A brush fire approaches residences in Pacific Palisades in May, 2021. (Photo: BrittanyNY, via Shutterstock)OPINION: As hints of fall weather begin, California residents remain mindful that the risks from Diablo and Santa Ana wind-driven wildfires are still to come. Unfortunately, with California’s riskiest months still approaching, consumers in 2021 must also be aware of a new threat in wildfire planning.
A student in class during the pandemic. (Photo: Siday Productions, via Shutterstock)PPIC: One year after the state’s schools halted in-person learning due to COVID-19, more than eight in ten Californians think children are falling behind academically during the pandemic. Most Californians approve of how Gov. Newsom is handling the state’s K–12 public education system, though six in ten are concerned that California’s K–12 schools will not be open for full-time in-person instruction this fall.
Gov. Gavin Newsom at a Capitol event in January. (AP Photo, Rich Pedroncelli)A Republican-led effort to oust Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has gathered enough signatures to place the recall before voters on the statewide ballot. The announcement Monday by the secretary of state means that Newsom is likely to confront voters later this year.
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.
Signature gathering during the 2018 election cycle. (Photo: Michael Gordon, via Shutterstock)The $5.5 billion California stem cell initiative is virtually certain to qualify for the fall ballot as the arithmetic of the signature count begins to fall into place. The measure needs only slightly more than the 67 percent of the signatures that remain to be verified as coming from registered voters. The qualification percentage of raw signatures so far is 78 percent.
A photo illustration of graduation ceremonies held online. (Image: Ekaphon Maneechot, via ShutterstockSeveral universities have committed to having an in-person graduation at a later date but in the meantime, they are doing the best they can by staging virtual celebrations. University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, as one example, is having a watch party on Facebook Live May 22 for the nearly 150 students who are graduating.
The House membership in the 114th Congress. (Photo: Wikipedia)Nine races in November could determine which party controls the House for the next decade—and the map looks good for Democrats. This fall, Democrats face a bad map in the Senate and are in a tough battle to take back the House. But the party is on offense in nine crucial contests around the country that could determine control of Congress for the next decade.
A one-room schoolhouse in Comptche, Mendocino County, which serves 14 students. (Photo: California Teachers Association)The 112-year-old schoolhouse with the old-fashioned bell looks like it should be a historical museum. But it’s a working K-8 public school with only 10 students. Washington School, about 20 miles east of Nevada City in the Sierra foothills, is one of a handful of one-room schools scattered scattered across rural California.
A truck is engulfed in flames Sunday in Lower Lake, Lake County. (Photo: Josh Edelson/APTens of thousands of acres are in flames across California and thousands of people have been forced to flee as the drought-stricken state fights its way through what could prove to be one of the worst fire seasons in memory. During the past two days, the Clayton fire in Lake County exploded to more than 3,000 acres and only 5 percent containment, burning into historic town of Lower Lake and forcing more than 5,000 people to flee.
Voters and potential voters at a political rally. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)The California Voter File is a massive and constantly changing dataset. At the end of the 2012 election cycle, it grew to over 18 million voters. But with recent purges from county election files, it has dropped down to its current 17 million. As we near a major statewide election, we expect to see an uptick in registration and growth of the overall voter file. The state’s registration is likely — again — to exceed 18 million, and potentially even reach 19 million by November.