Don Andrews, photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyDon Andrews is a proud family man with a successful side hobby as a professional poker player. He started playing tournaments with a $300 windfall in the late 1990s and has been playing off that money ever since.
Cynthia Moreno, photo by Scott Duncan PhotographyWhen she was working as a journalist, Cynthia Moreno rejected the possibility of ever working in government communications. When the idea was suggested to her, it was a “hard no,” she said. “That’s the dark side,” she thought. But today, she is Press Secretary for Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas and considers it a dream job – one of the best positions she’s ever had.
Frank Lanterman, photo courtesy of the Frank D. Lanterman Political Papers, Lanterman House ArchivesFor more than five decades, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act has been the foundation for how California treats or fails to treat people with severe mental illness. Now, legislators from both parties seek to overhaul it in ways that reflect advances in medicine, and a better understanding of its failings.
A photo illustration of bacteria as seen through a research microscope. (Photo: Per Bengtsson, via Shutterstock)California has another election coming up this fall, but it is not your usual political campaign free-for-all. Instead, it involves the leadership of the $12 billion state stem cell agency, which is trying mightily to develop “miraculous” treatments and cures for diseases that afflict — according to its backers — half of the families in California.
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, addressing the Democratic National Convention in 2016. (Photo: Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)Rep. Ted Lieu says he’s surprised by how much reaction he’s gotten nationally for his anti-Trump and other pointed tweets. The Southern California Democrat, whose district includes Beverly Hills and Malibu, said he’s been tweeting since long before the president took office. “I decided when I was a state legislator that I was going to tell the truth,” he said.
Incoming state Senate Leader Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, flanked by Sen. Ricardo Lara, left, at a meeting with Mexican government officials. (Photo: California State Senate)This month, the San Diego lawmaker is set to replace Kevin de León as leader of the California Senate. She will be the first woman and first open lesbian to hold the position. She also will be the first person since the 19th century to hold both of the Legislature’s top jobs – Assembly speaker and Senate leader.