Posts Tagged: $12 billion

News

California’s plan for ‘miraculous’ cures — at $49,000 per hour

A liquid nitrogen bank containing a suspension of stem cells for biomedical research. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich, via Shutterstock)

California is planning on spending $49,000 an hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the next year to help scientists develop what some describe as “miraculous” cures and treatments for currently deadly afflictions. The spending plan was approved with no fuss last month while state lawmakers and the governor wrestled more noisily with a $308 billion state budget

News

A deep dive into Newsom plan to overhaul mental health policy

Californnia Gov. Gavin Newsom, chatting with a homeless man in Fresno, has proposed a sweeping overhaul of California's mental health care system. (Photo: Governor's office)

Newsom’s plan would create an entirely new system of civil court supervision, connecting individuals with intensive treatment and, equally important, housing. By his estimate, it would help 7,000-to-12,000 severely mentally ill people each year, many with chronic physical conditions that are worsened by life on the streets, clearly unable to care for themselves. It would not replace existing programs.

News

Stem cell: UC’s odd ‘unmention’ in its top 10 research tales

Sather Gate at the University of California at Berkeley. (Photo: David A. Litman, via Shutterstock)

The University of California has identified its 10 best research stories of 2021, and right at the top is an article deeply involving the state’s $12 billion stem cell agency. The catch is that the stem cell agency was not even mentioned. That despite the fact that 13 persons with significant links to the University of California, including a UC regent, sit on the board that oversees the agency. 

News

In world of stem cell research, ‘UC Caucus’ reigns supreme

Mesenchymal stem cells are injected into the knee of a patient. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons photo, via VT Digger)

They could be called the “UC Caucus,” although that may presume too much. Nonetheless, they come from an institution that has pulled down $1.2 billion from the California state stem cell agency, more than any other enterprise during the last 16 years. 

News

Frustration, anxiety mark families’ hopes for ‘bubble baby’ cure

Monica Nava and her 1-year-old daughter Clementine, who suffers from the "bubble baby" affliction. (Family photo).

The story about Jakob, Sheersha  and Clementine is a 6,000-mile biomedical tale that spans the Atlantic. The story ranges from the Saskatchewan River in Canada to the dusty Tehachapi mountains in drought-plagued Southern California. And it is a story of children with a terrible and rare genetic affliction known as the bubble baby disease.

Opinion

Gov’s plan: ‘Rebate’ and ‘sharing the wealth’ are deeply misleading

Paul Gann, center, author of the 1979 initiative governing excess tax revenue, and Howard Jarvis celebrate the passage of Proposition 13. (Photo, June 1978/ AP file)

OPINION: Let’s not confuse Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to provide $12 billion in new stimulus checks with the state’s constitutional mandate to return excess revenues to taxpayers. That seems to be the goal of those who believe taxpayer refunds are a bad idea and are looking for ways to keep a greater part of the newly announced state surplus to spend.

News

California tax revenue ‘windfall’ now uncertain

The state Capitol in Sacramento, the seat of California government. (Photo: Always Wanderlust, via Shutterstock)

That $26 billion dollar “windfall” that California lawmakers learned about last month may not withstand a second round of economy-squelching lockdowns, and the risk of losing what little leverage they have is a top concern for state budget writers.

News

November ballot plan seeks new school money, would alter Prop. 13 of 1978

A California school classroom. (Photo: Monkey Business Imagesd, via Shutterstock)

An initiative to reclaim up to $12 billion for California public schools and local communities could make its way onto the ballot in November 2020. Proponents of the measure say it will force large corporations to pay their fair share in property taxes. The Schools & Communities First initiative would amend the current property tax law established under Proposition 13 in 1978.

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