Diana Dooley, newly named as the executive secretary of Gov. Brown's office, speaks at a 2017 health care conference
sponsored by Capitol Weekly. (Photo: Scott Duncan, Capitol Weekly)Diana Dooley, California’s top health official since 2011, has been named executive secretary of Gov. Brown’s office, the top administrative post in state government and, effectively, the governor’s chief of staff with broad control over the bureaucracy.
Gov. Brown's top aide, Nancy McFadden, at a 2015 water conference in Sacramento. McFadden died Thursday at the age of 59. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)Nancy McFadden, who died late Thursday at 59 from ovarian cancer, was the perfect high-level staffer — discreet, smart, and possessed of a wide range of knowledge along with a keen political antenna. As unknown to the public as she was important in California’s government, McFadden literally ran the state’s mammoth bureaucracy day-to-day.
Pro- and anti-Trump demonstrators clash at a May 27 rally in San Diego. (Photo: Chad Zuber)Any hope that California would soon settle into some sort of accommodation with a Trump Administration is fading rapidly. During the past two weeks, this happened: President-elect Donald Trump named Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as his choice to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the federal enforcer of rules governing clean air, clean water, toxics cleanup and other chores. The choice of Pruitt, an energy industry supporter who is skeptical of the impacts of climate change and has sued the EPA over the years, sparked outrage from environmentalists across the country, especially in California.
A smog-tinged view in black and white of Century City, Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles. (Photo: Trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)It’s a familiar fight in the Capitol: Oil companies and their allies say jobs and Californians’ ability to get from place to place at reasonable cost are at stake, which can have a dramatic impact on lower income workers. Environmentalist say the future of the planet is what it’s all about, starting in California. Ultimately, the issue may be decided by millions of voters — not Sacramento lawmakers.