PriorityWorkForce office in Santa Ana. (Photo: Eli Wolfe, FairWarning)Last October, Erick Solis, a 19-year-old temp worker at a Los Angeles food company, lost two fingers when his hand got caught in an unguarded dough-rolling machine. Cal/OSHA, the state job safety agency, cited the company, JSL Foods Inc., for willful violations because an almost identical accident had happened before
A resident leads horses to safety in Paradise during the 2018 Camp Fire. (Photo: Dylan Mittag, via Shutterstock)Everyone with any knowledge of the subject agrees: California is on the brink of a potentially disastrous fire season. And there is concern that the problem is not going to be solved soon. “Our best efforts may still be inadequate,” said Michael Picker, president of the California Public Utilities Commission.
Illustration of tax payments in California. (Photo: designer491, via Shutterstock)OPINION: With another Tax Day now behind us, it’s a good time to think about what we get back for the money we put into our government. As a recent college graduate from a low-income neighborhood in California, I am thinking about how my taxes should support the things my community needs – like good schools, trauma care, roads and health clinics.
Wayne Horiuchi at the Republican National Convention in 2016, (Photo: RNC}Wayne Kimio Horiuchi of Sacramento, who was instrumental in the appointment of a presidential commission to look into the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, died Jan. 23. He was 71.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest an undocumented immigrant in California. (Photo: ICE, 2017)Two California counties profit from a loophole in the “sanctuary state” law, while most others have canceled their ICE contracts under public pressure or let them expire. When California’s sanctuary state law, Senate Bill 54, was approved, the public assumed that local law enforcement would be prevented from cooperating with ICE agents except when dealing with people “convicted of a serious or violent felony,” such as murder, rape, child abuse or battery.
A roadside sign for the city of Inglewood near Los Angeles. The picture was taken in April. (Photo: Albert Campbell)The California economy is booming at a record pace. The State’s unemployment rate is at a historic low of 4.2 percent, with investments in technology, health care, transportation and construction projects helping lead the way. But the Golden State’s success has been uneven.The economic wave of prosperity missed some of California’s most vulnerable populations, leaving some of the most diverse and socio-economically disadvantaged communities behind. The City of Inglewood is one of those communities.
Housing construction at a new California neighborhood.(Photo: Marilyn Volan)As California rents and property values continue to rise, it should come as no surprise that three housing-related measures will face voters on the November ballot, targeting veterans’ home loans, local rent control and housing construction for the homeless. Statewide, the average rent on a one-bedroom apartment is about $1,400, and a home costs $440,000 — far more than double the national average of $180,000.
Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 at a platform committee meeting of the Democratic National Committee.On the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster are joined by Steve Swatt, a veteran political analyst and former news reporter who at the age of 24 covered RFK’s murder and the trial of the assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, for United Press International.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and friend at the Rose Parade on Jan. 1 in Pasadena. (Photo: Karl_Sonnenberg)He runs an entity that boasts more population than 21 states plus Puerto Rico. He is good-looking, well-spoken, and he’s thinking about running for president. He is, of course, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Balancing the political power between L.A. and the San Francisco Bay Area. (Illustration: Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)ANALYSIS: With five months to the 2018 gubernatorial primary election, there is a natural tendency to try and find the single major factor that will determine the outcome. Will it be Donald Trump, absentee voters, young people, the gas tax, racially polarized voting, the open primary, North versus South, the growing number of independent voters, the new registrants since President Trump was elected, or 25% of the electorate who registered to vote in 2016? The fact is, it will be all of these things.