News

A new era — politics and the coronavirus

The state Capitol in Sacramento, late in the day. (Photo: Adonis Villanueva, via Shutterstock)

In offices in and around the state Capitol, politicians, consultants, lobbyists, and the whole array of other political types have one thing on their minds: How do we conduct campaigns and politics in the face of the growing coronavirus pandemic? Will candidates make speeches wearing face masks? Are latex gloves going to be de rigueurat meet-and-greet events with supporters?

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Richard Schuetz on sports betting

Many people in politics have led colorful lives, but Richard Schuetz has most of them beat. He began working in casinos as a dealer while still in college, and has since held senior positions in gaming establishments across the country, notably in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

News

The census: ‘Don’t let anyone count you out’

The 2020 census form, international edition. (Photo: Tada Images, via Shutterstock)

Amid the piles of bills and other notices in the mail, a special invitation to complete the national census is coming to Californians beginning this week. The census, which happens once every 10 years, is a mammoth effort to get a snapshot of who is living here as of April 1. The results will be used to determine everything from Congressional representation to federal funding for health, education, child care and transportation.

News

CA stem cell agency lauds multibillion-dollar ’47’ deal

A laboratory stem cell researcher uses a laptop in conjunction with a microscope. (Photo: moreimages, via Shutterstock)

A small firm in Menlo Park, Ca., is probably the only company in the nation that is named after the number of a particular human protein. It is a small number too, only 47. But it has large implications for California’s financially strapped state stem cell agency.

Analysis

CA120: California’s March primary had a major impact

A man carries his daughter on his shoulders at a Super Tuesday rally for Joe Biden in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)

Super Tuesday is barely in the rear view mirror.  There are millions of votes to count and the exact delegate allocation for the presidential candidates is still TBD, but there is one clear outcome: a victory for advocates of California’s March presidential primary.

News

‘Public charge’ policy chills immigrants

A rally for immigrant rights in San Francisco. (Photo, Eddie Hernandez, via Shutterstock)

In two 5-4 decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court – one in late January, the other on Feb. 21 — the high court affirmed President Donald Trump’s effort to change long-standing  policy and punish immigrants who obtain public services by denying them green cards and a path to citizenship. The new policy directly affects a relatively small number of immigrants. But those who provide services to immigrants and those who advocate on their behalf say the change has a chilling effect on the  greater immigrant community

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Warren out – what now? Paul Mitchell opines

Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore, Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/

Career political data analyst Paul Mitchell joins Tim Foster and John Howard to weigh in on the state of the race, the implications of the Super Tuesday results, where Warren’s supporters go now that she’s out, and when we might have final tally from California’s primary.

News

CA primary: Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy night

A Sacramento political rally for presidential contender Pete Buttigieg, who has since dropped from the race. (Photo: Chris Allan, via Shutterstock)

For the past year, we’ve been conducting tracking polling of the dozens of candidates for the Democratic nomination.  A consistent thread in those surveys was change: The front runners shifted from former Vice President Joe Biden to Massachusetts Sen.Elizabeth Warren to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Yet, everything has changed in the last 36 hours, and we are now set for one of the most tumultuous California election nights in recent history.

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: David Panush prescribes Remedy 7

David Panush, a longtime Capitol staffer and one of California’s top experts on health care policy, is invariably one of our first calls when we’re trying to figure out a complex health care story. But after dark David sheds the coat and tie and heads up a rock group called Remedy 7 (even the band name is healthcare-related!) The other members of the group are an eclectic mix, including a lobbyist, a water policy wonk and an Assembly chief of staff.

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