Posts Tagged: work

News

Joe Stephenshaw takes the reins as state’s new finance director

Joe Stephenshaw, left, the new director of the Department of Finance, takes the oath of office from Gov. Gavin Newsom.(Photo: H.D. Palmer, via Twitter.)

As a budget analyst in the California Department of Finance in 2005-2008, Joe Stephenshaw never imagined that he would one day come back to lead the division. This month, Stephenshaw, 47, was sworn into the post, becoming the first African-American to hold the position.

Opinion

Strong schools mean healthy recovery from current crises

Illustration of school children, education and the pandemic. (Photo: Felipe Sanchez, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: California is dealing with cascading crises the likes of which have never been experienced before. Between February 2020 and today, California’s unemployment rate rose from a record low of 3.9% to 13.3%. Nearly two million Californians who were working then aren’t working now.  And California’s clean energy economy — which employed 3% of the state’s workforce before COVID-19 — has also taken a hit. 

Opinion

Child care — the core of a healthy, functioning society

A woman and her baby boy on the beach in San Diego. (Photo: Sarmiento Photography, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: For nearly a quarter of a century, Parent Voices, a partnership of parents throughout California, has led an annual event on the grounds of California’s Capitol called “Stand for Children Day.” Each May, parent and youth leaders march side-by-side before meeting with legislators to advocate for policies that protect the state’s children and their families.

News

State just starting to grapple with climate change

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.

Opinion

Exempt health care professionals from AB 5

A perfusionist operating a heart-lung machine in a surgical setting. (Photo: Dmitry Kalinovsky, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: In an attempt to address some problematic side-effects of a recent California Supreme Court case focusing on the employment of independent contractors, lawmakers have crafted a proposal that would take away our ability to decide how and when we work.

Opinion

California can design the future of work

Workers on the job at a construction site. (Photo: fuyu liu, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: As Californians, we should write the history we want – by strategically and pragmatically addressing the present economic challenges in a way that enables the next generation of Californians to thrive. Gov. Newsom this month announced the creation of the Commission on the Future of Work, and this is a powerful opportunity to align new policies and new politics.

Opinion

California’s next climate step: pushing for equitable choices

Downtown Los Angeles in the distance. (Photo: EvijaF, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: When it comes to climate action, it will be hard for California to top 2018. Last year legislators passed a law committing our state to 100% emission-free electricity by 2045, and our governor issued an executive order setting the goal of a carbon-neutral economy by the same year. Now the architects of those initiatives have moved on, and a new crop of leaders faces the enormous task of meeting these goals.

Opinion

Public health suffers when pharmacists work alone

A pharmacist checks his stock in a California drug store. (Photo: Tyler Olson, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Drugstore robberies are a symptom of a larger trend in the retail space where pharmacists are forced to work alone for hours on end, juggling telephones, cash registers, and security duties in addition to dispensing medicine.

News

Unprecedented highway money okayed — now what?

Motorists along the Ventura Freeway in Sherman Oaks. (Photo: Oscity, via Shutterstock)

A California transportation plan of historic proportions has been approved – but what happens next? First, is the 12-cent increase in the fuel tax, starting in November. Then, other taxes and fees will kick in to help finance the $52 billion package in Senate Bill 1, which includes $34 billion over the next 10 years for repair and maintenance of roads, highways, bridges and culverts.

News

State auditor hits UC for secret fund, excessive salaries

UC Berkeley students at Sather Gate. (Photo: Rightdx, via Shutterstock)

Our audit of the University of California Office of the President’s budget and staffing processes revealed the following: The Office of the President did not disclose to the University of California Board of Regents, the Legislature, and the public $175 million in budget reserve funds. It spent significantly less than it budgeted for and asked for increases based on its previous years’ over‑estimated budgets rather than its actual expenditures.

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