A portion of the state code dealing with employees and independent contractors> (Photo: 7713 Photography, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Of all the bills wriggling through the Capitol’s sausage machine, my favorite is AB 1577 – the one to unionize legislative employees. It should be one of yours, too. It’s the only way to stop the Legislature from using your tax dollars to campaign for people you don’t like.
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.
The impact of the pandemic is seen in San Diego's Mission Valley, normally crowded with traffic. ((Photo: Travelling Thilo, via Shutterstock)For all of our grousing about COVID-19 fatigue, a few novel trends are clear one year into the pandemic. In the early weeks of 2021, Californians are staying home way more than we did in our pre-pandemic life. Even so, we’re heading out to shop, dine and work far more now than in March 2020, when state officials issued the first sweeping stay-at-home order, or the dark period that followed the winter holidays, when we hunkered down as coronavirus caseloads exploded.
Two customers order lunch at an artisan bakery in Oakdale. (Photo: James Kirkikis, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The start of the new year also brings a new governor and a new Legislature, which provides opportunity for Californians to set new goals and expectations of our elected leaders in Sacramento. Small business owners, especially, have much at stake in the halls of the state Capitol, with many new opportunities and challenges ahead in 2019.
People in support of the Affordable Care Act rally in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Rena Schild) OPINION: Democrats and Republicans have found ways in the past to bridge the partisan divide on major health policy issues such as insurance for low-income children, the expansion of Medicare to include drugs, and changing the way Medicare pays for health care services that emphasize value. There’s no reason we can’t do the same to fix the Affordable Care Act, stabilize the marketplace and improve affordability and choice.
A California power plant at dusk. (Photo David Crockett)A hotly disputed agreement to extend California’s cap-and-trade program to 2030 reflects the power shift under way in the Legislature in which moderate, business-friendly Democrats are increasingly flexing their political muscle. It also shows the lobbying clout of the petroleum industry and divisions within the environmental community.
A ready-to-eat meal kit. (Photo: Process, via Shutterstock)OPINION:Across the Sacramento region, color-coded placards tell diners whether a restaurant passed a food safety inspection. In some counties, you can even use a smartphone app to check an eatery’s safety rating before you head to dinner. But for meal kits delivered to our homes from services like Blue Apron, safety standards can be as opaque as the cardboard box the food arrives in.
A political rally last year in Santa Monica. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)OPINION: In this political climate, you don’t have to look far to find pessimism and finger pointing when it comes to our problems. But look a little deeper and there are some important – and inspiring – examples of problem solving in California that rise above politics and division.
A Los Angeles demonstration aimed at raising the minimum wage in 2015. (Photo: Dan Holm, Shutterstock)California’s job and economic growth has outpaced much of the nation in recent years. That growth, however, has not eliminated one of the state’s biggest challenges: poverty. This week, State Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes called poverty California’s No. 1 priority during a forum of legislative leaders in Sacramento.
A mid-1930s truck on a Kern County highway. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, Shutterstock)OPINION: They blew it. Fifteen months ago, Governor Brown called the Legislature into special session to find new ways to pay for the state’s aging transportation system.