping in an uphill race to topple incumbent state Sen. Scott Wiener, a fellow Democrat. Fielder is young (25), educated (Stanford University), a person of color (both Native American and Latina), an environmental protester and an activist with a background in grassroots organizing. She describes herself as a Democratic Socialist.