High-cables connected to a server. (Photo: Everything You Need, via Shutterstock)OPINION: With explosive wildfires once again raging across California, public safety must be paramount as legislators take final action on bills. Action is needed now to ensure that Governor Newsom’s $6 billion broadband plan enacted in July protects all Californians no matter which provider or network delivers their communications service.
A medical technician prepares to draw blood from a patient. (Photo: Ruchuda Boonplien, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The worry of a mother for her child never ends. I am the sole caretaker of my adult daughter who suffers from multiple rare diseases. Her conditions hold her from living independently. During her 35 years of life and her 12 years of living with her chronic conditions, I cannot remember the many times that she almost died.
California motorists in a traffic jam. (Photo: Shutterstock)California’s 143,000 miles of local streets and roads are deteriorating rapidly, and the average local thoroughfare across the state is rated “at risk” because of its poor physical condition, according to a study commissioned by a coalition of local governments and their allies. A mix of state, local and federal funds – about $1.98 billion annually – is provided for California’s streets and roads, but the minimal amount needed to maintain the existing quality is $3.5 billion.
State Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: David Monniaux)Summer and the Thanksgiving-Christmas holidays – prime time for people to relax. But in the intense, politics-driven culture of the Capitol, by far the most popular time to sign up for vacation or leave is during period surrounding the general election, when the staff members’ bosses may be up for reelection. Then, some two-thirds of the Assembly’s work force put in for at least some amount of vacation time during 2014, according to Assembly figures reviewed by Capitol Weekly.
Waterfront, Stockton, Calif., at Weber Point. (Photo: Terrance Emerson)Calpensions: During a hearing Oct. 1 on Stockton’s “plan of adjustment” to cut debt and emerge from bankruptcy, there may be a landmark ruling on whether CalPERS pension debt can be cut in bankruptcy.