Posts Tagged: 5

News

Digital, mail-in push for stem cell initiative

A lineup of mailboxes in rural California. (Photo: Elena Koulik, via Shutterstock)

The campaign to save California’s stem cell research program from financial extinction is making an “unprecedented,” electronic sprint to gather the final signatures to qualify its $5.5 billion rescue measure for the November ballot.

News

Coronavirus: $5.5 billion stem cell bond at risk?

Signature gathering in Ventura County during the 2018 election cycle. (Photo: Michael Gordon, via Shutterstock)

The current coronavirus emergency and the practice of social distancing are likely to put a crimp in gathering signatures to qualify a $5.5 billion stem cell initiative for the November ballot in California.

Opinion

In praise of the California Local Empowerment Fund

A view of Barstow, a community in the Mojave Desert. (Photo: Nuria Kreuser, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: While political disagreements rule the day, most people do agree that greater economic and social mobility is needed so that all Californians are able to contribute, and to afford the basics – a secure home, food, health care, child care and education. With a new Governor and Legislature eager to achieve this goal, we believe the time is right for action.  But government alone cannot solve these problems.

Analysis

Capitol action, by the numbers

The State Capitol in Sacramento, looking toward the West Steps on N Street. (Photo: Timothy Boomer)

As the California Legislature commences its 2017 Session, the following is a quick look back at historical numbers for bill introductions and gubernatorial bill actions. Over the last half a dozen years, as a general rule, the Legislature has introduced about 2,100 bills per year, about 1,000 of those measures get to the Governor’s Desk, and he signs roughly 850 of those bills.

News

Fires scorch tinder-dry California

A truck is engulfed in flames Sunday in Lower Lake, Lake County. (Photo: Josh Edelson/AP

Tens of thousands of acres are in flames across California and thousands of people have been forced to flee as the drought-stricken state fights its way through what could prove to be one of the worst fire seasons in memory. During the past two days, the Clayton fire in Lake County exploded to more than 3,000 acres and only 5 percent containment, burning into historic town of Lower Lake and forcing more than 5,000 people to flee.

Opinion

Making the case for ‘open data’

Voluminous data displayed on a computer monitor. (Photo: Dimitri Nikolaev)

“Open Data” is a hot topic in the Capitol, and as legislative deadlines approach, it’s worth updating on where the issue stands, and what to keep in mind as the state considers a path forward. Standardized and freely shared, public data can inform policymakers as well as state residents about the operations and performance of government.

News

Despite drought, water conservation not a priority

Millerton Lake in Fresno County formed by the Friant Dam. Photo: K.J. Kolb

Californians in cities and towns across the state cut their water usage only slightly – 2.8 percent — during February compared with the same month in 2013, an indication that despite the severity of the drought, conservation is not taking hold. Felicia Marcus, the chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, said “the February results are very disturbing.”

News

A Bill of Rights for the homeless?

When Assemblymember Tom Ammiano proposed a Bill of Rights for the homeless, the response was swift – and sharply divided.

 

Many observers called it extreme, one newspaper described it as “an embarrassment,” while others defended it vigorously, lauding it as a move long overdue. Among other things, the bill would protect homeless people from

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