Goodbye, state of resistance. Hello, state of influence. California’s status has shifted dramatically with the inauguration of Joe Biden as the next president. The reasons are both political — deep blue California will have more inroads to a White House controlled by Democrats — and personal: For just the second...
Newsom’s $2 Billion School Reopening Fund Could Actually Cost Districts Money
In his bid to get California school campuses back open, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed giving extra money to schools that managed to open by a certain date. But the $2 billion in grant money would come attached with strings that some districts say would mean paying more than if they...
Day 1: New Sen. Alex Padilla Wants Trump’s ‘Enablers’ Out of U.S. Senate
Today’s presidential inauguration of Joe Biden sets off a spate of historic firsts that are reshaping Democratic politics in California. Kamala Harris, California’s former senator, was sworn in as the first female vice president. Hours later, she administered the oath of office to her replacement, Alex Padilla, the outgoing secretary of...
Five Things to Know About California’s New US Senator, Alex Padilla
After Joe Biden picked Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate in August, the parlor game of choice for California’s most politically plugged-in was: Who will Gov. Gavin Newsom pick to fill her vacant Senate seat? Alex Padilla — California’s secretary of state, a Democrat from Pacoima, loyal...
Vaccine Chaos: Californians Scramble for Shots Amid Mixed Messaging
The chaos and confusion many Californians experienced this week in their search for a COVID-19 vaccine only intensified today as Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed that the state would not receive an additional supply of doses it was counting on to accelerate vaccination. Newsom said he, like other governors, expected about...
Latinx Voters Flexed Their Power in 2020 Election
The 2020 election was evidence of the power of Latinx voters in California. With an estimated 5.5 million Latinx votes cast during the pandemic, Latinxs were a decisive force in the outcome of the 2020 election representing 31% of the total 17.8 million votes cast in California. As our electorate continues to grow with...
Newsom Calls Textbooks “Racket,” Proposes Money to Create Free Ones
The price of college textbooks is often top of mind for college students, for understandable reasons, but also the governor, apparently. Gov. Gavin Newsom called textbooks a “racket” during his press conference unveiling his budget proposal last week, saying he was “committed” to addressing the “usurious costs associated with textbooks.”...
Being Indian American Today: Kamala Harris as Vice President Is a Huge Step Forward in Our National Journey
As we approach Jan, 20, Inauguration Day for president-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris, it’s the perfect time to consider what this means for the Indian diaspora across the U.S. A drive for achievement and success is a quintessential Indian-American trait, implanted in our brains by parents who...
How California’s Budget Depends on Staggering Wealth Gap
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $227 billion California spending plan is setting records in more ways than one. Were his budget proposal approved by lawmakers as is, the state would spend an unprecedented amount to fend off poverty, eviction and K-12 education loss for California’s most vulnerable residents in the 2021-22 fiscal year. And...
Democrats Liken Newsom Recall Effort — a Legal Option in California — to Extremist ‘Coup’
When is a constitutionally outlined petition campaign to remove an elected leader actually a “treasonous” effort to subvert the democratic process? According to the California Democratic Party, when Republicans are on one side of the campaign and Gov. Gavin Newsom is on the other. In a press conference Tuesday afternoon,...