A view of Malibu, one of California's wealthiest enclaves, looking southward from the pier. (photo: Atomazul, via Shutterstock)For the third time in a decade, voters have a chance to raise taxes on the rich, but this time the money would pay for electric vehicles and charging stations instead of schools and community colleges, a distinction that has drawn opposition from key supporters of those previous tax hikes.
Workers at a February 2021 demonstration protesting Amazon's policies. (Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Our nation finds itself at a major crossroads. The anti-democratic forces that have sought to delegitimize the 2020 presidential election continue their movement to attack free and fair elections, aided and abetted by companies like Google and Facebook.
Motorists in Oceanside drive through flooded streets after the arrival of a tropical storm.(Photo: DBSOCAL, via Shutterrstock)OPINION: From mudslides to droughts, fires to earthquakes, natural disasters are an inexorable part of our way of life. Needless to say, the cost of these disasters is staggering. In 2018 alone, wildfires in our state accounted for nearly a quarter of all insurance company disaster claims nationwide.
Illustration by Quentin Lueninghoener, FairWarning.This sounds too good to be true, was one of Brenda Ortiz’s first thoughts when a salesman showed up at her front door in Riverside County in October 2018. He was with Vivint Solar, Ortiz recalled him saying, and was working with her local utility, Southern California Edison, to find people who qualified for free solar panels.
A signature gatherer in Ventura during the 2018 election cycle. (Photo: Michael Gordon, via Shutterrstock)Backers of a $5.5 billion stem cell research initiative in California have suspended their efforts to gather signatures to place it on the November ballot, but are expressing confidence that the proposal will qualify. The campaign said it had run afoul of statewide bans on public gatherings.
California's state Capitol in Sacramento, home of the goverrnor's office and Legislature (Photo: Shutterstock)A huge piece of political spending involves the payments by well-heeled interest groups to lobbyists – there are about 1,800 lobbyists registered in California — who represent their clients before the Legislature and state government. In 2017, these groups spent about $339 million. Dave Middleton, a local programmer and former political operative has created what he says will be a useful, open-source tool to help researchers and journalists to follow the money.
Examining a liquid nitrogen bank containing suspended stem cells. (Photo: Elena Pavolvich) Directors of California’s stem cell agency this morning approved financing terms for a proposed, $150 million, public-private company that the agency hopes will accelerate the creation of long-sought stem cell therapies. The plan to create a stem cell “powerhouse” is likely to be one of the landmark legacies of the state’s $3 billion research effort — for better or worse.
A physician flanked by the California flag. (Illustration: Niyazz, via Shutterstock).OPINION: Prices for prescription drugs are rising precipitously, seriously threatening public and private healthcare budgets, and creating barriers preventing patients from accessing needed therapies. Pharmaceuticals now account for 19 percent of employer spending and Medicare spending on healthcare and, with a slew of approvals of new $100,000+ medications, there is no relief in sight.
An illustration depicting a person accessing data on a terminal. (Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)ProPublica: As the privacy officer for The Advisory Board Co., Rebecca Fayed knows a thing or two about privacy and what can happen when it’s violated. But when Fayed received a letter telling her that she, like nearly 80 million others, was the victim of a hacking attack on health insurer Anthem Inc., she couldn’t figure out why. Anthem wasn’t her insurance provider.
The apparent suicide last week of Alfred Villalobos, who faced a bribery trial next month, is a sad end for a former CalPERS board member paid more than $50 million by firms seeking money from the big pension fund. Most of his fees came from private equity firms during the years leading up to the financial crisis in 2008. Some call the period private equity’s “golden years,” when leveraged buyouts of corporations yielded huge profits.