Image by palidachanOPINION: Our schools should be safe places for our children to learn, thrive, and build community. But California schools are not equipped for the challenges that we are already experiencing as a result of climate change – especially heat and wildfire smoke.
An illustration of California battered by the coronavirus pandemic. (Image: bekulnis, via Shutterstock)More than two years after California imposed the nation’s first lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19, the deadly disease persists, fueled now by the highly infectious subvariants and clouded by fears that the malady will stick around awhile — a long while.
Farm workers with masks pick strawberries near Carlsbad, San Diego County. (Photo: Simone Hogan, via Shutterstock)Back in April, when the lockdown was first beginning, a California Farm Bureau study reported that the agriculture sector had lost more than 2.4 million jobs directly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, along with the financial hit, farm workers are suffering through increased risk of deadly infection.
Illustration of California flag and the pandemic. (Image: bekulnis)Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to announce a tougher response to a surge in coronavirus infections that includes a three-week cutback on nonessential services and renewed stay-at-home restrictions affecting most Californians.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently signed into law major health care-related approved by lawmakers. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP)When Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom concluded the chaotic legislative year Wednesday — his deadline to sign or veto bills — what emerged wasn’t the sweeping platform he and state lawmakers had outlined at the beginning of the year. But the dozens of health care measures they approved included first-in-the-nation policies to require more comprehensive coverage of mental health and addiction, and thrusting the state into the generic drug-making business.
California's state Capitol in Sacramento, home of the goverrnor's office and Legislature (Photo: Shutterstock)IGS Poll: As Gov. Gavin Newsom approached the mid-point of his term as governor, the Berkeley IGS Poll asked California registered voters for their opinions of the job Newsom has been doing both overall and across a wide range of issues that voters feel are important for the state to be addressing. The results indicate that Californians offer a very positive overall assessment of the Governor’s performance, but give him lower marks in a number of specific areas.
A hiker takes a break during the pandemic. (Photo: Leah-Anne Thompson, via Shutterstock.OPINION: The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on public health, a toll that extends well beyond those who have been infected by the virus. Nearly all of us have experienced or witnessed the effects: increased stress, heightened anxiety, at least a bit of depression. These conditions are to be expected given the isolation and disruption of our daily lives.
The headquarters of the California Public Employees' Retirement System in Sacramento. (Photo: Kit Leong, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Those who think about CalPERS often limit their perspective to the context of pensions for public employees. But the reality is that every single person who wants to be able to get a job in a community with affordable housing, good schools, safe streets, and accessible public services needs CalPERS to be successful. Otherwise, we will all pay a steep price.
The power plant in El Segundo, Calif. (Photo: Don Solomon, via Shutterstock)OPINION: As temperatures soared and wildfires burned across the Southland, California electricity customers recently experienced rolling blackouts for the first time since 2001. Although investigations continue, it appears that there just weren’t enough energy resources available to meet customer demand.
DNA is injected into a stem cell. (Photo: Spectral-Design, via Shuttertock)The California stem cell agency has just finished pumping $5.3 million into the fight to save the lives of Covid-19 victims. And — in a ballot-box bonus — its efforts are already surfacing in the ballot campaign to rescue the agency from its own demise. The agency is running out of money. It will begin closing its doors this fall without major financial support that it hopes will come from Proposition 14, a $5.5 billion bond measure on the November ballot.