Reporter's Notebook
Kevin McCarthy: the Benjamin Button of California politics
Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button. Image via YouTubeKevin McCarthy is the Benjamin Button of California politics. Began his career as an adult. Ended it as a baby.
Posts Tagged: washington
Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button. Image via YouTubeAnalysis
A quick look at limits on bill introductions
Image by Adao via ShutterstockAbout a quarter of this country’s legislatures, including California, limits the number of bill introductions by their elected officials.
Opinion
Closing Diablo Canyon spurs fears over replacement power
The Diablo Canyon nuclear power station on the coast of Central California. (Photo: Tracey Adams, via Wikipedia and Flickr)OPINION: California’s power is expensive and polluting – but doesn’t have to be.
The state of California plans to replace Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) mostly with Wyoming coal-fired generation. The source of the replacement power will remain hidden until 2025, when Californians can’t stop the state
Opinion
Fights over climate change, redistricting at critical stage
Sunset and silhouette of a joshua tree in Joshua Tree National Park. (Photo: Sean Lema, via Shutterstock)OPINION: This month is a pivotal moment in the fight against the climate crisis. On the table is the single largest government investment in U.S. history to support our transition to clean energy, improve our drinking water systems, mitigate the impacts of wildfire on our state, and much more.
News
Women joining California corporate boards in record numbers
A board of directors considers a financial report from the chief strategy officer. (Photo: Gorodenkoff, via Shutterstock)Amid growing calls for women on corporate boards, and headlines about corporate wrongdoing like the sexual harassment scandals at Google, California’s 662 publicly traded companies have added 669 women to their boards in the past two years. This sea change is driven by California Senate Bill 826, which took effect in 2019.
News
Census facing uncertainty, hostile president
Ladera Ranch, census-designated community in southern Orange County. (Photo: bonandbon, via Shutterstock)A lot is riding on this decennial tally: It affects the way federal funding is distributed and it can have a dramatic impact on the boundaries — and number — of political districts. This time around, California’s congressional seats are on shaky ground. But the uncertainty stems as much from President Trump’s actions as from the long-awaited 2020 census numbers, which have been delayed because of the pandemic.
Opinion
Equality in anti-cancer treatment needed now
A young cancer patient stares out a hospital window. (Photo: Solid photos, via Shutterstock)OPINION: In the many years we have been treating patients, the hardest conversations to get through were always revealing a person’s cancer diagnosis to them for the first time. But like everything else in our world today—that has changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Podcast
Capitol Weekly Podcast: Steve Wiegand on America’s most improbable museum
Maryhill Museum of Art, photo by Ceil Dolan WiegandLongtime journalist and author Steve Wiegand joins John Howard and Tim Foster on the Capitol Weekly Podcast to talk about his latest book, “The Dancer, the Dreamers, and the Queen of Romania: How an Unlikely Quartet Created America’s Most Improbable Art Museum.”
News
Coronavirus may spell doom for alt-weeklies
Newspaper stands for alt-weeklies. (Photo: Nieman Journlism Lab)It was only seven days ago that we told you about The Stranger, the Seattle alt-(bi)weekly that was facing a financial crisis because of the city’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, which shut down concerts, bars, restaurants, and so many other events that provide the advertising fuel for an alt-weekly
News
California’s fight over fuel economy standards
Rush-hour traffic in downtown Los Angeles. (Photo: TierneyMJ, via Shutterstock)Top law enforcement officials in California and New York are leading 10 other states in an attempt to retain tougher penalties for automakers that violate fuel economy standards. They filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging the federal government’s decision to block a scheduled increase in the penalties for those who fail to meet fuel economy standards.