Posts Tagged: economy

Opinion

We must invest in ‘reskilling’ workers for higher-wage jobs

Cash register workers and their customers in area in a South San Francisco store. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)

The California Employment Development Department recently issued its monthly employment report showing unemployment held steady at 8.3 percent in April as the state’s employers added 101,800 jobs. EDD also trumpeted that California regained almost 48 percent of the 2,714,800 total nonfarm jobs lost in March and April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

News

CA bullet train hopeful over Biden’s infrastructure plan

An artist's rendering of California's bullet train. (Image: High-Speed Rail Authority)

State rail officials are taking the glass-half-full view. Rather than lamenting the fact High Speed Rail is absent from the president’s infrastructure plan, they’re pointing to supportive statements from Biden and his team, and insisting there’s time before Congress irons out a final deal to claim a share for California’s fast train.

Analysis

In California, could 2021 be propane’s year?

Industrial propane tanks. (Photo: RazorbackAlum, via Shutterstock)

ANALYSIS: Among the numerous advocates for a wider range of lower-carbon options in the U.S. is one group who’ve not received much attention: the propane industry. Given the trends on propane usage and production, that may very well change in 2021. Propane advocates think that their fuel is not getting the kind of attention that it deserves from policy-makers, regulators, and environmental lobbyists.

Opinion

Women’s History Month — and the ‘Shecession’

A woman factory worker on the job. (Photo: SritanaN, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: In America, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing shutdowns set back years of progress women have made to be recognized as equals in the workforce. March is Women’s History Month and as we honor the women who stood up for our rights and freedoms, we must reflect on how the pandemic has disproportionately impacted women.

News

Poll: A third of respondents favor Newsom recall

California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Photo: Amir Aziz, via Shutterstock)

IGS Survey: The latest Berkeley IGS Poll conducted online last week among over 10,000 registered voters finds just 46% approving of Newsom’s performance as governor, while 48% disapprove, 31% of whom disapprove strongly. This represents a big shift in public sentiment from last year when large majorities approved of the job Newsom was doing.

News

Poll: Positives for Newsom, but concerns on housing, pandemic

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.

Opinion

Strong schools mean healthy recovery from current crises

Illustration of school children, education and the pandemic. (Photo: Felipe Sanchez, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California is dealing with cascading crises the likes of which have never been experienced before. Between February 2020 and today, California’s unemployment rate rose from a record low of 3.9% to 13.3%. Nearly two million Californians who were working then aren’t working now.  And California’s clean energy economy — which employed 3% of the state’s workforce before COVID-19 — has also taken a hit. 

Opinion

Lawmakers: Don’t trash food recycling efforts

A landfill gas collection site in Sunnyvale. (Photo: Michael Vi, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Reducing the amount of organic waste that is buried in California landfills is an environmental imperative. As state policy mandates, something has to be done to choke back the production of methane, the gas that is generated when table scraps, yard clippings and other organic materials decompose underground.

Opinion

Stem cell initiative: Save lives and energize the economy

A researcher handles a liquid nitrogen bank containing suspended stem cells. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: In our new financial reality, our state and you as voters are faced with tough decisions. Come November, you will decide the fate of California’s stem cell institute. This decision has never been more important to the future of California’s health care, for the patients and their families, than it is now.

Opinion

COVID-19: Resist expanding worker’s comp benefits

Photo illustration of a workers' compensation insurance form. (Image: Lane V. Erickson, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: During this time of unprecedented disruption, it is easy for some to take advantage of the chaos and push their own agenda. Our elected officials need to lead and protect us all against any overreach that will harm our state’s economic recovery — including an overreach of workers’ compensation benefits that would decimate small businesses

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