Students at San Diego State University, pre-pandemic. (Photo: Pictor Picture, via Shutterstock)A long and steady increase in the number of California students seeking financial aid came to an abrupt end this year, and while it’s too soon to know exactly why 25,000 fewer students filled out federal aid forms than last year, all signs point to the pandemic.
Animal rights activist Eric Mills of Oakland. (Photo: Screen capture, actionforanimals-oakland.com)California has seen ideological clashes throughout its 170-year history as a state, and they are not all confined to Democrats vs. Republicans, north vs. south, coast vs. inland, or rural vs. urban. One of today’s sharpest battles is between rodeo boosters and those who find rodeos cruel and silly. Foremost among the latter is Eric Mills of Oakland, who calls rodeos “just a bunch of macho crap.”
Democratic political strategist Garry South joined Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster to talk about the potential recall of Governor Gavin Newsom. South is uniquely positioned to weigh in on the subject: he headed Governor Gray Davis’ 1998 and
The impact of the pandemic is seen in San Diego's Mission Valley, normally crowded with traffic. ((Photo: Travelling Thilo, via Shutterstock)For all of our grousing about COVID-19 fatigue, a few novel trends are clear one year into the pandemic. In the early weeks of 2021, Californians are staying home way more than we did in our pre-pandemic life. Even so, we’re heading out to shop, dine and work far more now than in March 2020, when state officials issued the first sweeping stay-at-home order, or the dark period that followed the winter holidays, when we hunkered down as coronavirus caseloads exploded.
California has a diversity problem on its corporate boards. For Latinos, the statistics are particularly shocking: while they make up close to 40% of California’s population, Latinos hold less than 3% of these board seats. Esther Aguilera of the Latino Corporate Directors Association joins Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster to talk about why this matters and what her group is doing to help diversify the state’s business leadership.
A voter casts his ballot in a vote center at L.A.'s Pantages Theatre, Oct. 31, 2020. (Photo: Ringo Chiu, via Shutterstock)Democrats, who already enjoy an overwhelming lead in California voter registration, now have one more advantage over the state’s beleaguered Republicans. Political Data Inc., California’s preeminent firm supplying information to political types, has announced that it will henceforth only work for “progressives” and Democrats.
Over the last four weeks Capitol Weekly presented a series of live panel discussions and presentations on Zoom, examining the topic “The Future of Work.”
The battles over the Dynamex decision, AB5 and Proposition 22 reveal an uncertain landscape for working people in California. Priced out of the nation’s most expensive housing market, some workers are choosing to leave the state. Manufacturing, once a mainstay of good-paying jobs in California, is in deep decline. Gig work is booming – but is it sustainable? And, a year-long pandemic has devastated many industries – how will they come back? What is the Future of Work – and workers – in the Golden State?
A stem cell researcher at UC Davis. (Photo: AJ Cheline, UC Davis, via The Stem Cellar)Backed by $17 million in cash from California’s stem cell agency, researchers at UC Davis this month are launching “the world’s first clinical trial using stem cells to treat spina bifida before the child is born.”
Headquarters of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, (Photo: Cassionhabib, via Shutterstock)In February, Texas experienced a freak weather event, a deep freeze that shut down its electrical system, damaged its infrastructure and cost dozens of lives. The storm revealed the lack of preparation and investment by the Texas state government, the flaws of its system of deregulated privately-owned utilities, and the failures of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT. The latter is responsible for maintaining the state’s energy infrastructure.
A 77-inch diameter redwood, old-growth by almost any criteria, is marked to be cut to just 80 inches tall, just off the EZN mountain biking trail in the town of Mendocino. (Photo: Samuel Goldberger, by permission)Driving the 25-mile, winding pass known as California Highway 20, you could be excused for missing the weather-worn, wooden sign welcoming you into — and through — Jackson State Demonstration Forest. After all, the towering redwood trees dappling the sunlight over the road and the misty fog that clings to every curve is what most drivers are there for, as they head toward the craggy cliffs of the Mendocino coastline.