Office workers rushing to their jobs. (Photo: IR Stone, via Shutterstock)Within their homes and offices, tensions are rising between employers and employees. At least for now, COVID-19 levels appear to be declining, and companies have begun to push their employees to return to the office following an extended period of working from home.
A close-up of part of Northern California from a map of the United States. (Photo: SevenMaps, via Shutterstock)The California Citizen’s Redistricting Commission has now seated all 14 members that will redraw the state’s legislative, congressional and Board of Equalization seats in 2021. This team is comprised of eight commissioners selected through a random draw among 35 finalists, and the remaining six are chosen through a selection process intended to balance out the commission on a number of factors, including race, ethnicity, gender, geography and skill sets.
Joe Nuñez , former executive director of the California Teachers Association. (Image: Screen capture from CTA video)California’s education and political worlds are abuzz with speculation about three recent developments, little of which has to do with schools. What led to the abrupt firing of Joe Nuñez as executive director of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association, one of the biggest and most powerful labor groups in California?
A photo illustration of a young girl in custody. (Image: structuresxx, via ShutterstockThe woman, writing to Gov. Gavin Newsom about Senate Bill 233, called herself voiceless.In her letter she told the governor about rapes she’s suffered while homeless and on the streets. Pimps had beaten her. One once threw her out of a hotel, leaving her naked in the parking lot.She feared to call police. They never listened to her before, the unnamed woman wrote.
The Owens River cuts through the Owens Valley near the east slope of the Sierra. (Photo: Bart Everett)California voters may be asked this year to approve $13 billion in two separate water bonds that promise to pay for safe drinking water and improve flood protection. Proposition 68 is a $4.1 billion measure and is already set for the June 5 ballot. The Water Supply and Water Quality Act is an $8.9 billion bond and could come up for a vote in November. The Secretary of State’s office is reviewing the signatures turned in and should decide by the end of the month whether it qualifies for the ballot.
A gathering of gay rights activists at the state Capitol. (Photo: Karin Hildebrand Lau)Bish Paul descended into Empress Tavern’s basement downtown and was greeted with a surprise. Over 50 capitol staffers mingled beneath the brick arches a block from the state Capitol. LGBT aides and allies drank and chatted, discussing Sacramento’s LGBT community and shared Capitol connections.
Environmental activist Tom Steyer at a conference of the Center for American Progress. (Photo: File/Associated Press)While media reports keep predicting that billionaire Tom Steyer will run for California governor in 2018, Steyer says he has not made a decision yet. There are a lot of factors to consider first, including the coming election, said the 59-year-old former hedge fund manager. “I’m going to keep working on the issues. I’m passionate about it,” he said. “I don’t know the best format to do that yet.”
A safety inspector on the job. (Photo: BillionPhotos, via Shuttterstock)FairWarning: The whistleblower claim filed last week with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel charges that the San Francisco regional office of OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program routinely dumped legitimate complaints. He contends his disclosures to senior OSHA and Labor Department officials -– all the way up to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez — “did not spark good faith corrective action.”
Photo: GrassrootsLab.comCalifornia will award 172 delegates in the Republican presidential primary, a mother load of support that could guarantee a decisive national role for Golden State GOP voters on June 7. Unlike several other states in the election cycle where the winner takes all delegates, California Republicans designed special rules to empower grassroots activists a few years ago.
A woman carries a load of cleaning supplies, a key source of common fragrances. (Photo: Bikeriderlondon, via Shutterstock)For Joyce Miller, one sniff of scented laundry detergent can trigger an asthma attack. “What happens is I feel like someone is standing on my chest,” says the 57-year-old professor of library science in upstate New York. “It’s almost like a choking feeling – pressure and choking. And then the coughing starts,” she said.