Plastic garbage on the beach, tossed there or brought in by the tide. (Photo: Larina Marina, via Shutterstock)OPINION: You’ve probably heard the phrase, “You are what you eat” a thousand times. It’s a motto usually used to encourage skipping the fries or chips for the recommended servings of veggies and fruits. But lately this phrase has a taken on an alarming new meaning. We are eating plastic.
Soft drinks in plastic containers for sale at a Montebello, Calif., store. (Photo: Philip Pilosian, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Like a lighthouse, California has been a beacon of 21st-century environmental policy, pushing the limits of the impossible by setting ambitious, yet attainable goals for the state and its residents and businesses to work toward a healthier future. So ambitious, in fact, that one major goal, California’s 75% recycling goal, is set to be achieved by 2020.
Plastic pollution in the ocean.(Photo: Rich Carey, via Shutterstock)When former Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law curbing the distribution of plastic straws in sit-down restaurants, it received wide – and largely favorable — attention. But to some, there was a surprise: The new law continues to allow fast-food restaurants to use plastic straws. Many people believe that the state should make all eateries use biodegradable straws, especially fast-food restaurants, which are the largest consumers of plastic straws.
A political rally during the spring in Santa Monica. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)It’s all over and, with a few exceptions, it will stay that way for two more years. But like any other public event, ranging from bridge tournaments to the Super Bowl, there were winners and losers. Here’s our take on who came out winners and who lost in the 2016 general election.
A view of the main floor at the state Democratic Party convention in San Jose. (Photo: Alvin Chen/Capitol Weekly)First, take 3,000 political junkies, mix in a few dozen ambitious politicians, stir thoroughly. Let simmer for three days and — Whee! — you have California’s Democratic Party Convention. It was an earnest carnival reflecting what makes California politics so much fun.
A California voter casts a ballot. (Photo: Vepar5)One thing about California’s lineup of looming ballot propositions: You can’t say they aren’t interesting. From school bonds to the environment to condoms to drugs to plastic bags, and more, voters already are set to vote on seven propositions on the November ballot. And many more are in the wings.
A shopper totes his plastic bag across an intersection. (Photo: Connel, via Shutterstock)California’s statewide law banning plastic bags may have been suspended pending the voters’ decision in the November referendum, but cities and counties are moving ahead with their own local bans. The local laws would be exempt from the proposed statewide repeal. A “no” vote means the ban will be thrown out, a “yes” vote means the law will be left in place.
California presented in the colors of the state's official flag. (Photo: Savelyev, Shutterstock)It was, as always, a mixture of hope and disappointment, deals made and unmade, the bizarre and the mundane. For the Capitol community, 2015 was also a year of anticipation. Initiative creators were busy in 2015. The latest available figures tell us that 63 initiatives and referenda have been cleared for circulation by the Secretary of State’s office. Not all of them will make it to the Nov. 8 ballot, but four have already, including a proposal to overturn the state’s ban on plastic bags.
Voters in Los Angeles casting their ballots on election day. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)Bottled water, immigration, condoms, hospital fees, plastic bags, statehood, alimony – those are just a smattering of the issues on, or trying to get on, California’s 2016 statewide ballot. There are 36 proposed initiatives that are either awaiting review in the Attorney General’s Office or are being shopped around California’s 58 counties for signatures.
A landfill strewn with plastic bags. (Photo: Picsfive, Shutterstock)With California’s law banning plastic bags on hold, the plastic bag industry and its allies already are pouring money into California in hopes of overturning the law in a referendum two years down the road. Referendum proponents have until Dec. 29 to collect enough signatures to put the referendum before voters in November 2016.