Image by faithie via ShutterstockAfter decades of neglect, California’s infrastructure is poised for an upgrade. Thanks in part to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Biden in November 2021, the Golden State is set to receive more than $100 billion in federal and state infrastructure funds over the next several years.
Image by ssi77 via shutterstockOPINION Gov. Gavin Newsom recently rejected the idea of a tax hike on Californians to balance the state budget. So, why is Senator Monique Limon considering the idea of taxing people who stay in short-term rentals and burdening regular Californians who share their home?
Image by Oleksiy Mark via ShutterstockOPINION – California has positioned itself not just as a national leader in reducing carbon emissions, but an international model. The state recently achieved another in a long stretch of milestones by securing EPA approval to mandate that half of all heavy vehicles sold in the state be electric by 2035. However, in this instance, the
Photo illustration of California justice showing a gavel in a courtroom. (Image: sirtravelalot, via Shutterstock)A spate of smash-and-grab robberies and a rising crime rate may have dampened their hopes early on, but criminal justice reformers say the recently ended legislative session brought a raft of significant improvements to the way California treats people caught up in the system.
A stormwater runoff system under construction. (Photo: Maksim Safaniuk, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Gov. Gavin Newsom has boldly promoted the goal of building more than 3 million new homes by 2025 to address the significant supply/demand imbalance and bring down the cost of housing. Given California’s challenging regulatory processes, we’re already falling woefully short of those ambitious goals. In spite of this, an excessive new proposal by the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) – comprised of gubernatorial appointees — will further stall new housing production.
A worker inspects planks at a California timber yard. (Photo: sirtravelalot, via Shutterrstock)The year 2021 was a long year battling COVID-19. As coronavirus restrictions ease under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s SMARTER Plan in 2022, we turn to the Golden State’s labor market. Is it on track to rebound to its pre-pandemic shape? Here are the employment numbers, then and now.
The young hands of a caregiver surround the hands of an elderly patient. (Photo: Ocskay Mark, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Everywhere you turn these days we’re being told that government doesn’t work, that our democracy is too polarized to deliver for everyday people. The budget Gov. Newsom recently signed tells a different story. It will help turbocharge our recovery from COVID-19 and make a historic commitment on another urgent public health crisis: Alzheimer’s.
An all-electric Nissan Leaf is seen on a freeway in Mountain View. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)OPINION: A transition to electric vehicles is a bold and necessary vision. Transportation is responsible for almost half of the state’s emissions and the reason why so many of our communities breathe unhealthy air. Reducing emissions is key to mitigating the impacts of climate change and improving air quality.
Illustration of a pregnant woman. (Image: Tanya Antusenok,via Shutterstock)Amid a pandemic that has pushed millions of mothers out of the workplace, caused fertility rates to plunge and heightened the risk of death for pregnant women, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers are seeking a slate of health proposals for low-income families and children. Newsom, a self-described feminist and the father of four young children, has long advocated family-friendly health and economic policies.
Demonstrators in Beverly Hills advocating the recall of Gov., Newsom. (Photo: MSPhotographic, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Will an embattled Gov. Gavin Newsom be able to persuade voters that he deserves to stay? Will an ambitious Democrat break party ranks and seek to position themselves as an alternative to Newsom? Will the election devolve into the cacophonous circus that we saw during the recall of Gov. Gray Davis in 2003?