Posts Tagged: households

Opinion

Microbusinesses play increasingly crucial role in California

An owner of a small business is ready for customers. (Photo: SaiArLawKa2, via Shutterstock)

OPINION:  As the fifth largest economy in the world, California is home to heavyweight economic industries: Silicon Valley, the entertainment industry, agriculture, tourism, and more. But anyone who lives here knows that there’s also a boom in the number of people who are starting their own microbusinesses.

Opinion

Time is now to expand Californians’ access to broadband

A high-speed electronic hookup carrying data via an ethernet connection. (Photo: Everything You Need, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The past two years have made it abundantly clear that broadband is essential to 21st century living in California. Broadband has become vital for education, remote work, telehealth, entertainment and family connections. It’s necessary that we prioritize finding solutions to close the digital divide that will benefit rural and urban communities.

Opinion

We have great chance to boost broadband access — but do it right

A woman linking her tablet to the Internet via a service provider. (Photo: Daniel Krason, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: With a historic investment in broadband on the horizon, Gov. Newsom and the California Legislature have an unprecedented opportunity to bring chronically unserved California households online with high-speed Internet.

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

Poll: Kids will be worse off than parents; rich-poor gap grows

A check-cashing outlet in Los Angeles, often used by low-income families. (Photo: image_vulture, via Shutterstock)

A solid majority of Californians say children growing up in the state today will be worse off financially than their parents, while more than two-thirds say the gap between rich and poor is widening. In the past year, more than four in ten households with annual incomes below $40,000 had work hours or pay reduced, and an equal share had to cut back on food.

Analysis

CA120: Politics, data and Cambridge Analytica — a followup

An image of voters on a digital information background. (Illustration: Maksim Kabakou, via Shutterstock)

With all the headlines about Cambridge Analytica and the potential that millions of Facebook users had their data leaked to third parties, there is one obvious question on the minds of candidates and consultants: What will this mean for continued use of digital ads in my campaign? The answer: Probably nothing.

News

CA120: Land lines and cell phones and data, Oh My!

Telephone poles with their land-line wires fade into the sunset of a California highway. (Photo: Ethan Daniels.)

For decades, polling relied on a strong pool of easily reached voters with a traditional land-line telephone. Before caller-ID became prevalent, nearly every call was answered as long as someone was home. But now more voters are untethered from traditional phones (I haven’t had a land line since 1998), and those who do still have them complain that most incoming calls are from telemarketers.

News

CA120: Voter registration is huge, partisan and volatile

People at a May rally of Republicans in Anaheim. (Photo: Mike Ledray, Shutterstock)

Prior to the June Primary, California experienced a massive surge in voter registration. More than 2.3 million voters registered, either for the first time, or as a re-registration. This was not only larger than any other primary election in the state’s history, it was larger than any general election. As measured by absolute growth of the voter file, the nearest comparison was the 1980 primary in which former California Governor Ronald Regan was running for the Republican Party nomination.

Opinion

Crux of Charter merger: the Digital Divide

Illustration by Kheng Guan Toh, via Shutterstock

OPINION: The California Public Utilities Commission is about to make a landmark decision about the merger of Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks that will have a generational effect on closing—or possibly making permanent—the Digital Divide.

News

Drought emergency: The need for a biodiversity policy

Lake Oroville ravaged by drought. (Photo: State Department of Water Resources, 2014)

Analysis: California ecosystems are losing their resilience and their ability to sustain native plants and animals. In the past, even in droughts, there were natural refuges to sustain native species. Today, most of these ecosystems are changing rapidly from human impacts and many have deteriorated to critical condition. Refuges are scarce.

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