Image by ssi77 via shutterstockOPINION Gov. Gavin Newsom recently rejected the idea of a tax hike on Californians to balance the state budget. So, why is Senator Monique Limon considering the idea of taxing people who stay in short-term rentals and burdening regular Californians who share their home?
A skateboarder in action. (Photo: Shawn Henry)Shelter-in-place has pushed consumers of varying ages to skateboarding in unprecedented numbers, creating a dramatic increase in participation and sales. Unfortunately, California’s COVID-19 regulations limiting public gatherings have also slowed the manufacturing and distribution of skateboard equipment, causing historic supply disruptions.
Robert Klein, who spent six years as the state stem cell agency's chairman, addresses issues related to the November ballot initiative. (Photo: David Jensen, California Stem Cell Report)The folks who are trying to save the $3 billion California stem cell agency from financial extinction are using a well-worn technique that goes back to ancient Egypt, at least by some accounts. It is expensive, depending on what you are peddling, and generates a return as low as 1 percent. It is direct mail, but with a significant twist.
A couple watches as a wildfire creeps closer. (Photo: Logan Bush, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Around 25 years ago, Patricia immigrated to the U.S., settling in Santa Barbara with dreams of a better life. She cleans homes for a living in communities like Montecito and San Ysidro. During the Thomas Fire, she couldn’t go to work because many of the homes she cleaned were at risk. As mudslides came after the blaze, Patricia couldn’t go back to work for almost three months.
State Senate Leader Kevin de León at a conference last year in Mexico City. (Photo: Fernando Ramirez, El Universal, via AP)The contrast between Kevin de León and his political opponent Dianne Feinstein is stark. De León, the leader of the state Senate, grew up in the San Diego barrio of Logan Heights. His mother cleaned houses and did odd jobs to support the family. Feinstein grew up in a wealthy family in a posh section of San Francisco, the daughter of a prominent surgeon and a beautiful mother.
Crowded housing on a San Francisco hillside. (Photo: Radislav Leyck)The housing crisis — “debacle” might be a better way of putting it — has no quick or easy solution. For decades, housing production has not kept up with population growth in California, leaving Californians to struggle with soaring bills, longer commutes and more people living under one roof.
Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer and several fellow Democrats at the state Capitol. i>(Photo: State Assembly)Meet the progressives, an outgrowth of California’s Democratic political landscape. As Democrats began their dominance in California over 20 years, they saw their electoral success expand out of urban centers into wealthier suburban enclaves, such as Pasadena, Calabasas, and Walnut Creek.
A homeless man feeds the birds on an L.A. street. (Photo: Laurin Rinder)Two recent studies have confirmed it: In California, poverty exists in the most unlikely places.