Last night Politico published a bombshell report: a leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established federal abortion rights. For this Special Episode we asked Paul Mitchell, one of California’s leading political data analysts, to weigh in on the likely effects of the decision.
A stormwater runoff system under construction. (Photo: Maksim Safaniuk, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Gov. Gavin Newsom has boldly promoted the goal of building more than 3 million new homes by 2025 to address the significant supply/demand imbalance and bring down the cost of housing. Given California’s challenging regulatory processes, we’re already falling woefully short of those ambitious goals. In spite of this, an excessive new proposal by the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) – comprised of gubernatorial appointees — will further stall new housing production.
Illustration of the elements of medicine and the law. (Illustration: vchal, via Shutterstock)The latest chapter in a decades-long battle between physicians and lawyers is unfolding through compromise in Sacramento and so far, almost everyone involved has come aboard. The political battle revolves around California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) which limits the amount of money patients can receive if injured by a physician in connection with medical treatment.
A doctor and a lawyer shake hands, an illustration of the MICRA compromise. (Photo: FocusStalker, via Shutterstock)A new Ballot Measure to revise the longstanding MICRA cap was on track to appear on this year’s ballot until last week when legislative leaders and advocates from both sides announced that a deal had been reached. That deal is AB 35, sponsored by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes and Sen. Tom Umberg. We spoke with Umberg about AB 35, and also asked him about some confusing Redistricting news from Orange County.
A Liquid Nitrogen bank containing suspended stem cells. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich)California’s multibillion-dollar, cell and gene therapy program has a special spot in the pantheon of the hundreds of government departments in the Golden State. It is immune from the normal oversight of the governor and state lawmakers. Its cash — now set at $5.5 billion over the next decade — flows freely and directly to the stem cell agency with no inconvenient meddling by elected officials.
Workers at an agricultural plant in Newell sort through material on a picking line. (Photo: My Photo Buddy, via Shutterstock)Tired of losing billions to worker lawsuits, California business leaders are betting millions that voters will eliminate the lightning rod Private Attorney General Act and give enforcement authority to a historically underfunded state agency.
Dismantling the apse on the back of the State Capitol. 1949In our discussion with lobbyist and author Chris Micheli last month we touched on the status of the Capitol Annex Project, the billion-dollar-plus update to the historic state capitol that is currently underway. While the legislature and Governor have already moved, and construction has begun, lawsuits are challenging the legality of the effort and could
A homeless man sits on a bench just steps from the state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: christianthiel.net, via Shutterstock)Three days after a deadly mass shooting downtown, the Sacramento City Council voted 7-2 to place a homeless measure on the November ballot. If voters approve the Emergency Homeless Shelter and Enforcement Act of 2022, could it be a statewide template?
Phil Trounstine(Photo: Good Times Santa Cruz)The sudden passing of my old boss, Phil Trounstine, at age 72 earlier this week, hit me hard. Phil hired me in 1999 from the press corps to be one of his deputies in the administration of Gov. Gray Davis, where he served as communications director.
A map illustration of some cities, counties in California. (Photo: Kent Weakley, via Shutterstock)“Why is this so hard?” That’s what Matt Rexroad, owner of Redistricting Insights, tweeted repeatedly when he saw news that downtown Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela faced a recall from residents of the uptown neighborhoods in East Sacramento. The problem: It wouldn’t be a legal recall. But confusion over that fact seemed to drag on for weeks.