Rida Shaikh. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol WeeklyAt just 24, Rida Shaikh has already found her footing in Sacramento, overseeing operations of the Senate Elections Committee. But her path to the Capitol wasn’t straightforward – it was a journey of persistence and defiance of expectations.
Steve and Jan SuchilAs he became a fixture in Sacramento’s Capitol community during a 36-year career working on insurance and finance issues in the California Legislature, State executive agencies and the private sector, Steven M. Suchil had a simple formula for success. “To be effective,” he said, “your word has to be your bond.”
Former California Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyDelaine Eastin, an impassioned and feisty advocate for public education and the first – and only — woman ever to serve as California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, has died at the age of 76. In a statement released after her death, Eastin was remembered not only as the state’s only female Superintendent of Public Instruction, but also only the fifth woman elected to statewide office in California.
Emily and Robbie with UCD's Diana Farmer. Photo courtesy of UCDThe California stem cell agency had a $9 million moment last week that involved a “stem cell fairy godmother,” two English bulldogs named Darla and Spanky, four lambs and a baby from Texas named Robbie. While it took the agency only moments to hand out the $9 million, it took the fairy godmother more than 25 years to make it happen.
The Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research building at University of California Irvine, a CIRM major facility. Photo courtesy of CIRMCalifornia’s $12 billion stem cell and gene therapy program could be treading water for the next 12 months in the view of at least one of its leaders as it searches for a new president of the 19-year-old enterprise. Past presidential searches have been burdened by a legal, dual executive arrangement that has been described by a former board member as a “dog’s breakfast.”
A bill in the California Legislature aims to reform the prescription drug rebate system by ensuring 90% of negotiated rebates for medications are passed along to patients at the pharmacy counter.
Shubhangi Domokos. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyIn just a few years out of college, Shubhangi Domokos became a chief of staff for first, a state assemblymember and then one of the largest labor federations in the country.
Rex Hime. Photo with digital manipulation.Allan Zaremberg, who led the California Chamber of Commerce for more than two decades until he retired in 2021, and Rex Hime, head of the California Business Properties Association for 37 years, passed away within hours of one another on Saturday February 4th. Zaremberg was 73; Hime, 74.
Royce Hall at UCLA, one of four original buildings at the university's Westwood campus. (Photo: Ken Wolter, via Shutterstock) The longest walkout in the history of U.S. higher education is over, but a critical question remains: Will the new contracts do enough to improve the living and working conditions that drove the academic workers to launch the 40-day strike?
A gunsmith works on a 300 Blackout AR rifle in a Placerville gun shop.(Photo: SvetlanaSF, via Shutterstock)California may well have the toughest gun laws in the country, but criminals still get automatic weapons and everyday people still head to the gun store in times of trouble. And the pandemic with its parade of woes has motivated thousands of first-time gun buyers. It turns out, while some Californians hoarded toilet paper and hand sanitizer, others bulked up on firepower.