Posts Tagged: researchers

News

Progress made, but strike of UC academic workers drags on

Students and academic workers walk a picket line at UC Davis. (Photo: David Kn

As final exams neared in the 10-campus University of California system, United Auto Workers Local 5810 representing postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers announced that it reached a tentative five-year agreement with the University amid a strike that began on Nov. 14. This bargaining unit with 12,000 of the 48,000 striking UC workers will vote to ratify the tentative new contract to run through Sept. 30, 2027.

Opinion

California’s paid family leave left new parents behind

Three happy fathers walking in the park with thier children. (Photo: Olesia Bilkei, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The Talk. Read. Sing.® campaign’s singing birds have been coaching us on one key note: the first years of each child’s life are a game changer. That’s because 90% of a child’s brain development happens before the age of five. However, there’s also a narrow window in a newborn baby’s life when bonding with a parent has a profound impact on their development and future success — making those first few months matter, too.

News

Trump action on fetal tissue research affects California

Cell research in a laboratory. (Photo: SBshot87, via Shutterstock)

President Trump has sharply cut back on federal funding for fetal tissue research in a move denounced as both politically motivated and destructive of the hopes of millions of Americans suffering from life-threatening diseases. 

News

Here’s the buzz on disappearing bees

Bee hives for pollination in an almond orchard in California's Central Valley. (Photo: Richard Thornton, via Shutterstock)

As the world faces a declining bee population, California almond growers say they are doing their best to promote bee health. Over the last few weeks, bee keepers from all over the U.S. were in the Central Valley releasing bees to pollinate the almond crops. Almond growers use about 75 percent of the commercial beehives in the country to pollinate their crops.

News

Enter the programmer: Lobbying, money and data

California's state Capitol in Sacramento, home of the goverrnor's office and Legislature (Photo: Shutterstock)

A huge piece of political spending involves the payments by well-heeled interest groups to lobbyists – there are about 1,800 lobbyists registered in California — who represent their clients before the Legislature and state government. In 2017, these groups spent about $339 million. Dave Middleton, a local programmer and former political operative has created what he says will be a useful, open-source tool to help researchers and journalists to follow the money.

Opinion

Marina bears heavy burden in desalination dispute

Marina Beach north of Monterey, near the site of a planned desalination plant. (Photo: Marina Coast Water District)

In parched, drought-stricken California, where water is considered liquid gold, the politics of power and wealth are playing out in real-time. The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) recent decision to allow the California American Water Company (Cal-Am) to proceed with its Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project desalination plant is great news – that is, if you live in Carmel, Pacific Grove or Monterey.

News

State stem cell agency gets global industry partners

Stem cell embroyo, mitosis under a microscope. (Photo: Andrii Vodolazhskyi. via Shutterstock)

California’s drive to produce a stem cell therapy is ratcheting up a notch with announcement of two new, global industry partners along with a plan to engage more companies and give them “direct access” to hundreds of millions of dollars in state-funded research.

News

Science: Companies in legal scrapes turn to Menlo Park firm

Illustration: Quentin Lueninghoener, FairWarning

FairWarning: The formula has turned the firm, now named Exponent, Inc., into a publicly traded giant in litigation defense and regulatory science. It’s a go-to destination for major industries with liability problems – even as it is derided by critics as a hired gun whose findings are for sale.

Analysis

PolitiFact: Kamala Harris and veterans’ suicides

PolitiFact's Truth-o-Meter

In her campaign for U.S. Senate, California Attorney General Kamala Harris has pledged to “clean up” the scandals and reduce wait times at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The issue, Harris has said, is a matter of life and death.

Opinion

Road charge: A funding option

An L.A. freeway interchange at dusk. (Photo: Shutterstock)

OPINION: California drivers are bearing the burden of the state’s transportation funding crisis, with the average driver spending more than $500 a year to repair the wear and tear on their vehicle caused by bad roads. Gas tax revenues currently fund most of the state’s road maintenance and repairs, but gas tax revenues are declining as cars become more fuel efficient and as drivers adopt hybrids and electric vehicles.

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