Image by EyeEm Mobile GmbHOPINION – Upgrading California’s schools to be climate-safe will be a monumental task, but it begins with a plan. That’s why we support SB 1182, recently passed by the California legislature, which would require the state to create a master plan to enhance the health, safety, and resilience of our schools.
Assemblymembers Anthony Rendon and James Gallagher. Photo by AP. A new California Assembly committee is exploring the reasons why some people are happier with their lives than others. Headed by former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), the Select Committee on Happiness and Public Policy Outcomes has had two hearings this year.
Coins and banknote in a glass jar placed on the textbook. Concept money saving for education.OPINION – Prior to the pandemic there was a clearer delineation between traditional schools and more flexible “nonclassroom-based public charter schools.” The old-line educational world looked down on teaching that did not involve 100% in-person instruction. But the pandemic changed the point of view of many teachers, parents, and students and realigned the education world around recognizing the value and benefits of more innovative, flexible, and personalized learning models that have demonstrated a track record of success with diverse populations of students for decades.
Photo by Associated PressCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom has made national headlines touting his plan to add a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would implement what he’s called “common sense constitutional protections and gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, independent voters, and gun owners overwhelmingly support.” But there is not universal agreement that California’s gun laws actually amount to a functional ban on assault weapons.
Image by Jacob LundOPINION – The Orange County Sustainability Decathlon (OCSD) is a new state-sponsored competition, courtesy State Senator Dave Min, which challenges college students to build housing units that address the climate crisis (as well as workforce development, homelessness, and affordable housing).
Image by palidachanOPINION: Our schools should be safe places for our children to learn, thrive, and build community. But California schools are not equipped for the challenges that we are already experiencing as a result of climate change – especially heat and wildfire smoke.
Lucia Saldivar, photo by Scott Duncan PhotographyGrowing up in San Ysidro, just this side of the California-Mexico border, Lucia Saldivar thought she was going to be a musician, like her father. “Music always helped me make sense of the world and my community,” she says. “Then in high school, I learned a new language to help make sense of the world around me, and that was politics and policy.”
A children's playground cloaked in greenery. (Photo: JameSit, via Shutterstock)OPINION: From San Diego to Sacramento, the threat of rising temperatures to our youth continues to worsen. And as six million California public school students return to class this month, they’ll be walking onto schoolyards covered with asphalt – prison-like, unhealthy environments that are detrimental to a kid’s physical, mental and educational health.
From San Diego to Sacramento, the threat of rising temperatures to our youth continues to worsen. And as six million California public school students return to class this month, they’ll be walking onto schoolyards covered with asphalt – prison-like, unhealthy environments that are detrimental to a kid’s physical, mental and educational health.
An eerie orange sky over San Francisco, caused by smoke from wildfires linked to climate change. (Photo: Benny Marty, via Shutterstock)OPINION: For decades, I helped shape the state’s policy priorities as a senior member of the Assembly Speaker’s Office – including being the lead Assembly staffer on the historic passage of AB 32, which made California the first state in the nation to place caps on greenhouse gas emissions. So trust me when I say, California’s elected leaders have a huge opportunity to stave off the worst impacts of climate change by enacting the governor’s current Climate Budget.
A crowd at the Santa Monica pier during the height of the pandemic. Some people wear masks, some don't.(Photo: Hanson L, via Shutterstock)To mask or not to mask? That is the question — and there are a lot of answers. California on March 1 lifted its rule requiring unvaccinated people to wear masks in most indoor settings, but still strongly recommended that everyone wear masks indoors while in public. After fully two years of self-imposed isolation and masking, many people were delighted with the move.