An owner of a small business is ready for customers. (Photo: SaiArLawKa2, via Shutterstock)OPINION: As the fifth largest economy in the world, California is home to heavyweight economic industries: Silicon Valley, the entertainment industry, agriculture, tourism, and more. But anyone who lives here knows that there’s also a boom in the number of people who are starting their own microbusinesses.
Stacked shipping containers awaiting distribution at the Port of Los Angeles. (Photo: Angel DiBilio, via Shutterstock)The pandemic economy has catalyzed changes for California businesses and consumers. Take the impacts of the state’s system of ports that connect with the movement of goods to 40 million residents.
Hollywood Boulevard at dusk in Los Angeles. (Sean Pavone, via Shutterstock)Americans disagree about California. And at least part of the argument hinges on politics. Republicans don’t think much of California; Democrats like the place. According to a recent YouGov study, Republicans list California as the worst state. Only Washington D. C., which is not a state, ranks below California in Republicans’ estimation.
Workers at a February 2021 demonstration protesting Amazon's policies. (Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Our nation finds itself at a major crossroads. The anti-democratic forces that have sought to delegitimize the 2020 presidential election continue their movement to attack free and fair elections, aided and abetted by companies like Google and Facebook.
A view of downtown San Jose, a portion of Silicon Valley, the Tech Museum, and the McEnery Convention Center. (Photo: stellamc, via Shutterstock)OPINION: We have an opportunity for community voices to remind policymakers that our state’s technology sector has been a true bright spot as digital tools, platforms, and services continue to serve as a tide that lifts all boats.
A California school classroom. (Photo: Monkey Business Imagesd, via Shutterstock)An initiative to reclaim up to $12 billion for California public schools and local communities could make its way onto the ballot in November 2020. Proponents of the measure say it will force large corporations to pay their fair share in property taxes. The Schools & Communities First initiative would amend the current property tax law established under Proposition 13 in 1978.
A photo illustration of an cyber attacker on the internet. (Photo: Alexander Geiger, via Shutterstock OPINION: Germany never accepted defeat in World War I, and it used the next 22 years to re-imagine the internal-combustion engine into a series of devastating weapons, and then to deploy those weapons in combinations never before seen on the field of battle. At the same time, its leaders undermined domestic democratic institutions to solidify its power. Their motive was simple: revenge. I fear a similar dynamic is at play in 2019.
Photo of candidate Steve Poizner from his official websiteThe first person to hold statewide office in California without aligning with a political party could be Steve Poizner. He is vying for the seat left open by Dave Jones, who is running for state attorney general. Poizner’s main opponents are Democrats Sen. Ricardo Lara and physician Asif Mahmood. The Department of Insurance has more than 1,300 employees and a $250 million budget. It oversees the state’s $300 billion insurance market, the largest in the country.
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.
A street scene in crowded, affluent San Francisco. (Photo: ChameleonsEye, via Shutterstock)“These are the progressive policies that have made California the sixth largest economy on planet Earth,” De León said. We won’t wade into the debate over whether progressive or other policies have positioned the state’s economy on such a high perch. But we will examine the provocative “sixth largest economy on planet Earth” claim by itself.