It’s not easy to get work done during a pandemic. Even for the fortunate who kept their pre-pandemic jobs, productivity has taken it on the chin in 2020. The same goes for those in the lawmaking business. In March, just days after the governor instructed all Californians to shelter in...
This Is Not the Time to Propose More Tax Increases
This is a year most Californians would like to forget. Plans have been scrapped, the new “normal” is anything but normal, and we all know a coffee shop, deli, bar or restaurant that has closed permanently or may not survive the next six months. With 2.5 million Californians unemployed, many...
If Voters Raise Taxes on Corporate Landlords, Will Small Biz Foot the Bill?
When supporters of a November property tax ballot measure talk about soaking the state’s faceless corporate giants and its wealthiest landlords, they are not talking about people like John Kevranian. The co-owner of Nuts for Candy & Toys in Burlingame, Kevranian and his wife have operated this mainstay of the...
Bill to Reduce Probation Time Could Help Offenders Successfully Re-Enter Society
As states continue to grapple with fixing aspects of our criminal justice system from the top, they should keep an eye on California and a bill sitting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk that looks to modify how courts handle probation in the state. Nearly a quarter of a million people...
California Exodus: An Online Industry Seizes COVID-19 to Sell the Red State Dream
At first, Stephanie Morris was nervous about leaving Modesto. She’d lived in the Central Valley her whole life, but her family couldn’t keep paying $850-a-month for her sons to share a living room while she, her husband and the baby slept in their apartment’s only bedroom. The anxiety faded by...
Sierra Nevada Reels as Flames and Smoke Drive Visitors Away
It was bad enough that 2020 announced itself with a global pandemic that cratered the world economy and kept many people confined to their homes. Then, just as vacationers were tentatively returning to California’s rural lakes, parks, trails and campgrounds, they turned their minivans and campers around, fleeing unpredictable wildfires...
Behind the ‘Wild West’ of School Reopenings
By Ricardo Cano and Ana B. Ibarra An academic year in which public education will intersect with public health has created back-to-school shopping lists unlike any other for California’s schools as they attempt to transition toward in-person instruction once they have the state’s blessing. Bakersfield’s Panama-Buena Vista Union School District...
Next Up: Californians Brace for the ‘Twindemic’
In the border county of Imperial, health officials are sharing a promising progress report: After being branded a hot spot, coronavirus hospitalizations are down. Sick patients are no longer being transferred out of county. Businesses are reopening. “It’s absolutely fantastic,” said Adolphe Edward, the CEO of El Centro Regional Medical...
California Lawmakers Propose Ratepayer Fee Extension for Fighting Wildfires
Facing another catastrophic wildfire season, state lawmakers are proposing last-minute legislation to tap into a utility-bill fee to free up $500 million for training firefighters and other immediate steps. The proposed legislation also sets aside $2.5 billion for future projects related to handling wildfires and adapting to climate change. The...
Collision of Crises: Central Valley’s Searing Heat, Smoke, Virus Hot Spots
As ash drifted down from the fires burning through Solano County, a woman sweating under the smoke-reddened sun dug through her car, searching for an adapter for her husband’s oxygen machine. The couple had fought traffic on Wednesday to reach the evacuation shelter at Vacaville’s Ulatis Cultural Center — but,...