Posts Tagged: address

Opinion

An open letter to Gavin Newsom: Address California’s poverty

A pair of homeless men asking for money on a Los Angeles street corner. (Photo: Hayk_Shalunts, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Dear Gov.-elect Newsom: California has long stood out as a state that innovates and leads. As you begin your term, we at the Western Center on Law and Poverty are ready to work with you to ensure that California lives up to its ideals — including addressing poverty and its subsequent harms.

Opinion

Time for Legislature to step up on lead contamination

A worker spreads warning tape at a home being cleansed of lead paint. (Photo: D_Townsend, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The right of citizens to propose laws by ballot initiative is one of California’s great checks and balances. Often viewed as a last resort to express the will of the voters (see: Proposition 13), it can also be incorporated into the legislative process. At the end of June, the Legislature faced nine proposed initiatives that would likely qualify for a vote in November.

Opinion

Homeowners: PACE finances green energy upgrades

A California home with solar panels installed on the roof. (Photo: orachonphoto, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: A point of pride for the people of California is our state’s leadership in the clean energy economy. Over the past decade, Californians have had access to a great tool that puts homeowners front and center in the fight against climate change. This tool, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), enables homeowners to conveniently finance renewable energy, energy and water efficiency, and earthquake safety upgrades to their homes.

Analysis

Telling the truth about Medi-Cal

California doctor, a photo illustration. (Niyazz, via Shutterstock)

Medi-Cal is a deeply misunderstood program. It spends a lot of money, but it’s most certainly not out of control, and it is not a welfare program. The truth is that Medi-Cal is one of the state’s most cost-effective programs, serving more than one-third of Californians and half of all California children.

News

Lawmaker backs executive director in Coastal Commission dispute

The coast at La Jolla. Photo: Dancestrokes)

A North Coast lawmaker has come to the defense of Charles Lester, the executive director of the California Coastal Commission who has come under fire from a number of commissioners seeking his ouster at the panel’s meeting next month in Moro Bay.

Opinion

Cap-and-trade: Fix needed now on regulation

A powerplant at sunset. (Photo: David Crockett)

Gov. Jerry Brown proposed in his recent state-of-the-state address that California should take steps to approve an aggressive new greenhouse gas reduction goal for 2030. This additional proposal would take California beyond the current 2020 goal set by Assembly Bill 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The AB 32 Implementation Group is concerned that creating a 2030 goal will shift attention away from current regulations that are intended to meet the greenhouse gas emissions goal California’s elected officials adopted in 2006 for 2020.

News

Clock ticking on CalSTRS shortfall

Getting CalSTRS back to full funding, if rates are steadily increased over the next half dozen years, would take an annual increase reaching more than $5 billion a year by 2020 — about what the state general fund currently spends on UC and CSU combined. (Photo: CalSTRS lobby, Paul Housberg)

News

Brown grapples with drought impacts

Gov. Brown said today that California, facing an unprecedented drought, needs to “make investments in safe drinking water” and that “recycling, expanded storage and serious groundwater management must all be part of the mix.” The governor did not endorse the $11.14 billion water infrastructure bond on the November ballot, but he did call for investment in water projects similar to those included in the bond. That bond currently is under review in the Legislature with rival proposals to reduce it to $6.5 billion or less.

Support for Capitol Weekly is Provided by: