Posts Tagged: resources

Opinion

Don’t let the Golden State go dark

Transmission tower with power lines surrounded by trees. <(Photo: Pictures_n_Photos, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: The devastation of fire season in wine country and southern California has only been compounded by never-ending public safety power shutoffs across the state. While the purpose of power shutoffs by utility companies, like PG&E, is to prevent their uninspected equipment from catching fire during hot, windy weather, the constant lack of power is an unacceptable solution for California homeowners and business owners and their operations. 

Opinion

A chance to make high school testing more equitable

High school students taking a test. (Photo: LStockStudio, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Twenty-four states will use the SAT and/or ACT this school year for state assessments and accountability.  California students deserve the same opportunity to take these assessments for free at their schools and reap the benefit of increased access to higher education. 

News

Path to fracking eased in oil, gas drilling plans

The silhouette of a pmpjack at sunset. The jacks can remove five to 40 liters of crude oil wuith each stroke. (Photo: Ronnie Chua, via Shutterstock)

Once again, the stage is being set for a multi-pronged battle in California between environmentalists and the Trump administration. On May 9, the federal government announced plans to open 725,500 acres of public lands on California’s Central Coast and the Bay Area to new oil and gas drilling.

Opinion

Fair ‘exit fee’ critical to renewable energy future

A concentrated solar energy thermal plant in the Mojave Desert. (Photo: Piotr Zajda, via Shutterstock)

While utility responsibility related to California’s devastating wildfires is dominating headlines and the agendas of policymakers, flying below the radar is a pending decision from the California Public Utilities Commission to change the formula for a fee charged to energy consumers who leave the power supply of investor-owned utilities (IOUs) like PG&E and instead get power from local community choice aggregation programs, also known as CCAs.

Opinion

Millions of seniors pushed into poverty

A senior citizen on a pension displays the remaining funds for this month. (Photo: Gudrun Speck)

OPINION: It is no secret that Californians are living longer, but not necessarily better. By 2030, the state’s senior population will increase by 4 million people, yet the state is woefully unprepared to care for this growing and financially unstable demographic. The lack of any strategy or organized master plan has pushed millions of seniors into poverty, unable to access high-quality, affordable healthcare, dental care, housing and supportive services.

Opinion

Helping communities cope with climate change

Skyline of downtown Los Angeles on a smoggy day. (Photo0: EvijaF via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Growing up in New Orleans, summertime brought mixed feelings. It meant the end of the school year and endless snow cones, but also the beginning of hurricane season. Here in California we experience extreme heat in the summer and floods and fires throughout the year, all made worse by climate change. Unless we take action now to prepare our communities, many will suffer, some more than others.

Opinion

Human trafficking: Inspiration from the survivors

Photo illustration of a woman held captive, a victim of human trafficking. (Photo: Structuresxx, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: I’m a survivor of human trafficking. When I was 7, I was sold into trafficking by my abuser. A young woman just a few years older than me, who had also been trafficked, helped free me when I was 11 years old. I didn’t see myself as a survivor until I saw other survivors take ownership over what happened to them and transform their healing to action.

News

LAO: A summary of the governor’s 2018-19 budget

Gov. Jerry Brown presents his 2018-19 budget draft to the Legislature. (Photo: Corben Wilson, Capitol Weekly)

On Jan. 10, the governor presented his initial 2018‑19 budget plan to the Legislature. In this report, the Legislative Analyst provides a brief summary of the governor’s proposed budget. (In the coming weeks, the LAO will analyze the plan more thoroughly and release several additional budget analysis publications.)

News

New state water director appointed

Karla Nemeth, newly named director of the state Department of Water Resources. (Photo: Video screen capture)

Karla Nemeth, a veteran water official and a ranking member of the Brown administration, was named the new director of the state Department of Water Resources, part of a major shakeup at the agency,  officials said Tuesday.

News

From global warming to redistricting: Is Arnold back?

Former Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, followed by French officials, at a 2014 meeting in Paris targeting climate change. (Photo: Frederic Legrand, COMEO, via Shutterstock)

It was ‘way back in 1984 when Arnold Schwarzenegger first uttered the movie catchwords “I’ll be back” in The Terminator. Today, Arnold is back. Sort of. Now, through his Terminate Gerrymandering Crowdpac, Schwarzenegger has committed to match donations to a fund that will help Common Cause participate in a case before the Supreme Court challenging maps drawn by Wisconsin Republicans. He’s into other things, as well.

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