Flags flown at houses along a southern California street. (Photo: Bill Chizek, via Shutterstock)A financial advisory firm called WalletHub recently issued a study listing the states according to how patriotic they are. Care to guess where California wound up? With July 4 loomimg, we thought we’d take a look. We’re 44th out of the 50 states.
An illustration of data privacy and the internet. <i(Image: Green Tech, via Shutterstock) With only hours to spare, Gov. Jerry Brown headed off what was sure to be a multimillion-dollar initiative battle and signed legislation boosting the rights of consumers over how internet companies use their personal data. Brown’s signing Thursday afternoon came after a scramble in the Legislature to get the measure passed in the face of a tight deadline.
A political rally in southern California during the 2016 election cycle. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)With the close of the 2018 primary election cycle, we get another chance to see how campaigns have evolved under California’s top-two open primary system. The most noteworthy change appears to be the manner by which campaigns are extending their reach across the partisan aisle. But they are not doing it in the way that the authors of the Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, which took effect in 2011, intended.
An illustration of internet security, a padlock on a digital background. (Image: Titima Ongkantong, via Shutterstock)The pressure is on: High-stakes, closed-door maneuvering involving lawmakers and the fate of a November ballot initiative is roiling the Capitol. The initiative would boost privacy rights for millions of online customers. But it won’t go directly to voters at all, the sponsor promises, if a bill emerges from the Legislature and makes it to the governor’s desk by Thursday, June 28.
A pipette and recepticles used in stem cell research. (Photo: CI Photos)Some folks in Europe are worried about stem cell research, particularly about organizations like California’s $3 billion stem cell agency. The alarm was sounded just yesterday in Horizon, which calls itself “The EU Research and Innovation Magazine.”
A grizzly bear statue guards the front doors of the governor's office on the ground floor of the Capitol annex. (Photo: Nagel Photography)The Capitol’s six-story annex is a functional, granite hive of lawmakers’ offices, committee hearing rooms and assorted legislative staff offices, joined at the hip with the domed Capitol. One factoid: The third floor of the annex matches the second floor of the historic wing, which leads to no end of confusion for visitors trying to navigate the labyrinth. But change is coming.
A patient receiving blood dialysis treatment. (Photo: Khajornkiat Limsagul, via Shutterstock)The Madera patient says he likes his Kaiser doctor and has no desire to switch to publicly funded Medicare, even though he qualifies. But if Senate Bill 1156 is approved, Adames likely wouldn’t get that choice. The bill would require that patients like him receiving third-party assistance would either need to enroll in Medicare or Medi-Cal (for those who are low income), or if they choose to stay on private insurance, they will only receive reimbursement at Medicare or Medi-Cal’s much lower rates.
A road sign in California's Death Valley. (Photo: Melissamn, via Shutterstock)It has been said, over and over again, that “The Devil is in the Details.” If Californians approve splitting themselves up into three new states this November, and the remaining political obstacles can somehow be overcome, the details will indeed become devilish. The three new states would be “Northern California” “Southern California” and (wait for it) “California.”
A portrait of the late Brittany Maynard, who advocated for California's right-to-die law, is seen at a 2015 hearing of the Senate Health Committee. A Superior Court judge rejected the law as unconstitutional. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/AP)Deborah Kratter sat in her Half Moon Bay home, explaining her decision to move to Washington state to live, and then die with life-ending medication alongside family members when her terminal pancreatic cancer worsens. “My gosh, when the time comes and you can’t be who you are … I don’t see why you should have to lie in a bed and wait to die,” Kratter said.
Stunned supporters of Hillary Clinton await her Election Night concession speech in November 2016. (Photo: YouTube)It’s an art form that no one wants to get really, really good at. Perhaps that’s because no one wants to practice it. It starts with “…a few minutes ago, I telephoned…” You guessed it. Concession speeches.