An illustration of the Internet and world wide web. (Ramcreations, Shutterstock)Californians concerned about an internet service tax can breathe easier — at least for a year. The federal law known as the Internet Tax Freedom Act, or IFTA, was extended Wednesday. It has been extended several times since it was passed in 1998.
Patty Lopez, a contender in the close-run 39th Assembly District trace, came from obscurity to prominence. (Photo: Lopez staff)Patty Lopez is more comfortable speaking Spanish, but she’s not afraid to be a voice for her community. That’s why she decided to compete against a well-known, well-connected incumbent for a San Fernando Valley Assembly seat. Nearly two weeks after Election Day, Lopez and incumbent Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, are locked in a race that’s too close to call in the 39th District.
Banana trees in the forest at Agua Azul waterfall, Chiapas, Mexico. (Photo: Elisa Loco)OPINION: When it comes to reducing California’s climate emissions, should we allow companies to pollute our local communities, while paying our neighbors in Mexico to clean up the carbon? Should we gamble our climate policies on saving trees in other countries that can easily be destroyed by forest fires, just so that we can indulge in our own emissions instead of reducing them responsibly?
Irene Gomez, manager of a domestic violence and mental health outreach program for indigenous farmworkers in Oxnard, helps a client. (Photo: Scott Erickson.)Although many counties have programs that provide at least some medical care to this population, access to mental health services is extremely limited in most parts of the state. This is despite the fact that indigenous farmworkers are believed to face higher amounts of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder than the general population.
Giant crane handles a ship's cargo at the Port of Long Beach. (Photo:From Humboldt Bay in the north to San Diego in the south, California’s 11 ports generate more than $40 billion in annual economic activity. The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles provide most of it — together, they represent the nation’s largest cargo container port and the world’s sixth busiest harbor. But new pressures, including a revamped Panama Canal, are clouding California’s picture. (Photo: Port of Long Beach)