Seasonal Firefighter Ricardo Rodriguez, photo by Ellie Appleby of Capitol WeeklyAfter suffering a disappointing veto last year, supporters of an effort to transition 3000 seasonal firefighters into an all-year-position are back, hoping that this year will be different.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: With nearly five decades of advocacy under his belt, there are only a handful of people who have lobbied in Sacramento longer than John Norwood. A lawyer as well as a lobbyist, Norwood has earned a reputation as a hard worker and a straight shooter. We asked him about the changes he’s seen, and the biggest challenges facing California.
A nearly empty freeway interchange near downtown Los Angeles, photographed in April 2020. (Photo: Time Media)In 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, California’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by almost 9%, and the state’s smoggy skies briefly cleared. This was particularly true during the pandemic’s first months, when schools closed, offices went remote, and statewide shelter-in-place orders kept millions of Californians at home. That spring, clogged freeways went vacant. Fewer semis rattled down roads.
Lobbyists crowd around video screen to watch the floor votes on the last night of the Legislature's session. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP)The final curtain fell early Thursday on a legislative session that coursed through a pandemic, bolstered reproductive rights, saw a speaker nearly dispatched by his own caucus and drew the national spotlight to a governor who had survived an effort to recall him from office.
Homes destroyed during the Thomas fire in Ventura, 2018. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Increasingly, California residents have been left with no choice but to accept the California FAIR Plan, the insurer of last resort, and the typically higher rates that come with it. The FAIR Plan provides basic fire insurance coverage when traditional insurance is not available, often for properties that other insurers decline to cover because they are considered high-risk.
A photo illustration of hundred-dollar bills. (Image: iQoncept, via Shutterstock)Staunch Donald Trump allies and the far right of the Republican Party have found deep-blue California – the state they love to hate – to be a treasure trove. California, where Democrats hold every statewide elected office and overwhelmingly control the Legislature, has long been a political ATM for campaigns across the county, especially Democrats.
A landscape shot of grazing range in Central California near the foothills. (Photo: David A. Litman, via Shutterstock)OPINION: California can take significant climate actions not just in such obvious areas as energy and transportation policy, but also in policy areas that some might find unlikely. It can start with land management – an area in which past shortcomings have contributed to creating our new era of megafires.
Out for a spin on a California coastal road. (Photo: oneinchpunch, via Shutterstock)OPINION Rather than imposing climate austerity measures that perpetuate poverty, there are wiser investments we can make today that will have a greater impact on reducing wildfires and creating healthier forests without adversely impacting disadvantaged communities, people of color, and the struggling middle class in our state.
Morning pollution over Longt Beach. (Photo: Katharine Moore, via Shutterstock)OPINION: We all have witnessed the devastation of climate change. As I write this, our California neighbors in Napa, Sonoma and up north are losing homes and businesses to wildfire. Every year, wildfire season is more severe than the year before. But the ravages of wildfire are not the only harmful result of climate change that is impacting us.
An aerial view of the freeway system feeding downtown Los Angeles. (Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)California’s vulnerability to climate change — from deadly fires to sea level rise — has been well documented. But the Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal adviser says the state, with rare exceptions, has only just begun to assess the risk climate change poses to roads, dams, parks and schools.