Posts Tagged: manufacturing

Opinion

Labor-backed bill would devastate California restaurant industry

Pre-pandemic customers at a restaurant in LA's Famers Market. (Photo: Alex Millauer, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: On June 3, the so-called “FAST Recovery Act” failed to secure enough votes to move forward in the California Legislature. Even though it was proposed by the chair of the Appropriations Committee and was a priority for labor interests, lawmakers recognized the damage that would have been caused by this bill.

News

CA skateboarders and COVID-19: Demand up, equipment down

A skateboarder in action. (Photo: Shawn Henry)

Shelter-in-place has pushed consumers of varying ages to skateboarding in unprecedented numbers, creating a dramatic increase in participation and sales. Unfortunately, California’s COVID-19 regulations limiting public gatherings have also slowed the manufacturing and distribution of skateboard equipment, causing historic supply disruptions. 

Opinion

Flavored tobacco ban would hurt convenience stores

A hookah bowl with cherry shisha tobacco and smoke. (Photo illustration: Andrey Julay, via Shuitterstock)

OPINION: California boasts the largest state economy in the nation. A result of diverse, successful industries that include agricultural, tech and film, it’s easy to overlook the economic impact of our state’s small businesses. But driven by unrelenting special interests, legislators have done just that, introducing Senate Bill 793 — an unconstitutional ban on the selling of all flavored tobacco products that neglects middle-class, small business owners.

Opinion

Climate investments support jobs across California

Windmills at the Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm in Southern California, generating clean renewable electrical energy. (Photo: Patrick Poendl, via Shutterstock)

OPINION:At this week’s Global Climate Action Summit, the focus is not on countries’ efforts to curb climate change, but on how cities, states, businesses, nonprofits and other non-national actors are building a low-carbon future from the bottom up. As the host state, California is in the spotlight. And do we have a story to tell.

Opinion

Cap-and-trade key to green energy future

Windmills generate electricity in Palm Springs. (Photo: Chris Rubino)

OPINION: Clean energy is taking over the world, driven by a combination of climate change policies and market economics. California has paced America in seizing this opportunity, building a thriving green economy through smart policy. But the fate of California’s cap-and-trade program, a cornerstone of the state’s green growth strategy, depends on the state Legislature extending the program beyond 2020

News

State writing new pot regulations

A marijuana plant growing in Northern California. (Photo: Shutterstock)

California authorities are crafting new rules governing both medical and recreational marijuana, and they hope to present them to the public in March. The move follows voter approval in November of Proposition 64, which legalized recreational pot use. It passed by 2 million votes out of nearly 14 million cast.

Opinion

Going mobile: Can state policy keep up?

A digital illustration of a satellite dish transmission. (Photo: Hywards, Shutterstock)

The most critical assets of California’s future economy will rely on wireless Internet technology—including renewable energy, smart agriculture, education, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. There also are important implications for public safety, where a dropped call to 911 could be the difference between life and death.

News

To have and have not: The California debate intensifies

A homeless man in a wheelchair wiping his eyes at a pier in Oceanside, Calif. (Photo: David Little via Shutterstock)

We are moving into the post-industrial age, an era of mechanized production, where machines can increasingly do jobs that used to pay real people livable wages. In California, we have strong environmental and labor regulations that did not exist at the birth of the industrial age. These rules have improved and saved lives of workers and the communities where manufacturing plants are based. But they have also driven costs of manufacturing higher.

Opinion

State energy policies hits Inland Empire in the wallet

OPINION:When it comes to attracting investment and creating stable communities through good-paying jobs, the Inland Empire has been dealt some good cards, and some bad cards. Too often, what comes out of Sacramento falls into the latter category.

Support for Capitol Weekly is Provided by: