Posts Tagged: mission

News

New UC president Michael Drake takes over

Students walking on the UC Berkeley campus, pre-pandemic times. (Photo: Ioana Catalina E, via Shutterstock)

Michael V. Drake: Welcome back to California. Drake, a medical doctor, is the new president of the sprawling University of California, one of the world’s premier academic institutions. Drake, 70, is the first African American to hold the position in the university’s 152-year history. He took over this week, replacing the retiring Janet Napolitano.

Opinion

Time to reconfigure Dept. of Toxic Substances Control?

Aging containers filled with toxic waste await disposal. (Photo: Anna Vaczi, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Just as the coronavirus ruthlessly attacks vulnerable points in the human body, the pandemic is also exposing weaknesses in a range of society’s organizations and arrangements. Government is no exception.

News

Amid fiscal turmoil, Sac Unified faces possible state takeover

A teacher with her elementary school class in the Sacramento City Unified School District. (SCUSD photo)

As the Sacramento City Unified School District faces a $35 million budget shortfall and a possible takeover by the state, the teachers’ union is pointing fingers of blame at district administration. The Sacramento City Teachers Association asked newly elected state Superintendent Tony Thurmond for an investigation into potential misuse of public dollars and a conflict of interest involving the district superintendent.

News

Gas tax fuels 2018 political fight

Traffic on the 405 in Los Angeles, the nation's busiest freeway. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)

California’s new gas tax hike to fund billions of dollars worth of overdue road repairs has only been in effect for a little over a month but Republicans are already trying to overturn it. On Nov. 1, Senate Bill 1, signed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown in the spring after a fierce political battle, increased the excise tax on gas by 12 cents a gallon and the excise tax on diesel fuel by 20 cents a gallon.

News

Community health centers battle for funding

Lisa Zeelander, a medical doctor at Valley Community Healthcare in North Hollywood, examines patient Pamela Richardson, 60, on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016. (Photo: Heidi de Marco/KHN)

It’s been nearly two weeks since a crucial deadline passed to continue funding for community health centers, the nonprofit facilities that deliver care to the poor and uninsured in California and across the country. Congress is still squabbling over the details, advocates are still scrambling to get the funding renewed and the centers are starting to plan for the bottom line.

News

San Bruno blast: Probe into PUC role still unresolved

A devastated zone in San Bruno following the 2010 gas pipeline explosion. (Photo: Brocken Inaglory)

Six years after the devastating San Bruno natural gas pipeline blast led to the deaths of eight people, the California Public Utilities Commission has not been held accountable for what elected officials say was its role in the tragedy. State Sen. Jerry Hill, Assemblyman Kevin Mullin and San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane are trying to change that.

News

Firefighters to drones: Buzz off

A drone and its master. (Photo: Ahturner)

Efforts to contain a July 12 brush fire in San Bernardino County were delayed for eight crucial minutes after response crews spotted a hobbyist’s drone flying close to the fire area. The drone, which US Forest Service officials suspect may have been recording footage of the fire, eventually flew off, allowing grounded air crews to resume. For firefighters, those lost minutes can be devastating as they try to contain a wildfire.

News

California players gathering, again, for internet poker

An online gambler concentrates on his game in Nevada, which recently authorized internet gaming and may license fantasy sports companies.(Photo: Associated Press)

Rival interests are rolling the dice to legalize California’s internet gaming market, the most lucrative in the nation. At stake in the Capitol negotiations is a prize worth hundreds of millions of dollars — and maybe more. It’s not the first time. Efforts to legalize internet poker in California – where the revenue may top $1 billion annually over a decade — have failed repeatedly in the past.

News

Casino impact: Stretch of highway declared no longer scenic

A 37-mile stretch of Inland Empire freeway is no longer part of the state’s network of “scenic” highways under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

 

It’s the first time since the California Scenic Highway program was created in 1963 that a section of the roadway has been removed from the program.

 

The move

Opinion

California targeting Chinese consumers

Californians can take pride today in the launch of the first California brand marketing campaign to directly target Chinese consumers.

 

The Visit California announcement in China was part of the governor’s continuing Trade and Investment Mission.  We also named the Golden State’s first tourism ambassador from Mainland China, model-actress Gao Yuanyuan.

 

California has

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