Posts Tagged: white

News

Newsom seeks major funding for low-income mothers, their babies

Illustration of a pregnant woman. (Image: Tanya Antusenok,via Shutterstock)

Amid a pandemic that has pushed millions of mothers out of the workplace, caused fertility rates to plunge and heightened the risk of death for pregnant women, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers are seeking a slate of health proposals for low-income families and children. Newsom, a self-described feminist and the father of four young children, has long advocated family-friendly health and economic policies.

News

Census data shows CA voter participation up across the board

A voter casts his ballot during the 2020 general election at a voting center in L.A.'s Pantages Theatre. (Photo: Ringo Chiu, via Shutterstock)

The U.S. Census Bureau’s voter survey of the November 2020 election shows that, once again, California saw increased participation in general and across nearly all demographics.  A startling finding in the recently released data: In 2020, African American participation hit 64%, very close to 2008’s record 65.2%, when Barack Obama ran for president for the first time.

News

At UC, standardized testing gets critical look

A student grapples with the timed SAT. (Photo: Have a nice day photo, via Shutterstock)

The University of California, grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, will make academic testing — such as the SAT and ACT  — optional for the Fall 2020 admissions cycle. But that policy may be short-lived: Next month,  the Board of Regents will meet to decide the future of standardized tests in UC admissions beyond 2020.

News

PPIC: A look at California’s likely voters

An array of voters casting their ballots. (Photo: Alexandru Nika, via Shutterstock)

A report from the Public Policy Institute of California on the makeup of the California electorate as the 2020 elections approach. Eight in ten eligible voters are registered to vote; independent registration continues to increase. As of February 2019, 19.9 million of California’s 25.3 million eligible adults were registered to vote. At 79.1% of eligible adults, this is an increase from the registration rate in 2015 (72.7%), the last year preceding a presidential election.

News

California’s 2018 midterm election: A dive into the numbers

A 2018 political rally at San Francisco City Hall. (Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock)

Voter participation dramatically increased in California in the 2018 midterm elections, part of a nationwide trend. About 51.9% of California’s 25.1 million eligible voters hit the polls in the 2018 general election, up from 36.6% in 2014, the previous midterm election, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

News

In 16th AD, Catharine Baker navigates carefully

Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-Dublin). (Photo: Screen capture, KQED interview, via YouTube)

During a Town Hall meeting in Orinda, one of the most affluent corners of her 16th Assembly District, Catharine Baker (R-Dublin) holds her own, leading the conversation and proudly explaining her votes and positions on the issues to a largely receptive audience made up of mostly older white constituents. “She seems pretty malleable and works across the aisle with Democrats,” said Linda, an Orinda Democrat who did not give her last name.  “But, she might have been sugar coating it, because it’s a more liberal audience.”

News

California vs. Trump: Angst in higher education

Students at a graduation ceremony at Santa Monica City College. (Photo: American Spirit, via Shutterstock)

In an effort to reassure thousands of worried young people, leaders of California’s enormous system of public and private higher education are setting it on a potential collision course with the incoming Trump administration. The California defiance has intensified and become more formalized since Donald Trump indicated he will appoint Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, an avowed hard-liner on immigration, as his attorney general.

News

Census: Amid diversity, California Asians gain ground

Taking in a ball game in Los Angeles. (Photo: Supanee Hickman)

California’s Asian population is the largest of any state in the nation, and its increase during a 12-month period was the largest in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The state’s Asian population reached 6.3 million through last summer, the latest period for which data is available, reflecting a 162,000 increase over July 2013. California’s Asian population represents nearly a third of the nation’s 20.3 million.

News

Limited knowledge of English hampers voter turnout

California voters at the polls in Ventura County, 2012. (Photo: American Spirit, via Shutterstock)

Some 2.6 million of California’s eligible voters — about one in nine — speak only limited English and many of them can’t get election information in their native languages, a problem that is playing out in low turnout numbers for Asians and Latinos, according to a new study.

News

Of Orcas, Atkins and the new Assembly

A killer whale performs at SeaWorld. Photo: Ed Schipul

Politics in California’s Capitol is rarely black and white – even when dealing with orcas. Earlier this week, a bill that would ban animal parks from keeping killer whales in captivity met an unceremonious death in the Assembly Parks and Wildlife Committee. The bill was reduced to a “study bill,” which is how lawmakers often handle issues they want to disappear.

Support for Capitol Weekly is Provided by: