Sen. Scott Wiener. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol WeeklyNobody can ever accuse Sen. Scott Wiener of only taking on the easy fights. The San Francisco Democrat has in fact developed a reputation as someone almost allergic to tackling any bill – from housing to health care, from psychedelics to artificial intelligence – that doesn’t promise a bare-knuckles brawl to get passed.
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol WeeklyIt’s late March and lawmakers are gearing up to fast track housing development reforms, regulate AI and implement Proposition 36. All this and a brief look at what’s happening in other states…and one very tall, very naked metal woman.
Image by megafloppOPINION – The voters repeatedly have said that housing is their number one concern, and yet six years into the Newsom administration, there is little to show for the tens of billions that have been spent on housing since 2019.
Image by zimmytwsOPINION – Housing is the solution to homelessness. This year housing is on the ballot in California and voters have a chance to be part of this solution by voting yes on Proposition 5.
Image by zimmytwsOPINION – California’s homeowners insurance crisis is making it more difficult to build and buy affordable homes — and in some cases impossible. By restricting the supply of housing, particularly condominiums and multi-family housing, lack of insurance availability is driving up consumer housing costs and limiting the lowest priced homeownership option for consumers.
Image by welcomeinsideOPINION – When asked what issues Californians are most worried about, you will almost always hear about the cost of housing. That’s why such a broad and diverse group of housing advocates, developers, lenders, builders, housing management experts and non-profit organizations have joined together in opposition to AB 3190.
Image by designer491OPINION – Most retired people live on fixed incomes from Social Security or a pension. In addition, if they have put money aside through retirement accounts, they have calculated how much they need to live and how long their money will last. When inflation outstrips the money they earn, it throws a wrench into those plans.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: KQED’s Marisa Lagos joins us for a look back at the biggest stories of the past year. Lagos is a correspondent for KQED’s California Politics and Government Desk and co-hosts a weekly show and podcast, Political Breakdown. We discuss Governor Newsom’s year, hot labor Summer, the success of the YIMBY movement, the death of Dianne Feinstein and arrival of Laphonza Butler, and much, much more.
OPINION – The exclusive right to operate bank card games is constitutionally guaranteed to tribal nations as a path to re-establish our sovereignty and rebuild many of our tribal nations which were torn down by years of oppression and injustice. It is a right we take seriously, and a right we depend on to support our people.
Tie dye house key by William Hager, ShutterstockOPINION: In California, where the housing affordability crisis only has worsened over the years, LGBTQ+ tenants are struggling to maintain stable, affordable housing.