News

In 16th AD, Catharine Baker navigates carefully

Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-Dublin). (Photo: Screen capture, KQED interview, via YouTube)

During a Town Hall meeting in Orinda, one of the most affluent corners of her 16th Assembly District, Catharine Baker (R-Dublin) holds her own, leading the conversation and proudly explaining her votes and positions on the issues to a largely receptive audience made up of mostly older white constituents. “She seems pretty malleable and works across the aisle with Democrats,” said Linda, an Orinda Democrat who did not give her last name.  “But, she might have been sugar coating it, because it’s a more liberal audience.”

News

More power for electric vehicles?

An electric car takes on power at a San Francisco charging station. (Photo: Shutterstock)

It may soon become a lot easier for California drivers to get plugged in. Legislation on Gov. Brown’s desk would allow city officials and private property owners to install charging stations for electric vehicles on curbsides of public streets. Brown has until Oct. 15 to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature.

News

San Diego a haven for the homeless — and deadly hepatitis A

View of downtown San Diego and central rail yards. (Photo: welcomia, via Shutterstock)

The rampant hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego is highlighting the city’s significant homeless problem. More than half of the 444 people with confirmed cases as of Sept. 14 are homeless, county health officials reported earlier this month. The officials say the highly contagious liver infection was spread through person-to-person contact. San Diego has more than 9,100 homeless people, which amounts to the fourth largest homeless population in the country.

News

Lawyer’s weapon against farm worker complaints: deportation

Farm worker illustration by Quentin Lueninghoener/FairWarning

As an attorney representing California Central Valley farmers and labor contractors who rely heavily on undocumented workers, Anthony Raimondo has become widely known for performing a sort of magic trick. He can sometimes make legal complaints against his clients – and the people who file them – disappear.

In at least seven cases where workers

News

Feds give CA poor reviews on tracking foster care

A photo illustration of an abused child. (Photo: Suzanne Tucker, via Shutterstock)

The federal government has given California bad marks on monitoring the well-being of children in foster care. State officials were slow to investigate complaints of abuse or neglect, failed to notify investigators of serious sexual abuse allegations and didn’t follow up to ensure cases were resolved, according to an audit released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General.

Analysis

Progressives felt in deep-blue California

Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer and several fellow Democrats at the state Capitol. i>(Photo: State Assembly)

 Meet the progressives, an outgrowth of California’s Democratic political landscape. As Democrats began their dominance in California over 20 years, they saw their electoral success expand out of urban centers into wealthier suburban enclaves, such as Pasadena, Calabasas, and Walnut Creek.

News

Stem cell agency: $75 million for diabetes, brain cancer

Stem cell research in what's known as the "PCR strip." (Image: Science Photo, via Shutterstock)

The California stem cell agency yesterday handed out $75 million, doubling down on a couple of efforts to develop a stem cell therapy and a stem cell tool, plus funding an expansion of its Alpha Clinic network with two new, Northern California sites. The awards bring to $2.34 billion that the nearly 13-year-old agency has committed to stem cell research.

News

Oral history: Judge Thelton Henderson

Retired U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson

For 37 years,  Thelton Henderson was a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for Northern  California. He presided over numerous high-profile cases,  including his role as a receiver to oversee the quality of health care services in California’s prison system and his work to reform the Oakland Police Department through a consent decree.

News

Obamacare: Five things left hanging, plus effect on California

U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-South Carolina, following the defeat of the failed effort mounted by him and Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, to repeal Obamacare. (Image: CNN screen capture, via YouTube)

In California, people shopping for 2018 coverage in the state’s exchange, Covered California, will still have the full three months they’ve had in recent years, starting on Nov. 1 and ending Jan. 31. And the state Legislature last week passed a bill, currently awaiting the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown, that would ensure a three-month enrollment window for consumers seeking coverage in 2019 and beyond.

News

CA120: 2016’s Trump Voters – what do they think now?

People at a 2016 political rally in Anaheim for Republican presidential contender Donald Trump. (Photo: mikeledray, via Shutterstock)

Throughout the 2016 election cycle, Capitol Weekly conducted several polls. Two of them, one during the primary and the other during the general, were targeted to voters right after they had mailed in their ballots. In total, more than 80,000 Californians participated in these surveys. Now, we’ve gone back asked these voters how they feel about the candidates they backed and about the issues, and we sought their perceptions about the political climate. We’ll start with the Trump voters.

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