A crowded Apple Store in San Francisco's Union Square. (Photo: canyalcin, via Shutterstock)California reported an all-time high of $216.8 billion in taxable sales for the second quarter of 2021, up 38.8 percent from the same period in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic raged and Gov. Gavin Newsom closed public schools and some service industries to slow the spread of the virus.
OPINION: Over the past several years, severe wildfire conditions across the Western United States have impacted communities throughout California and prompted new questions regarding where and how to build homes in communities outside our cities. While more urban density is one way to address the critical housing needs of a growing population, it is not the only option.
Traffic on Harbor Freeway in downtown Los Angeles.(Photo: Jose Luis Stephens)Several factors are shaping demand, prices, sales and supply of new and used cars in the Golden State, but consumers know one thing — their pocketbooks are taking a hit.
An illustration of a California court, with the closeup of a gavel as the centerpiece. (Photo: sirtravelalot, via Shutterstock)OPINION: There seems to be no end in sight for the nationwide supply chain crunch that is crippling our nation’s economy. For small business owners in California who barely survived the destruction caused by the pandemic, this could not come at worse time.
An illustration of the brain and potential links to instability -- including mental illness. Some elements provided by NASA.(Image: GrAI, via Shutterstock)Important legislation to improve California’s broken mental health system was passed this year, plus billions in new funding in the state budget — all aimed at stemming the tide of a growing crisis on California streets, in hospital ER’s, jails and prisons. But will it mean real change?
A researcher examines meat cultured in laboratory conditions from stem cells. (Photo: Alex_Traksel, via Shutterstock)California’s $12 billion stem cell agency needs to do better in several critical areas, ranging from planning for the replacement of its current chair to handling information that is key to its operations as well as the tracking of potential sources of royalties. That’s according to that latest performance audit of the 17-year-old agency.
A newspaper's election gives readers information about the Sept. 14, 2021, recall election. (Photo: Matt Gush, via Shutterstock)California’s attention was focused recently on the failed attempt to recall Gov. Newsom as a rare event of historical magnitude. In fact, recall elections happen all the time, and all but a relative handful of these obscure contests disappear into the limbo of history.
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in South Lake Tahoe. (Photo: EQRoy, via Shutterstock)Voters are facing the possibility of deciding among three fiercely competing ballot initiatives next year – all of them involving tens of millions of dollars and a revolution in California’s gambling industry. One of the three has already qualified for the November 2022 ballot. The remaining two must still gather signatures.
An illustration of employment in California. (Photo: David Carillet, via Shutterstock)California employers added 47,400 nonfarm payroll jobs in September, the state reported, sending a mixed signal about the state’s economy with less than half of August’s 104,300 new hires. The Employment Development Department said September’s unemployment rate of 7.5% matched August’s 7.5%.
A crane with a claw digs into a mound of scrap metal at a recycling yard. (Photo: oneSHUTTER oneMEMORY, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The recent push by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to adopt “emergency” regulations to impose “hazardous waste” rules on the state’s metal-recycling plants would have the potential to shut down a vibrant recycling industry.