Posts Tagged: working

Opinion

Heroes: Organ donors giving the gift of life

Surgeons at work performing an organ transplant procedure. (Photo: David Tadevosian, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: With over 100,000 Americans waiting for a lifesaving transplant, and about 20% of them living in the Golden State, it’s critical for us to remember the importance of Donate Life Month, which takes place nationally every April. It’s a symbolic time to recognize the miracle of life that organ donors give to recipients and encourage all Americans to consider registering to be possible donors.

News

Kern spill renews oil production controversy

Pump jacks at sunset, extracting up to 40 liters of oil and water emulsion with each stroke. (Photo: Ronnie Chua, via Shutterstock)

California has long been a top producer of oil. But that may change. Some hope that change will accelerate under Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has called for a decrease in the demand and supply of fossil fuels. A recent massive spill in Chevron’s Cymric oilfield in Kern County, about 35 miles west of Bakersfield, could bolster that view.

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.

News

Inmate firefighters risk death at $1 an hour

Firefighters cross scorched terrain in the Padres National Forest. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)

Some were bank robbers, car thieves and burglars. Now they are on the front lines in the scary and dangerous job of saving California from raging wildfires. There are about 3,900 of them, all state prison inmate volunteers from 44 fire camps spread across California.

Opinion

A quest for government transparency

The state Capitol in Sacramento, viewed from 10th Street toward the West Steps.(Photo: Timothy Boomer)

OPINION: The California Public Research Interest Group (CALPIRG) is a consumer group that stands up to powerful interests when they threaten our health and safety, our financial security, or our right to fully participate in our democratic society. That is why we are strongly supporting Proposition 54, the California Legislature Transparency Act, on this November’s ballot.

Opinion

The real story behind SB 350

Farm workers tending the fields in the Salinas Valley. (Photo: Rightdx, Shutterstock)

OPINION: A recent opinion column in Capitol Weekly (Jan. 7, “Moderate Democrats: the slaves of Big Oil?”) was not the real story of last year’s SB 350, an effort to reduce petroleum-based transportation fuels in California by 50 percent. Ironically, the real story of SB 350 is the first line of the author’s eighth paragraph: “The story of inequality in our state is not just one of economics…”

News

Food and drink — and Fido

A Yorkshire terrier prepares to dine. (Photo: Olesia Bilkei via Shutterstock)

Fido and Fluffy will soon be able to join you for dinner at your favorite restaurant — legally. The governor signed legislation Thursday that allows people to take their dogs with them to the patios and outdoor sections of restaurants — something that many eateries already are doing but which has been illegal and carries penalties for violators.

Opinion

Hospitals: Crucial players in health care reform

OPINION The importance of health care access to underserved populations is clear. Today, those local health needs are identified and prioritized in collaboration with local governments, nonprofit hospitals and community members. These “community benefit plans” provide the framework for local hospitals to direct available resources to target local health care needs in the community.

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