A laboratory researcher examines cancer stem cells. (Image: science photo, via Shutterstock)Backers of a $5.5 billion stem cell research proposal in California today have once again missed a self-imposed, but critical deadline as they continue to struggle with securing enough signatures to place the measure on the November ballot.
Kim Alexander at Capitol Weekly's Post-Mortem of the 2018 Election. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyFollowing the harrowing scenes of voters braving long lines and exposure to the coronavirus during Wisconsin’s primary election last week, there is a renewed discussion of the importance of vote-by-mail options.
A student works from home via a computer and online instruction. (Photo: Motortion Films, via Shutterstock)Schools, parents and children in California are facing a steep learning curve as they switch to remote learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools shut down abruptly in mid-March, forcing teachers to scramble to come up with online or distance learning materials. Meanwhile, parents had to figure out how to set up home schools while balancing jobs.
A California voter casts a ballot by mail. (Photo: vepar5, via Shutterstock)When Californians went to the polls in March, the big news was the consolidation of the Democratic primary contest. Few would have expected that we were also effectively seeing the end of the primary election season — with subsequent elections throughout the spring either cancelled or run under the cloud of a viral pandemic.
The Third Street Promenade, an open-air mall in Santa Monica, is completely deserted during the shutdown. (Photo: MSPhotographic, via Shutterstock)Last month, facing the prospect of overwhelmed hospitals and unchecked spread of the novel coronavirus, seven Bay Area county and city health departments joined forces to become the first region in the nation to pass sweeping regulations ordering millions of people indoors and shuttering the local economy.
The state Capitol in Sacramento, late in the day. (Photo: Adonis Villanueva, via Shutterstock)A bipartisan group of state legislators are urging increased funding for California’s 84 rape crisis centers as reports of sexual assault and domestic violence rise under COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders.
Gov. Gavin Newsom at a March 4 press briefing on the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP)This was supposed to be a big health care year for California. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in January unveiled ambitious proposals to help him achieve his goal of getting every Californian health care coverage. Though it was far less than the single-payer promise Newsom had made on the gubernatorial campaign trail, his plans, if adopted, would have expanded the health care system as no other state has.
The state Capitol is on COVID-19 lockdown for at least another few weeks, with most legislators and staff working from home. So the Capitol Weekly Podcast tracked down longtime Senate staffer Kip Lipper, the environmental guru of the upper house.
A voter signs a petition to place a measure on the statewide ballot. (Photo: Svineyard, via Shutterstock)It’s never easy to get initiatives qualified for the ballot, but this year of the COVID-19 pandemic is the worst ever. Organizations busily trying to get enough signatures to qualify their measure of choice had their efforts abruptly halted two weeks ago because of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sweeping stay-at-home order.
Maryhill Museum of Art, photo by Ceil Dolan WiegandLongtime journalist and author Steve Wiegand joins John Howard and Tim Foster on the Capitol Weekly Podcast to talk about his latest book, “The Dancer, the Dreamers, and the Queen of Romania: How an Unlikely Quartet Created America’s Most Improbable Art Museum.”