Homes under construction in Riverside. (Photo: Orange Grove, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The California Senate had just voted to defeat the state’s highest profile housing bill, Senate Bill (SB) 50, on January 30 when Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins quickly rose to address her members. “The status quo cannot stand,” she told the chamber. We at the California Association of Realtors® agree as well.
Using a laptop as a virtual school tool. (Photo: fizkes, via Shutterstock)OPINION: A young child struggles in school, is diagnosed with dyslexia, attends a variety of different schools to find the right fit and goes on to a successful career in business and politics. This is the true life portrayal of Gov. Gavin Newsom – a model example of how different school options can have such a profound impact on the lives of our children.
Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge headquarters, South San Francisco Bay, Alviso.(Photo: Sundry Photagraphy)OPINION: The California Water Commission has the opportunity to create a new paradigm for water storage that delivers more cost-effective storage and an ability to ensure there will be enough water for communities, business and public purposes –keeping our rivers alive with enough water for fish, wildlife and recreation for people. That opportunity is to include groundwater storage in Proposition 1 allocations.
A cell block at Folsom Prison. Photo: Grace2GrowThe stories behind Gov. Jerry Brown’s nine recent sentence commutations reveal tangled lives marked by murder, abuse, addiction and determined efforts by criminals — usually over decades — to turn their lives around. Here are their stories.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont addresses a May 2016 rally in Ventura. (Photo: Joseph Sohm) For California’s “Berniecrats,” the fire’s not out yet. Nearly a year after propelling Sen. Bernie Sanders to a close second finish against Hillary Clinton in California’s presidential primary, some of his most ardent supporters are still organizing – this time within the state Democratic Party itself.
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.
Crime survivors gather Tuesday at the state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Rally organizers)OPINION: Today, April 4, during National Victim Rights’ Week, nearly 500 hundred crime survivors were gathering in Sacramento to share our stories, honor our loved ones and call for new safety priorities. From mothers who have lost loved ones to young men experiencing violence in our communities, we are coming together to call for change.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, Gov. Brown's pick for state attorney general. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP)Congressman Xavier Becerra, the Democrats’ highest-ranking Latino in the House and a 24-year veteran of Congress, was appointed Thursday by Gov. Brown to replace state Attorney General Kamala Harris, who was elected to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 8. Becerra, 58, who will be the first Latino to serve as California’s top law enforcement officer, will formally take over the attorney general’s office next month, when Harris leaves for Washington, D.C.
Sunlight streaming through the bars of a prison cell. (Photo: nobeastsofierce, Shutterstock)OPINION: I am a 50-year-old man who has spent 39 years of my life behind bars. Millions of taxpayer dollars were spent to incarcerate me in juvenile camps and the state’s prison system, where I was given a life sentence for murder. Life could have turned out differently for me, if I had the guidance and support I needed as a child who took to the streets to escape family dysfunction and abuse.
An electrical engineer at a solar power plant in California. (Photo: BikerideLondon, via Shutterstock)OPINION: When it comes to climate change, France leads by example. It is the least carbon-intensive major economy in the world. No developed nation emits less carbon per dollar of goods and services produced. But what might surprise many, around the world and here at home, is that the world’s second-least-carbon-intensive economy is here in the United States. Worldwide, when it comes to carbon intensity—to producing more while polluting less—California is second only to France.