Posts Tagged: Florida

News

The different worlds of California card rooms and tribal casinos

Image by Aleksey Kurguzov

The Golden State’s two flavors of gambling establishments – tribal casinos and card rooms – are locked in perpetual conflict with one another. It is a conflict fast coming to a head in the Legislature and with California gaming regulators. To understand gaming’s future, this week we’re taking a look at the history of these two similar but also very different industries.

Opinion

California should be regulating kratom

Kratom leaves and various products, image by Here Asia

OPINION – The Kratom Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) has been enacted in 11 states – Utah, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Virginia, Florida, and Texas – and others are entertaining following suit. California – the largest consumer market for kratom, and its 40 million residents – should be one of those states.

Podcast

Proposition 30 and a whole lot more….

Photo of Governor Gavin Newsom by Gage Skidmore. Used with permission.

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Proposition 30 has qualified for the November ballot. The initiative, a proposed 1.75% tax on Californians making over $2 million per year to fund electric vehicle infrastructure and combat wildfires, has fragmented traditional Democratic coalitions, splitting unions and putting Gov. Gavin Newsom – who has pursued an aggressive strategy to phase out gasoline-powered cars – in opposition.

Opinion

Fruitless recall boosted Newsom’s political position

San Francisco, USA. Sept. 14, 2021. California Governor Gavin Newsom, speaks to the press at a labor union event in San Francisco on Election Day, for the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election

OPINION: “Never strike a king unless you are sure you shall kill him,” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in 1843. He couldn’t have foreseen the attempted recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom. But it is apropos:  The recall not only failed miserably to yank Newsom from office, but actually immeasurably strengthened his political position.

News

A congressional seat disappears, setting the stage for fights

An image illustrating political infighting. (Image: Lightspring)

California’s impending loss of a congressional seat may set off vicious intraparty fights not seen in California for nearly a decade. The conflict may happen because the state’s congressional districts will be redrawn on the basis of population figures from the 2020 census.

News

Census facing uncertainty, hostile president

Ladera Ranch, census-designated community in southern Orange County. (Photo: bonandbon, via Shutterstock)

A lot is riding on this decennial tally: It affects the way federal funding is distributed and it can have a dramatic impact on the boundaries — and number — of political districts. This time around, California’s congressional seats are on shaky ground. But the uncertainty stems as much from President Trump’s actions as from the long-awaited 2020 census numbers, which have been delayed because of the pandemic.

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Richard Schuetz on sports betting

Many people in politics have led colorful lives, but Richard Schuetz has most of them beat. He began working in casinos as a dealer while still in college, and has since held senior positions in gaming establishments across the country, notably in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

News

California’s straw law draws attention

Plastic pollution in the ocean.(Photo: Rich Carey, via Shutterstock)

When former Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law curbing the distribution of plastic straws in sit-down restaurants, it received wide – and largely favorable — attention. But to some, there was a surprise: The new law continues to allow fast-food restaurants to use plastic straws. Many people believe that the state should make all eateries use biodegradable straws, especially fast-food restaurants, which are the largest consumers of plastic straws.

Opinion

After 30 years, personal allowance in nursing homes still $35

Nursing home patients at their facility. Photo: ChameleonsEye, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: In 1965 Congress passed and the president signed into law Medicaid. At that time, they decided on how much a nursing home resident should be able to keep from his or her income toward meeting personal needs. They decided that $30 per month would be a fair allowance. The Personal Needs Allowance has remained the same at $35.00 since the 1980s.

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