Photo illustration of California justice showing a gavel in a courtroom. (Image: sirtravelalot, via Shutterstock)A spate of smash-and-grab robberies and a rising crime rate may have dampened their hopes early on, but criminal justice reformers say the recently ended legislative session brought a raft of significant improvements to the way California treats people caught up in the system.
Hollywood Boulevard at dusk in Los Angeles. (Sean Pavone, via Shutterstock)Americans disagree about California. And at least part of the argument hinges on politics. Republicans don’t think much of California; Democrats like the place. According to a recent YouGov study, Republicans list California as the worst state. Only Washington D. C., which is not a state, ranks below California in Republicans’ estimation.
Metal scrap awaiting recycling. (Photo: TonelsonProductions, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The state is at it again. This time, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is attempting, in an end-run around the normal regulatory process, to impose “emergency” harsh and unjustified new rules on the metal-recycling industry — the one aspect of California’s troubled recycling sector that is still going strong. Why? Because they believe they can, I guess.
The California state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Steven Frame) OPINION: Nearly two months into the new fiscal year. Four budget bills and approximately 50 budget-related policy bills later, Californians continue to wait for solutions to our state’s most pressing crisis — drought, water storage, and wildfire mitigation. Meaningful reforms to fix state agencies like EDD, or the replenishment of the $7.8 billion borrowed from the state’s Rainy Day Fund last year have not yet been addressed.
Photo: Power CaliforniaOPINION: Everywhere in California, young people are fighting for our lives, our families and our communities. We know it is up to us to fight for our future. We are asking you to fight for us, too. We are young. We are Black, brown, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans youth and youth of color from the Central Valley, Central Coast, Southern California, Inland Valley, Bay Area, — every corner of the state.
A billboard urging approval for SB 50 in Santa Clara. (Photo: Sundry Photography, via Shutterstock)Moments after the state Senate failed to pass SB 50, a bill that would have relaxed zoning laws to combat the state’s housing crisis, Senate Leader Toni Atkins vowed to pass housing legislation this year. But after three attempts — and three failures — to get SB 50 to the governor’s desk, the outlook rains uncertain.
The Delta-Mendota Canal near Santa Nella, Calif. (Photo: Hank Shiffman)Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto of a major environmental protection bill angered and surprised environmentalists – and left some wondering what happens next. The measure, SB 1 authored by Senate Leader Toni Atkins and backed by an array of environmental groups, was aimed at safeguarding California’s environmental policies against the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back water, air quality and other standards in California.
A perfusionist operating a heart-lung machine in a surgical setting. (Photo: Dmitry Kalinovsky, via Shutterstock)OPINION: In an attempt to address some problematic side-effects of a recent California Supreme Court case focusing on the employment of independent contractors, lawmakers have crafted a proposal that would take away our ability to decide how and when we work.
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 watchtower at a California state prison (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock) OPINION: Fifteen years into a 41 years-to-life sentence, I arrived at San Quentin — the home of Death Row. I immediately noticed the difference between the treatment of condemned people and of general population people, like myself. Anytime condemned people left their cell they were shackled at the waist and feet. As they moved through the corridors and walkways, all general population people were told to face the wall.