Posts Tagged: problems
Opinion
OPINION: California farmers lost an estimated $2.1 billion in export sales between May and September last year due to port congestions, according to a study by UC Davis. Farmers across the state are experiencing fallout from congestion at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, threatening the state’s economic viability.
Opinion
OPINION: California government agencies have focused on reducing traffic congestion when looking at the pollution impacts caused by new development and transportation projects. The result has been a lot of bad decisions that, taken together, have led to longer commutes, urban sprawl, and a failure to invest sufficiently in public transit, bike lanes, and pedestrian pathways.
Opinion
OPINION: It’s been a long time since the United States waged a “war on poverty.” But here in California, a new war is underway. Under the leadership of Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature, our recently enacted state budget confronts our poverty crisis with unprecedented investments in healthcare, preschool, CalWORKS, earned-income tax credits, and expanded juvenile justice and foster care funding and reforms.
News
Pedestrian deaths are on the rise throughout the nation, but California is bucking the trend. Preliminary data by the Governors Highway Safety Organization shows an increase in pedestrian fatalities throughout the United States, rising 12 percent to 5,997 in 2016. Yet California, home to the highest number of pedestrian deaths for years, is finally seeing a drop.
Opinion
OPINION: In this political climate, you don’t have to look far to find pessimism and finger pointing when it comes to our problems. But look a little deeper and there are some important – and inspiring – examples of problem solving in California that rise above politics and division.
Opinion
While lawmakers were cutting themselves up over the thorny minimum wage bill this week, a powerful conversation took place three blocks away from the capitol. Industry, union and college leaders were working through the pragmatic next steps on a modest proposal to move more Californians from minimum wage to medium wages and higher.
News
In 2008, outraged by a string of snooping incidents involving celebrities’ medical records, California legislators passed a groundbreaking law that compelled hospitals to quickly report patient privacy breaches and gave the state power to levy fines for such violations. But a ProPublica analysis of state data shows enforcement has been inconsistent.
News
GRIZZLY BEAR PROJECT: After some hard feelings and bruised egos, De León accepted his defeat and ran for the Senate seat that he never really wanted. But in the Senate, de León has matured and grown as a legislator. Early on, he helped ease roadblocks between the Senate and the governor’s office. In the meantime, he reconstructed and expanded his personal relationships, and was elected by his colleagues last year as the new leader of the state Senate.
News
Calpensions: Last week was not a good one for CalPERS. Wednesday, Gov. Brown said CalPERS adopted regulations that undermine the anti-spiking provisions for new hires in his pension reform. Thursday, the state Fair Practices Political Commission rejected a proposed $1,000 fine for CalPERS board member Priya Mathur, suggesting a $4,000 fine for a serial offender who has repeatedly failed to file campaign funding reports.
News
It’s not even on the ballot yet, but rival forces are gathering – again — over a plan to lift the decades-old cap on pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice cases. The proposal, aimed at the November ballot, also cracks down on drug- and alcohol-impaired physicians and seeks to curb over-prescribing of medications. (Above: USC Medical Center. US Navy photo)
Freighters dock off the Southern California coast on a smoggy day. (Photo: Matt Gush, via Shutterstock) 
