A homeless student sleeps on a park bench at night. (Photo: E_Photos, via Shutterstock)Facing the pandemic and financial woes, California’s community colleges are struggling to provide programs to meet some of their students’ most basic needs, such as food and shelter. The efforts come as many community college students report a loss of income, increased h0melessness and a worsening financial situation.
Presidential contender Elizabeth Warren at a 2019 rally in San Diego. (Photo: John Hancock, via Shutterstock) For the past year, Capitol Weekly has conducted over 10,000 surveys of likely Democratic primary election voters. These surveys have emailed Democratic and nonpartisan voters each month, asking them to complete a survey, and tracked their responses back to their voter registration to allow us to analyze candidate support by ethnicity, age, partisanship, and other factors.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders walking in the Independence Day parade with supporters in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, FlickrCalifornia’s likely voters increasingly support Sen. Bernie Sanders in the March 3 Democratic presidential primary, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden following closely, according to Capitol Weekly’s January tracking poll. Sanders, who is capturing strong support from Latinos, has taken the lead in our survey for the first time since we began polling the Democratic field in September.
A woman and her pet on an errand in LA. (Photo: oneinchpunch, via Shutterstock)California judges can now consider what is in the best interests of a pet when deciding animal custody cases in divorce disputes. A new law that went into effect Jan. 1 is intended to elevate pets above other community property like furniture or cars.
Graduates at ceremonies at Santa Monica City College. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)From housing to college, Californians are complaining about affordability. As parents and students grapple with their future, many are looking towards alternatives to the typical four-year degree. Many are focusing more on careers, jobs, benefits, and steady careers that fulfill their interests.
Telephone poles with their land-line wires fade into the sunset of a California highway. (Photo: Ethan Daniels.)For decades, polling relied on a strong pool of easily reached voters with a traditional land-line telephone. Before caller-ID became prevalent, nearly every call was answered as long as someone was home. But now more voters are untethered from traditional phones (I haven’t had a land line since 1998), and those who do still have them complain that most incoming calls are from telemarketers.
Shasta Lake in August 2014. (Photo: David Greitzer, Shutterstock)As the state suffers through its fourth year of drought, most Californians say the lack of water is the single most important environmental issue facing the state, a dramatic increase over the number who expressed similar concerns a year ago. A survey by the nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California reported that 58 percent of Californians ranked the drought as the top issue — up 23 points from July 2014 and up 50 points from July 2011.