Image via Istock. used with permissonCalifornia prison spending for 2023-24 in the proposed $297 billion state budget is up to $14.5 billion – even as the prisoner population drops.
A liquid nitrogen bank containing a suspension of stem cells for biomedical research. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich, via Shutterstock)California is planning on spending $49,000 an hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the next year to help scientists develop what some describe as “miraculous” cures and treatments for currently deadly afflictions. The spending plan was approved with no fuss last month while state lawmakers and the governor wrestled more noisily with a $308 billion state budget
Youngsters receiving instruction online during the pandemic. (Photo: adriaticfoto, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Back to school time typically comes with its own host of challenges, from making sure you’ve purchased all of the required school supplies to helping your child readjust to an early morning wake-up call. But this year is different. Many Californians are continuing to adapt to the “new normal,” and that means the way they are choosing to educate their children is changing too.
A researcher handles a liquid nitrogen bank containing suspended stem cells. (Photo: Elena Pavlovich, via Shutterstock)OPINION: In our new financial reality, our state and you as voters are faced with tough decisions. Come November, you will decide the fate of California’s stem cell institute. This decision has never been more important to the future of California’s health care, for the patients and their families, than it is now.
A photo illustration of a tight budget. <(Image: Syda Productions, via Shutterstock)The rise of unemployment, dwindling tax revenues, emergency spending to fight COVID-19 and renewed fears of wildfires this year are throwing deep strains on the state budget for the new fiscal year that begins just weeks from now.
Photo illustration of a sexual assault survivor: (Image: Joe Techapanupreeda, via Shutterstock)Despite a continued rise in California’s cost of living and the increase in the centers’ operating expenses, the state’s general fund contribution to its 84 rape crisis centers remains at $45,000 and $1.7 million from the State Penalty Fund, far less than the funding from the federal government through Congressional appropriations.