Mauricio Torres. Photo by Ellie Appleby for Capitol Weekly. Whether he’s deciphering complex policy language or hiking renowned trails like the Inca Trail or the W Trek in Patagonia, Mauricio Torres Jr. approaches it all with confidence, curiosity and a deep connection to the communities he serves.
The California state Capitol at dusk. (Photo: Karin Hildebrand Lau, via Shutterstock)This was crossover week, and both chambers considered hundreds of bills that only a few days before had cleared their respective suspense hearings. Here is a smattering of some of the significant action under the dome this week.
California State Capitol building. Image by rschlieLawmakers returned from their spring break bills in hand and loaded for bear. This week’s edition of Capitol Briefs takes a look at some of those measures.
Image by FeverpitchedOPINION – Major League Baseball is officially couch-surfing in Sacramento. The sport’s nomads, the Athletics, opened the 2025 season last Monday and now will spend the next three years at Sutter Health Park, pristine home of the Pacific Coast League’s Sacramento River Cats.
The A’s don’t need a room, thanks; the sofa’s fine. They don’t
Image by ogichobanovCalifornia’s official rulemaking process is, to say the last, incredibly complex. In this second of a two-part Micheli Files, lobbyist and law professor Chris Micheli examines more aspects of that process. Part I of can be found here.
Modified screen cap from This is Gavin Newsom PodcastCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom released the first episode in his new podcast “This is Gavin Newsom,” in which he vows to “to have honest discussions with people that agree AND disagree with us.” On that last point his first guest was conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk. While some in and out of the Democratic Party praised Newsom for his effort, a majority were not happy in the least.
Scheduler Anna Esparza. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol WeeklyGetting a meeting with a lawmaker at the California State Capitol is often an exercise in patience and flexibility, one that generally has multiple moving parts. And no matter who is doing the asking, the process almost always starts with the same person – the scheduler.
Capitol and flag, by Karin Hildebrand LauTrump 2.0 is already in full swing and California leaders are as well. Budget bills related to the L.A. fires are ready to go, and the Capitol says goodbye to an old friend.
CO2 emission reduction, image by Thawatchai ChawongOPINION – The need for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in any climate change strategy is widely acknowledged, from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Lab.
Image by MariuszSzczygielJust days after several gaming tribes filed suit to block “California Blackjack” and other Las Vegas-style games in cardrooms, the tribes requested a temporary restraining order on Tuesday to prevent the cardrooms from erasing any security videos of allegedly illegal games being played at their facilities.