Even with the process controlled entirely by Democrats, a certain degree of tension is wired into the annual ritual of crafting a state budget in Sacramento. The spending plan, after all, is a powerful opportunity for the governor and each house of the Legislature to demonstrate their priorities in caring...
Dreamers Have Been Political Pawns for Far Too Long: Castro
While I hope the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold protection for Dreamers, I am continually mystified that we find ourselves in this predicament in the first place. Too often, there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding about who these Dreamers are. These young people were brought to the United States...
Community College Chief Wants Police Training Changes
Eloy Ortiz Oakley wants to change how police officers in California are trained. Oakley is the chancellor of the state’s 115 community colleges and consequently oversees one of the largest training networks for California police. Eighty percent of police officers in California get training at a community college, according to...
Pandemic Food Stamps Offer up to $365 per Child
Families with children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at their schools — regardless of immigration status — may notice something in the mail to help them buy groceries. California is issuing one-time food stamps with credits of up to $365 per child to help qualifying families get through...
Rethinking Work and Life in Lessons Learned From COVID-19: Caballero
I must admit to a strong bias. I am old fashioned. I believe in going into the office, and appreciate the routine of rising early in the morning, drinking coffee, joining the flow of people commuting to work and retreating to my home sanctuary after a hard day’s work. Now,...
Schools Face Prospect of Layoffs, Furloughs as State Budget Gets Slashed
California’s public schools, physically closed since mid-March and strapped for cash, are coming out of a frying pan and into a financial fire. The fire comes in the form of a $6.5 billion cut to schools’ main source of funding as well as other reductions in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget...
California Cracks Down on Rogue Bars
California bars are on a highball hijinx alert. The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is proposing emergency powers to shut down bars and restaurants if they disobey the state’s public health order by serving mojitos and manhattans to patrons in an establishment. Not only could the alcohol cops suspend licenses, the owners...
Exclusive: California Wires Mask Dealer Half a Billion Dollars, Then Claws It Back
On March 26, as the coronavirus pandemic was mounting and governors across America scrambled to secure medical supplies, the state of California wired almost a half-billion dollars to a company that had been in business for just three days. The recipient: Blue Flame Medical LLC, a Delaware-based company headed by...
California Public Transit Faces Existential Crisis With COVID-19
California’s public transit agencies deliver a vital service every day, and especially during times of emergency — providing critical mobility options for millions of frontline healthcare, public safety, grocery, and restaurant workers fulfilling essential roles during the COVID-19 pandemic. But public transit faces an existential crisis over the coming months:...
Billions in COVID Aid Will Go to Farms. But Farmers Say It’s Not Enough.
Ryan Indart says he may have to kill off some of the sheep at his east Clovis ranch this fall. With restaurants shuttered amid the coronavirus pandemic, he has no market for his animals. When a new flock arrives in October, he won’t have enough space in his pasture if...