The state Capitol in Sacramento, late in the day. (Photo: Adonis Villanueva, via Shutterstock)A bipartisan group of state legislators are urging increased funding for California’s 84 rape crisis centers as reports of sexual assault and domestic violence rise under COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders.
An eye chart seen through a pair of glasses. (Photo: Coprid, via Shutterstock)OPINION: With all that we do to try to help our children succeed at school, we are failing to properly screen students for correctable vision problems that can hinder learning.
Demonstrators protesting police conduct at a gathering in Capitol Park, Sacramento, October 2014. (Photo: Rachael Towne)An effort is under way to make California the first state in the nation to have its top law enforcement officer independently investigate deaths in police custody, bypassing the prosecutors in California’s 58 counties. Under the plan, the state attorney general would appoint a special prosecutor to direct an investigation when a civilian dies as a result of deadly physical force by a peace officer.
Two senior women exercising at a health club. (Photo: Karel Hoppe)A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in January weakens the “vested rights” protection of retiree health care based on a labor contract, potentially making it easier for government employers to cut a growing cost. The high court overturned an influential federal appeals court ruling that said retiree health care authorized by a short-term labor contract is presumed to be a lifetime benefit, unless the contract has clear language to the contrary.