Posts Tagged: review

News

Stem cell: California’s ARS and its multibillion-dollar clout

The Lorry I. Loke Stem Cell Research Building at Stanford University. (Photo: CIRM)

California’s taxpayer-financed stem cell agency will give away $98 million later this week, but the agency’s full, 35-member board is not going to have much to do with making decisions about who gets what. That’s because 17 members of the governing board are barred from voting on applications for any of its research awards, which will ultimately total roughly $5 billion over the next decade or so.

News

Newsom facing Republican-led recall election

Gov. Gavin Newsom at a Capitol event in January. (AP Photo, Rich Pedroncelli)

A Republican-led effort to oust Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has gathered enough signatures to place the recall before voters on the statewide ballot. The announcement Monday by the secretary of state means that Newsom is likely to confront voters later this year.

Opinion

PUC should speedily okay Verizon’s purchase of TracFone

A smart phone user with his device. (Photo: TK Studio, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: With the continued struggles exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vitally important for consumers, especially historically underserved consumers and business communities to have access to reliable and affordable mobile services.

Opinion

Childcare in a locked-down world

Youngsters at play in a kindergarten.. Photo: Robert Kneschke, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: A recent television news headline asked, “Can day cares stay open amid coronavirus outbreak?” The answer has been confusing to many – school are closed, shouldn’t childcare centers be, too? Why are these groups of people okay but not others? What about the safety of the kids and staff?

News

Stem cell agency: $16 million-plus in grants

A stem cell researcher at work. (Photo: 18percentgrey, via Shutterstock)

The California stem cell agency handed out $16.4 million in research grants seeking therapies for afflictions ranging from gum disease and cancer to vision loss and Parkinson’s Disease. The award for Parkinson’s was relatively tiny — only $150,000 — but represented a rare case in which the agency’s governing board overturned its reviewers, who make the de facto decisions on awards

News

Dissident actuaries target pension debt

CalPERS' governing board during a 2013 meeting. (Photo: CalPERS board)

Two actuarial associations did not publish a controversial paper by their joint task force, reflecting a split in the profession over whether public pension debt should be measured with risk-free bonds or the earnings forecast for stock-laden investment funds.

News

Road dangers, digital billboards linked

Digital billboards and advertising in downtown Toronto. (Photo: SurangaSL, via Shutterstock)

Digital billboards clearly catch the eye of passing motorists. But what is also increasingly clear is that such distractions can heighten safety risks in heavy traffic and other complex driving conditions, a Berkeley-based roadway researcher says.

News

Pension spiking’s ‘poster child’

The CalPERS' governing board during a meeting several years ago at the pension fund's headquarters. (Photo: CalPERS board)

A Moraga-Orinda fire chief drew national attention six years ago for retiring at age 50 with a pension much larger than his base pay. He went back to work as chief the following Monday, hired as a consultant with full salary. “People point to me as a poster child for pension spiking, but I did not negotiate these rules,” Peter Nowicki said.

News

State urged to take lead in probing police-custody deaths

Demonstrators protesting police conduct at a gathering in Capitol Park, Sacramento, October 2014. (Photo: Rachael Towne)

An effort is under way to make California the first state in the nation to have its top law enforcement officer independently investigate deaths in police custody, bypassing the prosecutors in California’s 58 counties. Under the plan, the state attorney general would appoint a special prosecutor to direct an investigation when a civilian dies as a result of deadly physical force by a peace officer.

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