Photo by The Image Party via ShutterstockOPINION – In many historically redlined and low-income communities, full-service grocery stores are rare. In these neighborhoods, farmers’ markets supported by the California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) can serve as a vital source of affordable fruits and vegetables for community members.
However, CNIP and its largest program — Market Match — face a
A worker makes repairs to an electric rotor turbine unit at a geothermal plant. (Photo: VG Photo, via Shutterstock)One month does not equal a trend, but can be a cause for concern. For instance, employers in California added 19,900 nonfarm payroll jobs in August after registering 84,800 new hires in July. Meanwhile, the Golden State’s unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in August from July’s 3.9%, according to the state Employment Development Department.
A man in a bicycle repair shop uses a laptop computer to run his business. (Photo: Mintimages, via Shutterstock)OPINION: It’s like pulling a life raft away from a struggling swimmer. Congress wouldn’t look at what it’s doing to small businesses that way, but that is what it will do if it carries through on some harmful proposals being considered.
A scene along Anaheim Street, a main artery in Wilmington. (Photo: Matt Gush)OPINION: There’s no question that communities of color — like the areas where I grew up and represent today, Watts, Wilmington, Compton, for example — have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s past due for us to right this injustice.
This is why I’m championing a proposal to create the California Health Equity Fund.
Hospital medical staff checking a patient's records. (Photo: Stokkete, via Shutterstock)OPINION: It’s never a good idea when insurers cut costs by interfering in the decision-making process between patients and their doctor. But during a national pandemic, it’s a particularly bad idea. I am thinking specifically of an insurance strategy called step therapy.
Students walking on the UC Berkeley campus, pre-pandemic times. (Photo: Ioana Catalina E, via Shutterstock)Michael V. Drake: Welcome back to California. Drake, a medical doctor, is the new president of the sprawling University of California, one of the world’s premier academic institutions. Drake, 70, is the first African American to hold the position in the university’s 152-year history. He took over this week, replacing the retiring Janet Napolitano.