A homeless man sits on a bench just steps from the state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: christianthiel.net, via Shutterstock)Three days after a deadly mass shooting downtown, the Sacramento City Council voted 7-2 to place a homeless measure on the November ballot. If voters approve the Emergency Homeless Shelter and Enforcement Act of 2022, could it be a statewide template?
Californnia Gov. Gavin Newsom, chatting with a homeless man in Fresno, has proposed a sweeping overhaul of California's mental health care system. (Photo: Governor's office)Newsom’s plan would create an entirely new system of civil court supervision, connecting individuals with intensive treatment and, equally important, housing. By his estimate, it would help 7,000-to-12,000 severely mentally ill people each year, many with chronic physical conditions that are worsened by life on the streets, clearly unable to care for themselves. It would not replace existing programs.
Illustration of DearCAStaffers account, now defunct, on Instagram. (Image: Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)In its brief, giddy existence, the anonymous Instagram account “DearCaStaffers” attracted thousands of followers and shared scores of secrets about lawmakers and their staff, before suddenly going dark. Beginning last week, each day brought hundreds of new followers, many of whom wrote anonymous posts about bad bosses and abusive work environments.
Room 1190 on the ground floor of the Capitol annex, looking towards the rear from the stage. (Photo: KQED.org)OPINION:Cage matches between the media and elected officials have become an expected part of the current, vitriolic political ecosystem. But I recall a time when California government worked smoothly with the “fourth estate” to drive good policy, inform residents and have some pizazz while doing so.
This episode we welcome California Assemblymember Ash Kalra to talk about the biggest bill of 2022 so far: AB 1400, the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act. The bill (and a companion Constitutional amendment, ACA 11) would create a single-payer healthcare system administrated by the state. Kalra spoke with Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster about his hopes for the bill, how it differs from its predecessor SB 562, and why he believes that California needs a single-payer system.
A smog L.A. skyline looms in the background. (Photo: Matt Gush, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Sadly, some Sacramento legislators choose to ignore democratic principles and are, once again, attempting to push their “state-knows-best” attitude and diminish local control at the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Voters elect local city councils and mayors to represent our best interests. In turn, these elected officials select from among themselves the members of the SCAQMD governing board.
The existing annex of the state Capitol in Sacramento. Photo: (Department of General Services)Sacramento’s core is being transformed by an array of construction and infrastructure improvements — much to the ire of detour-weary motorists. But the centerpiece of the building has nothing to do with the city —it’s the state Capitol’s annex, which contains a hive of government offices.
The California state Capitol at dusk. (Photo: Karin Hildebrand Lau, via Shutterstock)You are an incumbent officeholder. You’d like to keep on being an incumbent officeholder. That means a re-election campaign – you know, where you kowtow to special interests, rail against fraud and waste and, above all, avoid being called “one of those Sacramento politicians” — even if you are one of those Sacramento politicians.
The Assembly chamber at the state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov, via Shutterstock)California courts are occasionally faced with scrutinizing the lawmakers’ decisions to label some bills as urgency statutes and others as special statutes. It may sound unexciting, but the reality is this: The courts’ rulings can affect millions of Californians.
Scott Lay (Photo: John Howard)In the months after California voters removed Gray Davis from office, I would roll out of bed at 5:30 a.m. and log on to find a document waiting for me. It was from Scott Lay. The document was the rough draft of that morning’s edition of The Roundup, a daily email digest of California political news and information that went to nearly 10,000 subscribers.