This may come as surprise to the president, the national media and more than a few Californians, but there are plenty of Trump supporters in the “Resistance State.” And since the beginning of the year, they’ve been spending a lot of money to keep the president in the White House....
See Democrats Scramble for California’s Cash in 5 Charts
While California Sen. Kamala Harris has harvested more than $7.5 million here this year in her bid for the presidency, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, outraised her in her own state in the year’s second quarter. Even so, she bested Mayor Pete Buttigieg in California dollars in the past...
In California, We Long Ago Ended ‘War on Coal’
In a series of demagogic tweets, President Donald Trump recently attacked Obama-era “clean power plan” policies as a “war on coal” and a danger to U.S. energy independence. If there is a war on coal — as the president thinks — it’s long been decided in California and most of...
40 Years of Lies Stigmatizing 'Teenage Pregnancy' Are Enough
In 1960, one in 10 California women ages 15-19 gave birth. By 1975, just 5% did. What caused that phenomenal drop? Not abortion. The teen birth decline was well underway before California legalized abortion in 1967. Not sex education, which barely existed back then. Two factors explain why 1960s teenagers...
California Shouldn't Ignore Hydropower in Climate Change Fight
Is the cleanest, greenest electricity in the world green enough for California? For years, the people of the northern San Joaquin Valley have been trying to get hydropower recognized for what it is: the original source of clean electricity. Our efforts have been stymied by people who feel entitled to...
As Hedge Funds Fight for Control of PG&E, Here Is How Workers See It
As the elected leader of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, which represents approximately 12,000 frontline utility workers at Pacific Gas & Electric Co., I have paid careful attention both to legislative activity in Sacramento and to PG&E’s bankruptcy proceeding. Our members work around the clock to deliver...
Black Mother in Labor Told Not to Scream. Can California Fix Maternity Care Racism?
Bettye Jean Ford was in her second trimester when the pressure she had been feeling in her abdomen for weeks turned to excruciating pain. She rushed to a Los Angeles emergency room, where she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and sent home with antibiotics. Still cramping severely, the first-time...
Police Aren’t the Only Ones Who Can Make Communities Safer
After a recent string of shootings in Stockton, the search for answers seems to have turned almost entirely to law enforcement. Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones recently said his first action would be to dispatch additional officers from California Highway Patrol and the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office to patrol...
California’s Pollution Enforcers Want to Save Tropical Forests. But at What Cost?
California’s climate change enforcers are grappling with the thorniest of controversies: how to prevent the planet’s tropical forests from disappearing. The question they aren’t ready to answer — at least not yet — is what focusing on far-away forests could mean for pollution at home. Lawmakers made clear in a...
Teachers Face Tough Grades as California Rethinks Charter Schools
Heather Williams knew as a kid that she wanted to be a piano teacher. She earned her music degree with a piano emphasis from Brigham Young University and spent decades honing her craft. Today she not only runs her own academy near Sacramento, offering private lessons with a special certification...