Graphic by Judd Hertzler. Photo by Tim FosterThe atmospherics surrounding the Top 100 list vary slightly from year to year, but they usually stem from such things as elections, retirements, hires, campaign staffing, bureaucratic shuffling, news stories and who’s doing what to whom. Normally, we set up interviews in coffee shops or, better yet, taverns, and pick the brains of people who know the Capitol. Not this year.
Students walking on the UC Berkeley campus, pre-pandemic times. (Photo: Ioana Catalina E, via Shutterstock)Michael V. Drake: Welcome back to California. Drake, a medical doctor, is the new president of the sprawling University of California, one of the world’s premier academic institutions. Drake, 70, is the first African American to hold the position in the university’s 152-year history. He took over this week, replacing the retiring Janet Napolitano.
Rose Kapolczynski, a veteran campaign and communications strategist with more than three decades of experience joins Tim Foster and John Howard on the Capitol Weekly Podcast to chat about politics and the pandemic. Rose is best known for running former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer’s campaigns, from Boxer’s initial upset victory in 1992 in the “Year of the Woman” to her final race against Carly Fiorina in 2010.
A California voter casts a ballot by mail. (Photo: vepar5, via Shutterstock)When Californians went to the polls in March, the big news was the consolidation of the Democratic primary contest. Few would have expected that we were also effectively seeing the end of the primary election season — with subsequent elections throughout the spring either cancelled or run under the cloud of a viral pandemic.
The state Capitol is on COVID-19 lockdown for at least another few weeks, with most legislators and staff working from home. So the Capitol Weekly Podcast tracked down longtime Senate staffer Kip Lipper, the environmental guru of the upper house.
A woman wearing a surgical mask for protection against the coronavirus. Photo: Maridav, via Shutterstock)When a person who has been sexually assaulted or is trying to escape a domestic violent situation comes to either of Community Solutions’ two offices, they will notice two things. First, the doors are open. Second, the waiting room has no chairs. As is the case with all of California’s 84 rape crisis centers, Community Solutions is continuing to provide services to clients in need during the COVID-19 crisis.