Posts Tagged: increased

Opinion

California’s seniors need expanded health care options

A nurse confers with a patient at the patient's home. (Photo: SeventyFour, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California has attracted residents for centuries, and for good reason. Since the Gold Rush in the mid 19th century, millions of people have gravitated to the opportunities offered across our great state. Whether it be chasing dreams of fame in Hollywood, following the technology development in Silicon Valley, or spending time in our unique climate, Americans have looked to us to lead.

News

Washington state resident gives $1 million to fight recall

Ballots that will be mailed to voters across California for the Sept. 14 recall election. (Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock)

A million-dollar donation to fight the recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom came from Washington state, not California, and from a name familiar in the world of finance and high tech. Connie Ballmer, who is married to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, contributed $1 million to Newsom’s campaign, the second-largest donation thus far to the anti-recall effort.

News

Pandemic: CA pauses multimillion-dollar testing expansion

A coronavirus anti-body testing station in Palo Alto run by Stanford University. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)

In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a multimillion-dollar state initiative to bring COVID-19 testing to the people and places with the least access: rural towns and disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods. California is now halting its expansion, citing costs, even as the state is getting walloped by record-setting spikes in new infections and double-digit increases in hospitalizations.

News

California’s pandemic pain increases sharply

Photo illustration of the coronavirus in California. (Photo: Maridav, via Shutterstock)

COVID-19 cases in California are spiking dramatically — more than 6,600 new cases on Tuesday alone — and scientists predict California will double its transmission rate every four to five weeks. On Wednesday, the death toll spiked to 98, bringing to 5,725 the total number of deaths so far.

News

Coronavirus and California’s rape crisis centers

A woman wearing a surgical mask for protection against the coronavirus. Photo: Maridav, via Shutterstock)

When a person who has been sexually assaulted or is trying to escape a domestic violent situation comes to either of Community Solutions’ two offices, they will notice two things. First, the doors are open. Second, the waiting room has no chairs. As is the case with all of California’s 84 rape crisis centers, Community Solutions is continuing to provide services to clients in need during the COVID-19 crisis.

News

How a CalPERS-sponsored bill increased pensions

The CalPERS headquarters in Sacramento. (Photo: Kit Leong)

The annual payment to CalPERS for state worker pensions next fiscal year is expected to be $7 billion, a jump from $6.4 billion this year — and a quantum leap from $160 million when a pension increase, SB 400, was approved 20 years ago.

Opinion

Nurse practitioners: Key piece of healthcare puzzle

A nurse practitioner, left, discusses care with a young girl and her mother.(Photo: Monkey Business Images)>

OPINION: California is facing a crisis in our healthcare workforce. We lack enough primary care providers. This issue, combined with a wave of physicians getting set to retire and an expanding aging population, has created a perfect storm particularly in our rural and underserved communities.

News

Target: CalPERS’ private equity profits

The CalPERS' governing board during a meeting several years ago at the pension fund's headquarters. (Photo: CalPERS board)

Calpensions: After the board was told last April that CalPERS could not track the incentive payments, known as “carried interest,” a wave of media criticism grew with stories in the New York Times late last month and Fortune magazine last week. A pension fraud investigator, Edward Siedle of Benchmark Financial Services, launched an Internet fund-raising campaign on Kickstarter to raise $750,000 for a “forensic investigation” of the California Public Employees Retirement System.

News

Schools closely eye CalSTRS rate hike

The push back from schools hit with a huge CalSTRS rate increase, expected to be an additional $3.7 billion a year when fully phased in, is not that it’s unaffordable and will hurt students or unfairly lets the state and teachers off the hook. Instead, a coalition of school districts, including the giant Los Angeles Unified School District, wants a separate budget item for the CalSTRS rate increase within Proposition 98.

News

Strawberry growers pick on UC

Strawberries California Strawberries in a Castroville, Calif., field

It’s all berry interesting: Strawberry growers are literally being cheated out of the fruits of their labors by the University of California, according to a lawsuit filed against the Board of Regents by the California Strawberry Commission. UC Davis is ending its strawberry breeding program and replacing it with a private company created by its two long-time strawberry researchers. (Photo: Dana Payne)

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