A photo illustration of a driver on the road. (Image: Minerva Studio, via Shutterstock)OPINION: California’s track record regarding treatment of its teachers is mediocre at best. Budget cuts, overcrowded classrooms, a lack of school supplies, paychecks completely out of touch with the cost of living—teachers know what it’s like to be low priority.
Rush-hour traffic on the 405 in L.A. (Photo: Vince360, via Shutterstock)OPINION: We now know that good and responsible drivers in predominantly African-American and Latino communities are being punished and penalized based on where they live, rather than how they drive. We have the power to change that by giving consumers the option of using technologies such as telematics.
A photo illustration of a young boy in immigration custody. (Image: Suzanne Tucker, via Shutterstock)OPINION: As our country bears witness to the horrific attacks and reckless hate unleashed against immigrants, we must find truth and power in the basic principles of solidarity and justice. This begins with the simple premise that defending our values starts at home, and California is home to more immigrants than any state in the Union. Any confrontation with injustice against immigrants must necessarily hold accountable the institutions that perpetuate oppression.
A worker removes asbestos-laden material from a building roof. (Photo: Bjoern Wylezich)OPINION: I think it’s fair to say that the health of children should be of the utmost importance to pretty much everyone, but we’ve let them down. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that is still legal in the United States and children are regularly exposed to the toxin.
Multiple users of wireless devices check their hand-helds. (Photo: Andrey_Popov, via Shutterstock)Few people know that there are federal safety limits for exposure to the weak radiation emitted by cellphones and other wireless devices. There often is language about this embedded right in our phones, but finding it requires knowing where to look, wading through sometimes five or more steps and then making sense of the technical jargon.
A rabbit in a cosmetic testing laboratory. (Photo: By Artfully Photographer)OPINION: There’s been heightened discussion in Sacramento about a bill that could eliminate the sale of many cosmetics and personal care products in California. Senate Bill 1249 proposes to ban the sale of any cosmetic and cosmetic ingredient that has undergone animal testing, even if required by California or other governments.
A rain storm floats over California. (Photo: Serkan Senturk, via Shutterstock)After a historically wet season last year, relatively little precipitation has fallen this year in California during two of the three historically wettest months. Officials are urging stricter water conservation and caution drier months ahead. After last week’s rains, the Sierra snowpack — a critical factor in water availability — climbed to just 39 percent of normal. More rain is coming, but the question remains: Will it be enough to block the impacts of a resumption of the drought?
An indoor marijuana grow in California. (Photo: Mitch M., via Shutterstock)OPINION: No one expected California’s legalization of recreational cannabis, barely two months’ old, to be without plenty of problems. In a mixed metaphor so often the trait of politicians, state Sen. Mike McGuire noted, “… as I have always said, this is a tall mountain to climb and we are currently building the airplane and flying it at the same time.”
A pharmaceutical worker examines drugs at a dispensary. (Photo: i viewfinder, via Shutterstock)The PBMs originated in the 1960s to help health plans, self-insured employers and government entities, among others, to negotiate prescription drug prices and efficiently distribute medications. Since then, they have evolved into a money-making industry without regulations, experts say. By one estimate, three major PBM companies had a staggering $270 billion in revenues in 2014.
An aerial view of an affluent suburban housing tract in California. (Photo: Lightspot, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Either reduce the torrent of regulatory burdens on California home builders or face a future of high housing costs and stunted economic growth. So concludes Loren Kaye, president of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education, who penned one of several articles issued last month through the Center for California Real Estate (CCRE).