Wind-driven electricity generators in Baja California. (Photo: VG Photo, via Shutterstock)OPINION: It’s no secret that the road to a 100% clean energy future could be bumpy. Reaching our state’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045 through wind, solar and other renewable sources while using utility-scale batteries to smooth out peaks and valleys in generation is possible, but it could prove prohibitively expensive.
Housing under construction in Riverside. (Photo: Orange Grove, via Shutterstock)OPINION:Instead of moving forward with progressive and innovative policies that would expedite new housing or encourage Californians to take the risk and buy their first rental property, legislative leaders have decided to shelve most of those proposals and support failed policies that have been rejected by voters and communities for years.
A sign urging protections for drinking water in Yosemite National Park. (Photo: Earl D. Walker, via Shutterstock)OPINION: California has a drinking water crisis. More than 1 million people in California lack access to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water. 400 schools in our state have lead contamination in their drinking water. About 300 public water systems in our state are not in compliance with drinking water standards. This is a public health and environmental crisis.
A pharmacist puts medications on the shelves of his store. (Photo: viewfinder, via Shutterstock)OPINION: We’ve seen the stories of Pharma Bro, we’ve read about Big Pharma’s Q1 profit margins. What drug companies are trying to keep secret though, is Pay-for-Delay, a sneaky tactic that brand name and generic drug companies are using – and getting away with — that costs Americans $3.5 billion per year in higher health care costs.
A photo illustration depicting sky-high interest rates. (Image: Becky Stares, via Shutterstock)OPINION: High-cost, extreme interest rates are having a detrimental impact on the financial stability and well-being of both credit markets and borrowing consumers. We strongly support Assembly Bill 539 (Limón) as the right approach for consumers to have a loan that is affordable and accessible while promoting a sustainable, healthy credit market for lenders.
An aerial view of a San Luis Obispo neighborhood. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock) The latest Berkeley IGS Poll finds a lack of consensus among Californians on a number of policy proposals relating to housing. But one issue that voters do agree on, at least in concept, is that limits should be imposed on new housing development in high-risk wildfire areas. Three in four voters statewide (74%) support this policy, while just 25% are opposed.
Marina Beach north of Monterey, near the site of a planned desalination plant. (Photo: Marina Coast Water District)In parched, drought-stricken California, where water is considered liquid gold, the politics of power and wealth are playing out in real-time. The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) recent decision to allow the California American Water Company (Cal-Am) to proceed with its Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project desalination plant is great news – that is, if you live in Carmel, Pacific Grove or Monterey.
A photo illustration using stacks of quarters to show rising interest rates. (Photo: Doubletree Studio) Would you take out a loan for a new home if you didn’t know the interest rate? How about for a car? Or even for a credit card? More than likely, not.
Newly constructed homes waiting for owners. (Photo: Jennie Book, via Shutterstock)Brianne Tufts is exhausted. This is the third place Tufts has lived in as many years, and she’s worried she’ll have to move again because her apartment complex might increase the rent now that her lease has expired. It’s just after 11 a.m. on a Sunday in April, and the 24-year-old mother of two sits on the balcony of her cramped 2-bedroom south Sacramento apartment watching intently as her daughters play in the living room.
Tightly packed housing in the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles. (Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)>More than four in 10 California adults are seriously considering moving away from their part of the state because of the cost of housing, with the highest proportion in the coastal counties and the lowest in the state’s interior. A slight majority of those recently surveyed by the Public Policy Institute of California — 55 percent — are staying put.