Posts Tagged: random

News

CA120: Redistricting commission gets up to speed

A close-up of part of Northern California from a map of the United States. (Photo: SevenMaps, via Shutterstock)

The California Citizen’s Redistricting Commission has now seated all 14 members that will redraw the state’s legislative, congressional and Board of Equalization seats in 2021. This team is comprised of eight commissioners selected through a random draw among 35 finalists, and the remaining six are chosen through a selection process intended to balance out the commission on a number of factors, including race, ethnicity, gender, geography and skill sets.

News

Stem cell initiative poised to qualify for November

Signature gathering during the 2018 election cycle. (Photo: Michael Gordon, via Shutterstock)

The $5.5 billion California stem cell initiative is virtually certain to qualify for the fall ballot as the arithmetic of the signature count begins to fall into place. The measure needs only slightly more than the 67 percent of the signatures that remain to be verified as coming from registered voters. The qualification percentage of raw signatures so far is 78 percent.

Analysis

CA120: The changing nature of public polls

An image depicting the varied responses in political polling. (Illustration: Tim Foster/Capitol Weekly),

ANALYSIS: The public opinion polling industry in many ways is at a crossroads. For years public polls were run with live telephone interviews using a system of “random digit dialing” or RDD, which allowed a poll to be based on samples which would be naturally balanced since all potential voters had the same probability to be administered a phone survey.

Analysis

CA120: Conspiracy, numbers in the Lopez-Bocanegra battle

Patty Lopez and Raul Bocanegra (Illustration by Tim Foster/Capitol Weekly)

If someone comes to you and says, “I won my election because I was the first name on the ballot,” you should immediately check for the tinfoil hat — and then show them the door. The notion that a democratic election for something as important as a legislative or congressional seat, or even a city council, can be decided by the order on a ballot is the domain of wild conspiracy theorists. Until it actually happens.

News

Privacy getting taken for a ride

A ride-sharing illustration. Photo: PP77LSK, via Shutterstock)

It’s as if they can read your mind: Before customers even ask to be picked up, apps let Uber or Lyft know you’ll need them. That’s because personal data housed in smart phones tell ride-sharing companies when and where their customers most frequently need rides. It’s innovated the car-service industry, critics say, at the expense of users’ privacy.

News

Doctors’ drug tests: a divisive issue

A surgical team works on a patient. (Photo: AUSaid)

On Oct. 23, 2013, San Diego physician Dr. Scott D. Greer submitted urine and hair samples to an investigator for the Medical Board of California, which oversees physician licensing and discipline. Laboratory tests found the samples to be positive for opiates and oxycodone, but not for alcohol. Nearly one year later, on Sept. 8, Greer was placed on probation for seven years by the board. His license was suspended for 30 days, effective Oct. 24

News

Health care and the six-state split

A plan crafted by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper to carve California into six states would do a lot more than change the lines on a map. It would have a profound effect on California’s health care system, which is now in a dramatic transition because of the Affordable Care Act.

News

Gay-rights activists tackle death certificates

Death certificates are the latest battleground for gay rights advocates trying to ensure that the gender a person identifies with in life carries over into death. A bill introduced recently aimed at ensuring the death certificates of transgender persons reflect their chosen gender is the latest legislative effort to vouchsafe the rights of this small category of Californians.

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