Posts Tagged: challenges

Recent News

Double whammy: Dropping test scores and ‘pandemic learning loss’

Masked students outside their closed school, which shut down because of COVID-19. (Photo: Falon Koontz, via Shutterstock)

The first standardized school testing since the pandemic has confirmed what parents knew all along – Covid shutdowns and remote learning hurt student performance and wiped out years of improvement. Repairing the damage won’t be easy. “Pandemic learning loss” presents a unique set of problems for which educators have no playbook.

Opinion

For ballot measures, a look at online signature-gathering

An illustration of a voter making choices online, as opposed to a traditional ballot or petition. (Image: Marko Aliaksandr, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Most everyone has had the experience of being approached by someone outside a library, grocery store or entertainment venue carrying a clipboard, asking you to sign their petition for some issue they want on the ballot. Many of us have had someone come to our door asking us to sign a petition to get their favorite candidate on the ballot. 

Opinion

Wanted: More funding for higher education

Students near the Powell Library on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. (Photo: David A. Litman, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: It has often been said that a budget is not just a series of numbers, but a reflection of our values. As products of California’s public higher education system, we applaud Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently proposed budget that moves us closer to the values California outlined decades ago by making public higher education more accessible to students. But there is still work to be done.

Opinion

Policymakers should plug into the power of tech firms

A view of downtown San Jose, a portion of Silicon Valley, the Tech Museum, and the McEnery Convention Center. (Photo: stellamc, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: We have an opportunity for community voices to remind policymakers that our state’s technology sector has been a true bright spot as digital tools, platforms, and services continue to serve as a tide that lifts all boats.

Opinion

Aerial firefighting: A crucial tool to protect resources

An air tanker drops retardant on the Olinda Fire burning in Anderson, Calif., October, 2020. Photo: Stratos Brilakis, via Shutterstock

OPINION: As lawmakers across the country return to their Capitol posts, some are kicking off the new year with legislation calling for increased wildfire resources, funding, upgrades, and additional aircraft and crew.

Opinion

Time to reconfigure Dept. of Toxic Substances Control?

Aging containers filled with toxic waste await disposal. (Photo: Anna Vaczi, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Just as the coronavirus ruthlessly attacks vulnerable points in the human body, the pandemic is also exposing weaknesses in a range of society’s organizations and arrangements. Government is no exception.

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Carmela Coyle on hospitals, coronavirus

The coronavirus. Illustration from the Centers for Disease Control

Carmela Coyle, president of the California Hospital Association, joins John and Tim on the Capitol Weekly Podcast to talk about the challenges that hospitals face as they deal with this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, “an order of potential magnitude that we just haven’t seen before.”

News

CA tracking poll: Sanders leading; Warren, Biden close behind

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders walking in the Independence Day parade with supporters in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, Flickr

California’s likely voters increasingly support  Sen. Bernie Sanders in the March 3 Democratic presidential primary,  with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden following closely, according to Capitol Weekly’s January tracking poll. Sanders, who is capturing strong support from Latinos, has taken the lead in our survey for the first time since we began polling the Democratic field in September.

News

Capitol Weekly Interview: Jodi Hicks

Jodi Hicks at her office in Sacramento in November 2017. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)

Jodi Hicks is co-chair of Mercury Public Affairs’ Sacramento office. She is the first woman and the first Asian-America to serve in that role and is regarded as one of the Capitol community’s foremost advocates of quality health care. Capitol Weekly’s Chuck McFadden caught up with her recently for a chat.

Opinion

CalPERS is strong — but challenges remain

CalPERS' headquarters in Sacramento. (Photo: Kit Leong

OPINION: In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently released state budget he proposed to contribute an additional $3 billion to the CalPERS fund.  This commitment is a prudent one that will help to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fund.

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