Posts Tagged: Scott Wiener

News

Will California follow Oregon’s ‘strategic’ approach to psychedelics?

Image courtesy of 24K-Production

There is a growing acceptance in mental health circles that some psychedelics – particularly psilocybin, MDMA, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and mescaline – have great promise for treating certain mental health disorders, including post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. But some observers fear legalizing it could kick off a psilocybin Gold Rush that emphasizes profits over patient care.

Opinion

To solve the climate crisis, we need the full picture

The climate crisis, image by Marti Bug Catcher

OPINION: Sound investment decisions depend on access to sound information, and when it comes to assessing the climate impacts associated with large companies’ activities and products, we are flying blind. That is why I ardently support California’s Senate Bill 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act.

News

Rising Stars: Cassidy Denny, Legislative Director for Sen. Angelique Ashby

Cassidy Denny, image by Scott Duncan Photography

Cassidy Denny, Legislative Director to Senator Angelique Ashby, did not envision joining the policy world when she was recruited to Colorado State University to play volleyball as an undergraduate. It wasn’t until Denny learned about the policies behind slavery and other tragedies involving Black history on a learn and serve trip to Ghana that Denny realized that she wanted to pursue a career in justice.

News

Call to legalize SF sex work going nowhere fast

Photo by Sheila Fitzgerald via Shutterstock

It’s been three months since San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen urged state lawmakers in a proposed resolution to legalize sex work in California. “It is time to recognize this and move towards decriminalization and ultimately legalization and regulation of sex work,” she says.

Podcast

Missing Data: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Sen. Scott Wiener

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: SB 932, a 2020 bill inspired by concerns about potential disparate impacts of COVID on LGBTQ people, directed the California Department of Public Health to collect sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data. A new report released by the State Auditor says that CDPH has fallen short and recommends that state law be amended to require more comprehensive practices around SOGI data collection.

Podcast

#CAHOUSING: A conversation with Asm. Buffy Wicks

Asm. Buffy Wicks, in conversation with Hannah Wiley of the Los Angeles Times, at Capitol Weekly's Conference on Housing. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol Weekly.

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Housing, and presents the Keynote for the event: A conversation between Asm. Buffy Wicks and Hannah Wiley of the Los Angeles Times.

News

Bottoms up: Should California bars serve booze until 4 am?

The scene at the Last Kind Words Saloon in Furnace Creek, in Death Valley. (Photo: Thomas Trumpeter, via Shutterstock)

Jerry Brown said the bill would cause “mayhem” and vetoed it, now its author has another plan to extend bar closing hours from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. – this time limiting it to cities that already want it. “There is no mayhem,” Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said of Brown’s memorable phrase. “That was our grumpy governor. And I love him to death, but he was wrong about this.”

News

Daybreak PAC hopes to push Legislature leftward

The state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Cassionhabib, via Shutterstock)

On March 23, about 80 people gathered on a Zoom call to launch Daybreak PAC, a political action committee aimed at moving the California Legislature to the left by supporting progressive candidates and policies. The PAC is headed by activist Jackie Fielder, an unsuccessful state Senate candidate who challenged incumbent Democrat Scott Wiener last year in San Francisco.

Analysis

Housing is core issue in SF’s Wiener-Fielder Senate race

Housing in a San Francisco neighborhood. (Photo: Bertl 123, via Shutterstock)

ANALYSIS: While most electoral contests in San Francisco are a fierce fight, incumbents up for reelection tend to have an easy run. A year ago, few thought that State Senator Scott Wiener would have difficulty defending his District 11 seat. When activist and first-time candidate Jackie Fielder came in second in the spring primary – 33% to Wiener’s 56% — people started to comment on the race.

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