Hey, Big Daddy: I just started working in the state Capitol and am ready to dazzle the world with my policy analyses, but I’ve been dispatched to a campaign for the final weeks. Any tips for handling a farmer’s tan? —Bronzed in Bakersfield
A grizzly bear statue guards the front doors of the governor's office on the ground floor of the Capitol annex. (Photo: Nagel Photography)The Capitol’s six-story annex is a functional, granite hive of lawmakers’ offices, committee hearing rooms and assorted legislative staff offices, joined at the hip with the domed Capitol. One factoid: The third floor of the annex matches the second floor of the historic wing, which leads to no end of confusion for visitors trying to navigate the labyrinth. But change is coming.
A robot typing on a keyboard, a photo illustration depicting automated content. (Image: Mopic, via Shutterstock) What’s in a name? When it comes to social media, maybe a lot more than you think. There is a move in the Capitol to force social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook to identify “bots,” those robot-like, automated accounts that move through the internet and interact with real people — and each other.
A woman being harassed in the workplace as a colleague looks on. Capitol. (Photo: Antonio Guillem)California has long sponsored the most progressive, socially responsible policies and regulations in the country – including regulations about harassment prevention education for managers. In fact, California regulations have detailed requirements of which topics to include in AB1825 training, how to prevent harassment and retaliation, how to report and respond to harassment complaints if they do occur and how to publish a complaint and investigation procedure.
A dermonstrator at a Sacramento rally against sexual misconduct. (Photo: Tim Foster/Capitol Weekly)Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, a first-term lawmaker, is among the most prominent figures in the California Capitol working to combat sexual harassment. She’s not only become the Legislature’s de facto point person on sexual misconduct, but also responsible for reshaping the current harassment-reporting process that many say has failed victims.
Santa's sleigh zips past the state Capitol. The holiday season is now well under way. Christmas carols are taking over every extant means of mass communication and there’s so much goodwill around the squirrels in Capitol Park have quit chasing each other across the lawn. In the spirit of peace and love, then, we bring forth our First Annual Gift List for California political types.
On the ground floor of the rotunda in the state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock) The seemingly endless series of sexual harassment accusations swirling through the Capitol carries implications beyond the fates of individual lawmakers. The fallout from all of it might even endanger — temporarily — the Democrats’ supermajority and reverse the Legislature’s recent surge in approval among California voters.
Pollution over Long Beach on a clear day. (Photo: Katharine Moore)OPINION: We’ve all heard the clichés and stories about the failings of the political system – the bill that was written on the back of a cocktail napkin; the enormous proposal that was jammed through before anyone could read it; trading votes in shady, backroom deals.
Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, left, chair of an Assembly committee targeting sexual harassment in the Capitol, confers with Assemblywoman Marie Waldron, R-Escondido, at a Nov. 28 hearing. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)Allegations of rampant sexual assault and harassment in the California Capitol have ensnared three lawmakers and brought promises of reform from leadership. But some women who have spoken out say they are also facing consequences for telling their stories.
Assemblymember Melissa Menendez, R-Lake Elsinore, at an August hearing in the Capitol. She has carried anti-sexual harassment legislation four years in a row. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli) OPINION: As a statewide women-led alliance that advocates at the Capitol to create equity-focused policies for healthy, sustainable communities, we rise with the nearly 200 women who have signed a letter denouncing a culture of rampant sexual abuse and violence in and around the Capitol. We condemn both those whom have engaged in such intolerable conduct, as well as the individuals whom over years have enabled such violence by failing to meet their moral and legal obligations to end it.