A surfer catches a wave in Malibu, where the Surfrider Foundation was launched in 1984. (Photo: JAVS, via Shutterstock)A landmark bill designed to drastically reduce plastic pollution in California, SB54, was signed into law on June 30. It imposes the most stringent plastic reduction rules in the United States. It has to. California, like the world, is enduring a seemingly insurmountable plastic pollution crisis.
Demonstrators supporting the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom gather in Yorba Linda in Orange County. (Photo: Matt Gush, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Usually, the year after a presidential election is pretty quiet in California when it comes to high-profile political contests. But this year Republicans have managed to make the Golden State a national battleground — and a fundraising juggernaut — with their recall fight against Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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.
A rabbit in a cosmetic testing laboratory. (Photo: By Artfully Photographer)OPINION: There’s been heightened discussion in Sacramento about a bill that could eliminate the sale of many cosmetics and personal care products in California. Senate Bill 1249 proposes to ban the sale of any cosmetic and cosmetic ingredient that has undergone animal testing, even if required by California or other governments.
Members of Indivisible at the Women's March in January 2017. (Photo: Melissa Bender) It began with a married pair of Democratic staffers in Congress, outraged at the success of the hard-right Tea Party. That vocal GOP off-shoot showed that a disciplined minority could leverage policy, woo voters and bend the party leadership. So Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg, stunned by Donald Trump’s electoral victory, founded a group called Indivisible, which 17 months later has developed into a loose-knit national movement.
Attendees at a 2016 political rally in Santa Monica. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)The 2018 primary election is right around the corner. And with stories of higher turnout and a Democratic wave in states like Virginia and Alabama, many political consultants and observers are expecting to see some higher turnout in California this June, with a potentially strong Democratic and Latino surge.
A view towards Palo Alto, Stanford and the cities of south San Francisco Bay, where housing is at a premium.(Photo: Sundry Photography)California lawmakers are in midst of trying to solve a housing crisis that has spread throughout the state. The state’s Department of Housing and Community Development — an agency that works to expand access to affordable housing — says California has built an average of 80,000 homes a year for the past decade, which is less than half of the 180,000 new homes needed to keep up with the predicted population growth through 2025.
The CalPERS board of governors during a meeting at the pension system's headquarters. (Photo: CalPERS)New York state pension systems are better funded than California state pension systems, currently take a smaller bite out of state and local government budgets, and still provide pension benefits well above the national average. How do they do it?
Pedestrians crossing Hollywood Boulevard. (Photo: Sean Pavone)Pedestrian deaths are on the rise throughout the nation, but California is bucking the trend. Preliminary data by the Governors Highway Safety Organization shows an increase in pedestrian fatalities throughout the United States, rising 12 percent to 5,997 in 2016. Yet California, home to the highest number of pedestrian deaths for years, is finally seeing a drop.
An eye chart seen through a pair of glasses. (Photo: Coprid, via Shutterstock)OPINION: With all that we do to try to help our children succeed at school, we are failing to properly screen students for correctable vision problems that can hinder learning.