Plastic garbage on the beach, tossed there or brought in by the tide. (Photo: Larina Marina, via Shutterstock)OPINION: You’ve probably heard the phrase, “You are what you eat” a thousand times. It’s a motto usually used to encourage skipping the fries or chips for the recommended servings of veggies and fruits. But lately this phrase has a taken on an alarming new meaning. We are eating plastic.
GOP Chair Jim Brulte at the recent state Republican convention in Burlingame. (Photo: Dorothy Mills-GreggJim Brulte, head of the state GOP for the past three years, will be permitted to run for the party’s top job for two additional terms, following the party’s decision to extend his term limits.
Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton at a May 5 East Los Angeles College rally, Monterey Park. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)As speculation grows about Hillary Clinton’s choice for a VP running mate, one name keeps popping up, at least in California – Congressman Xavier Becerra, 58, who was born and raised in Sacramento.
Former Legislators Nancy Skinner and Sandre Swanson at a candidates' debate in the 9th Senate District. (Photos: Sam-Omar HallThe race to represent the East Bay in the California Senate is going to be a doozy. In this liberal district, a Democrat is almost certain to retain the seat held by termed-out incumbent Loni Hancock. The question is: which Democrat?
Recent research is focusing new attention on an asbestos-like mineral, blamed for staggering rates of a deadly cancer in Turkey, that also is found in the rocks and soil of 13 Western states, including California. The U.S. Geological Survey has identified 95 sites where the mineral, erionite, exists. Nine of the identified locations are in California.
The CalPERS' governing board during a meeting several years ago at the pension fund's headquarters. (Photo: CalPERS board)A tentative CalPERS proposal would limit the board president and committee chairs to four consecutive one-year terms, a policy that could end the long-running presidency of Rob Feckner in 2017. He has presided over times good and bad at the nation’s largest state public pension system.
California’s voter-approved commission that draws the boundaries for legislative and congressional districts is going to the U.S. Supreme Court to support a similar commission in Arizona, which is locked in a power struggle with that state’s Legislature.
Lobbyist Bev Hansen, left, and her fellow advocates in an Assembly corridor just days before the end of the 2014 session. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/AP)While most people have heard of lobbyists and have a general idea of what the lobbying profession is about, few understand the breadth and complexity of this work and the important role that lobbyists play in developing state policy. When I first began lobbying, long-time relationships ruled the process, there was far more bipartisan collaboration, and individual legislators wielded enormous clout.
The state Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: David Monniaux)Election 2014: Revised term limits and the top-two primary system — which pits candidates against each other regardless of party affiliation — appear to have lessened the likelihood of such contentious battles, according to one analysis. That’s because it all comes down to timing.
CAPITOL WEEKLY INTERVIEW: Assembly Speaker John Pérez would like to stay in the Legislature but he’s got a problem: The law won’t let him. He’s termed out next year under voter-approved term limits and it’s time to move on. Pérez heads into the controller’s race with a $1.5 million campaign war chest. He likely will face fellow Democrat Betty Yee, a former chief deputy in the Finance Department, the office that writes budgets for the governor. Yee currently serves on the state Board of Equalization.