In the middle of July, I was surprised to find myself trudging through a couple feet of snow while hiking south of Lake Tahoe. It was a striking contrast to the long walks I took on the dry lakebed of Folsom Reservoir near my home during the historic drought just...
What to Watch as CA Lawmakers Wrap up, From Gators to the Gig Economy
Endangered species, gig workers, children, universities, privacy, parolees who want to vote, people who want straighter teeth, and alligators. As California lawmakers wrap up the final week of the 2019 legislative year, the issues they are taking up are sweeping and eclectic, as end-of-session to-do lists usually are. More than...
Rent Cap Bill Won’t Fix California’s Housing Crisis
When California lawmakers vote on a rent cap bill in the coming days, they must consider the consequences it will have on our state’s housing crisis for years to come. Our state’s housing affordability and availability crisis deserves a comprehensive approach that prioritizes building more homes for rent and ownership....
Senate Bill 1 Threatens California Farms, Water Supply: Adam Gray
California has made a sport of disagreeing with President Trump. When he tweets his favorite color is red, one of my progressive colleagues inevitably introduces a bill declaring the best color is blue. So it was somewhat surprising when legislative leaders decided to use the President’s worst habit — ignoring...
California Must Finally End the Backlog of Unprocessed Rape Kits. Here’s How
After a sexual assault, survivors undergo an incredibly invasive procedure, typically involving being examined, swabbed and photographed for several hours. The specific purpose is to collect DNA and other evidence used to identify the perpetrator. It is the ultimate injustice to discover that thousands of sexual assault evidence kits collected...
California Should Make Clear There Is a Right to Housing, Not Simply Shelter
There are two ways to tackle California’s greatest public safety, public health and humanitarian crisis: homelessness. One way is to marshal resources, build programs, replicate successes, and say, with some justification, that we have helped a lot of people, even if the overall situation isn’t much better. The other way...
Lawmakers Tackle a Severe Housing Shortage for Renters Who Have Federal Vouchers
By Manuela Tobias, The Fresno Bee and Jackie Botts, CalMatters As California struggles with a crisis in affordable housing, state lawmakers are trying to improve a severe shortage of housing available to renters who have federal Section 8 vouchers. The vouchers allow tenants to pay only 30% of their income...
Californians Must Shape the ‘Future of Work.’ Unions Are Essential to That Future.
Mentioning the “future of work” can conjure fears of robots stealing jobs, displacing millions of workers in a dystopian mess straight out of a science fiction movie. The truth is, we don’t know what the work world will look like in 100 years or even 10 or 20. But we...
Californians Must Shape the ‘Future of Work.’ Unions Are Essential to That Future.
Mentioning the “future of work” can conjure fears of robots stealing jobs, displacing millions of workers in a dystopian mess straight out of a science fiction movie. The truth is, we don’t know what the work world will look like in 100 years or even 10 or 20. But we...
Californians Must Shape the ‘Future of Work.’ Unions Are Essential to That Future.
Mentioning the “future of work” can conjure fears of robots stealing jobs, displacing millions of workers in a dystopian mess straight out of a science fiction movie. The truth is, we don’t know what the work world will look like in 100 years or even 10 or 20. But we...