Posts Tagged: resources

Opinion

Medi-Cal can play active role in preventing domestic violence

A photo illustration of the impact of a parental argument on their child. (Photo: YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Medi-Cal provides health insurance for more than 14.5 million California residents with low incomes. As Medi-Cal moves to improve outcomes for vulnerable populations, it is uniquely positioned to support survivors and to foster the prevention of intimate partner violence.

News

From prison to wildfires: Inmate program gathers momentum

Inmate firefighters head to the Colleen Fire in the Santa Teresa Foothills near San Jose. (Photo: Jaden Schaul, via Shutterstock)

The law that offers wildfire-fighting inmates a chance to clean up their records in hopes of civilian careers got off to a slow start last year as administrators crafted rules for the procedure, but now, with those rules in place, the prison-to-profession pipeline is starting to take shape.

News

California’s drought, relentless and inexorable, takes its toll

A drought-stricken tree at sunset. (Photo: PG_Traveler, via Shutterstock)

With the rainy season come and gone, drought’s withered hand remained firmly fixed on California this month, as it has been, with few exceptions, for the last decade. Woes pile up. Rain didn’t save us, the snowpack is all but gone, the Coastal Commission says no desalinating sea water, and urban-interface fires have already begun.

Opinion

California is bungling its chance for historic privacy protections

An illustration of the California Consumer Privacy Agency in a digital universe. (Photo: iD_studio, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California’s new online privacy agency is openly defying the voter-approved proposition that created it. The agency’s board has thus far sidestepped its obligation to keep staff from bungling a historic opportunity to ensure the first comprehensive privacy regulations in the nation are just, equitable and fair.

Opinion

California must resist out-of-state sports betting operators

The sports bar at the Sunset Station Casino in Las Vegas. (Photo: Kit Leong, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: This year, California voters could be asked to decide among multiple options for legalizing sports wagering. As tribal leaders who have honored decades of trust created with California voters, it’s important for voters to understand what’s at stake.

News

Amid climate change, alternative energy issues get close look

Vertical-axis wind turbines in California. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)

Officials with jurisdiction over about 80 percent of California’s power grid say the state faces a grim outlook as summer heat, wildfires and a severe drought intensify. Hoping to reduce strain on the power grid, experts are looking at alternative energy generation, distribution and storage. Some of these systems, inspired in part by the meltdown of California’s electricity market two decades ago, already are in place across the state.

Opinion

Aerial firefighting: A crucial tool to protect resources

An air tanker drops retardant on the Olinda Fire burning in Anderson, Calif., October, 2020. Photo: Stratos Brilakis, via Shutterstock

OPINION: As lawmakers across the country return to their Capitol posts, some are kicking off the new year with legislation calling for increased wildfire resources, funding, upgrades, and additional aircraft and crew.

Opinion

Locals, feds stepping up to confront homelessness emergency

Homeless encampments along the Ocean Front Walk in Venice, Calif. (Photo: Luis A Chavez, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: After living on the streets of Venice for many months, Morris celebrated his 77th birthday in a motel room, thanks to the dedication of outreach workers at St. Joseph Center and a room made available through Project Roomkey. The COVID-19 pandemic removed many bureaucratic obstacles, including opportunities for opponents to halt such projects, that have impeded other homeless housing programs.

News

CA120: The lowdown on ‘ballot harvesting’

An illustration of voters preparing their ballots for mailing. (Image: Lightspring, via Shutterstock)

A recent dustup with the California Republican Party using unofficial dropboxes as a version of so-called “ballot harvesting” has brought the state’s ballot delivery process under a national spotlight. Much of this controversy can be attributed to the misleading way in which the law has been interpreted, most commonly by people who are trying to conjure up scandal and supposed misdeeds by campaigns that organize such efforts and win.

News

COVID-19: Groups form to help undocumented immigrants

Immigrant workers harvest strawberries in a Salinas field. (Photo: David A. Litman, via Shutterstock)

While we remain in the throes of an increasingly savage pandemic, policy makers at all levels of government are trying to soften the impact of the outbreak on our physical and financial health. But they are not the only ones: A group of little-known organizations are trying to ease the impact on an especially vulnerable community — undocumented immigrants.

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