Analysis

Key points in our tracking poll

A political rally in southern California during the 2016 presidential election. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)

The latest Capitol Weekly tracking poll has been released and here are a few key takeaways. The top tier continues to be a stable force in the survey. With these current results it is likely that four candidates would dominate in the delegate allocations at the congressional level, in which 272 are allocated, and three would be splitting up the 90 statewide delegates, with Pete Buttigieg extremely close to the required 15% threshold.

News

California’s first surgeon general settles in

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California's first surgeon general. (Photo: UC Davis Health Magazine)

California’s head cheerleader on improving statewide health says it’s all about “bringing people together.” And after almost a year on the job as the state’s first surgeon general, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, exudes optimism, saying she has enjoyed an “absolutely phenomenal outpouring of support” from various factions of California’s vast health care sector.

News

Feds to California: Open up lands to oil, gas drilling

A pumpjack in California's San Joaquin Valley. (Photo: Mark Geistweite, via Shutterstock)

The Trump administration is to opening up 1.2 million acres for oil and gas drilling across California from the Central Valley to the coast, targeting eight counties — Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obisbo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura.T he plan follows an earlier move by the federal Bureau of Land Management to issue leases for oil and gas drilling on roughly 800,000 acres in 11 counties.

News

State offers scant funding to rape crisis centers

California’s 84 rape crisis centers are in a funding crisis. While California has experienced a steady rise in the number of reported rapes (over 5% per year since 2015), the state’s annual General Fund contribution to rape crisis centers over the past decade has been a miniscule $45,000.

News

New law targets cosmetics testing on animals

Testing cosmetics on a laboratory rabbit. (Photo: Artfully Photographer, via Shutterstock)

Animal-rights activists are heralding 2020 as a groundbreaking year because of a new, unprecedented state law that cracks down on cosmetics testing on animals. It takes effect Jan. 1, and will outlaw the importation for profit or sale most of the cosmetics tested on animals in California. 

News

Toyota has settled hundreds of sudden acceleration cases

(Photo: jeffkubes, via Shutterstock)

On the last day of 2015, Berta Orellana picked up her seven-year-old grandson from daycare in a brand new Toyota and headed on a road trip with the boy and two of her children, planning to spend the holiday in Las Vegas with her daughter who lived there.Orellana, then a 51-year-old delivery driver for Amazon, left the minivan she used for work at home in Northridge, California.

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Kamala, what happened?.. and what now?

Photo by Gage Skidmore. www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/

In a surprise move, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris suspended her run for the presidency Tuesday ending what had once been a promising campaign, launched with great fanfare in front of 22,000 Oakland supporters. So what happened? Paul Mitchell joins the Capitol Weekly Podcast to weigh in.

News

‘Progressive veteran’ faces uphill fight in 53rd CD

Jose Caballero, candidate in the primary for the 53rd Congressional District in San Diego. (Photo: Joaquin Romero)

As California’s 2020 primary election nears, congressional districts across the state face major changes. One of the most significant is the 53rd Congressional District in San Diego. For the past 19 years, the seat has been held by Democratic Rep. Susan Davis, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Administration.

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Kabatalks!

Brian and John Kabateck

Brian and John Kabateck visit the podcast to answer the question on everyone’s lips: what is Thanksgiving like for two brothers who are on opposing sides of nearly every political fight in the state? John Kabateck is a lifelong Republican and longtime spokesperson for the NFIB; Brian Kabateck is a lifelong Democrat and the former head of the Consumer Attorneys Association.

News

State Supreme Court blocks Trump tax-disclosure law

Demonstrators urging Preident Trump to make his tax retyurns public, 2017. <(Photo: Christopher Penler, via Shutterstock)

The state Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a new law that would have forced presidential candidates — including Donald Trump — to disclose their tax returns in order to get on California’s primary election ballot. The Legislature cannot bar a legally certified contender from the primary election, “even if that candidate fails to disclose five years worth of federal tax returns,” the court said.

Support for Capitol Weekly is Provided by: