News
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.
Podcast
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.
News
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.
Podcast
Longtime 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.”
News
The campaign to save California’s stem cell research program from financial extinction is making an “unprecedented,” electronic sprint to gather the final signatures to qualify its $5.5 billion rescue measure for the November ballot.
News
What does a Central Valley almond farmer have in common with a San Diego homeowner? The answer is simple: Water. More specifically, the amount of water they need to sustain their respective lifestyles — which is a lot.
News
California’s stem cell agency, in an emergency action, has allocated $5 million for research into treatments for Covid-19 and set the deadline for the first applications for one week from today. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved the funding Friday during an emergency meeting of its governing board.
Podcast
Brothers John and Brian Kabateck join us for another special KabaTalks episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast. As usual, the brothers find themselves on opposite sides of a contentious issue – namely employer rights vs. workers’ rights in the age of coronavirus.
News
One of the least-talked-about symptoms of the COVID-19 pandemic is a rise in anti-Asian discrimination, harassment and violence. While there has been abundant anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon, only recently has anyone tried to quantify the bigotry. Two California-based groups and a professor from San Francisco State University are taking a lead on the issue.
News
After a couple of failed attempts, a move to expand transitional kindergarten to all 4-year-olds in California is under way. Assembly members Kevin McCarty, Phil Ting and Eloise Gomez Reyes and state Sens. Susan Rubio, Lena Gonzalez, and Bill Dodd have introduced Assembly Bill 2500 to approve universal transitional kindergarten.
Gov. Gavin Newsom at a March 4 press briefing on the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP)
