Posts Tagged: pandemic

News

California students’ aid requests show decline

Students at San Diego State University, pre-pandemic. (Photo: Pictor Picture, via Shutterstock)

A long and steady increase in the number of California students seeking financial aid came to an abrupt end this year, and while it’s too soon to know exactly why 25,000 fewer students filled out federal aid forms than last year, all signs point to the pandemic.

Opinion

Women’s History Month — and the ‘Shecession’

A woman factory worker on the job. (Photo: SritanaN, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: In America, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing shutdowns set back years of progress women have made to be recognized as equals in the workforce. March is Women’s History Month and as we honor the women who stood up for our rights and freedoms, we must reflect on how the pandemic has disproportionately impacted women.

Opinion

Digital divide hinders fair recovery from the pandemic

An illustration of cloud computer linkages over L.A. at night. (Photo: TierneyCJ, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: COVID-19 has tested our mettle and shined a light on long-held systematic deficiencies, forcing a re-prioritization of our “policy to-do list. “While the lack of equitable broadband accesshas served as a barrier to innovation, opportunity and connection among Californians for more than two decades, this inequity has caused more harm in one year of a pandemic than in the previous 25.

News

COVID-19 behind bars: Tough indeed on inmates, officers

San Quentin Prison, where a coronavirus outbreak was reported last year. (Photo: Mark R, via Shutterstock)

For Cristina Garcia, there’s something unsettling about the idea that an unvaccinated person, confined to a prison cell, could be exposed to the corona virus because a guard or other state employee had declined an opportunity to be vaccinated.

Opinion

Teledentristy assumes key role amid pandemic

A remote consultation involving upcoming dental surgery. (Photo: verbaska, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The pandemic has created plenty of insecurity, but one bright spot has been the integration of technology into our daily lives. Through video conferencing and other technologies, we have been able to keep meetings with coworkers and reduce the isolation of quarantine by providing a face-to-face connection with family and friends.

News

Poll: A third of respondents favor Newsom recall

California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Photo: Amir Aziz, via Shutterstock)

IGS Survey: The latest Berkeley IGS Poll conducted online last week among over 10,000 registered voters finds just 46% approving of Newsom’s performance as governor, while 48% disapprove, 31% of whom disapprove strongly. This represents a big shift in public sentiment from last year when large majorities approved of the job Newsom was doing.

Opinion

Capitol annex project: A textbook example of a boondoggle

A view of the east side of the state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: ZikG, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: As legislators reconvened this month, they returned to a relatively empty Capitol building. Why, then, are they pursuing a $1.3 billion Capitol Annex “renovation” project? Cognitive dissonance is the most charitable explanation I can conjure for this costly boondoggle proceeding amidst the COVID-induced economic disaster that’s destroying the lives of Californians and plunging countless in the state into poverty

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: The Vaccines are coming

A medical researcher at work. (Photo: National Cancer Institute, via Wikimedia Commons.

Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster were joined by Dr. Dean Blumberg, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, UC Davis School of Medicine and Acting Chief, Pediatric Infectious Disease Section, UC Davis Medical Center.

News

Pandemic: Some leaders’ behavior sends mixed messages

Beachgoers in April at Huntington Beach, despite stay-at-home orders. (Photo: Matt Gush, via Shutterstock)

California, like the rest of the nation, is seeing a dramatic rise in COVID infections and deaths — and Los Angeles County has some of the most dire statistics. Health officials reported more than 7,500 new cases in the county on Tuesday, shattering the old record, set last week.

Opinion

The COVID tunnel: We need to push through

A hospital in Tustin with signs lauding health care workers. (Photo: BrianPham75, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The numbers grow scarier each day. Over the past week, California has topped more than 20,000 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day, with more than 8,000 people hospitalized due to the virus. Those volumes dwarf any seen in the past year, and the impact of get-togethers during Thanksgiving are not yet being felt, nor is the projected effect of the December and New Year’s holidays.

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