Illustration by Chris SharyNo. 43: Lori Ajax
Lori Ajax was appointed by former Gov. Jerry Brown as the first chief of the new Bureau of Cannabis Control. That’s no easy job as California grapples with legalized weed, and Ajax is at the epicenter. She took on the challenge of building an agency from the ground up amid changing
Illustration by Chris SharyNo. 26: Amy Costa
As chief deputy director for budget at the Department of Finance, Amy Costa is second in command at the powerful office that writes the governor’s budgets. But with Director Michael Cohen out sick, Costa is now running the show at the agency that holds the purse strings for California’s vast bureaucracy.
An artist's conception of the bullet train in operation. (Image, High Speed Rail Authority) California’s bullet train may be in trouble again, as a recent court ruling and potential funding obstacles have plunged the transportation project into further uncertainty. The latest setbacks add to lingering questions over whether the $64 billion project can both meet its scheduled completion date and guarantee enough funding.
An illustration of stem cells used in research. (Photo: Billion Photos, via Shutterstock)California’s $3 billion stem cell research agency, which is facing its financial demise in a few short years, has formed a team of its directors to tackle transition planning and examine possible alternatives, including ones that would extend its life. The first meeting of the group of directors is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 18.
Welcome to Nipton, a tiny California town in the Mojave Desert. (Photo: Screen capture, CNN)It appears that a company’s plans to turn a remote San Bernardino County town into a marijuana tourism mecca may go up in smoke. Earlier this month, Arizona-based American Green announced it purchased the entire California town of Nipton for about $5 million to make it a hub of cannabis production mixed with bed-and-breakfast lodging and attractions like mineral baths.
The old 6th Street bridge in Los Angeles over the L.A. viaduct. (Photo: trekandshoot, vis Shutterstock)This legislation might be hard to swallow: Lawmakers are considering a bill that would clear the way for California communities to put highly treated wastewater directly into the drinking water supply. “The media likes to start off with the catchy phrase toilet to tap,” said Jennifer West, managing director of Water Reuse, about the intensive purification process. “But there’s a lot that goes on between toilet and tap.”
Former state Sen. John Dunlap. (Photo courtesy Napa Valley Register/J.L. Sousa)The California Legislature’s longest-lived political dynasty was the Coombs-Dunlap family, which included four generations and stretched over 120 years. The last legislator from the family was Sen. John F. Dunlap, who at nearly 95 is currently the fifth-oldest living former California state legislator.
A group of millennial friends looking out at an urban landscape. (Photo: Eugenio Marongiu)Millennials are better educated than previous generations; they are technologically savvy. For political types, they are a headache. They are the largest living generation. Even though there are 9.4 million California millennials, making them a potentially rich source of votes, they don’t vote in very high percentages unless they’re thrilled. They get more excited about general elections than midterms. That’s true of the electorate as a whole, usually, but it’s especially evident among millennials.
A judge's gavel and money -- two elements of the bail process. (Photo: AVN Photo Lab)Bail is supposed to make sure that a defendant returns for the court date, although critics say bail merely punishes people for being poor. Legislation is moving through the Capitol to try to resolve this issue, but it is fiercely opposed by the bail agents and bounty hunters who make their living assuring the courts that skittish defendants will show up.
A gathering of gay rights activists at the state Capitol. (Photo: Karin Hildebrand Lau)Bish Paul descended into Empress Tavern’s basement downtown and was greeted with a surprise. Over 50 capitol staffers mingled beneath the brick arches a block from the state Capitol. LGBT aides and allies drank and chatted, discussing Sacramento’s LGBT community and shared Capitol connections.