SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife lit the Capitol Christmas Tree on Thursday with the help of a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome. Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom were joined by Nayeli Lemus to light approximately 10,000 LED lights on the more than 66 -foot-tall white...
Flesh-Eating Bacteria Linked to Heroin Kills 7 in California
SAN DIEGO — A flesh-eating bacteria linked to the use of black tar heroin has killed at least seven people over the past two months in the San Diego area, prompting health authorities to alert law enforcement and other officials in California. Nine people who injected black tar heroin between...
Risks, Rewards, and Robots: The Future of Work in California
Are robots coming for California’s jobs? In today’s increasingly automated economy, that’s certainly the fear. Technology has always generated economic churn, destroying some jobs and creating others. Already advances have generated a whole new sector of “gig” employment, and deeply disrupted other workplaces, from brick-and-mortar bookstores to newspapers to travel...
Woman Tries to Pry Open Mountain Lion's Jaws to Save Her Dog
SIMI VALLEY — A Southern California woman punched a mountain lion Thursday and tried to pry its jaws open to save her dog from an attack in her backyard, officials said. The unidentified woman suffered a minor cut after the mountain lion attacked her miniature Schnauzer in the city of...
Walters: Another Showdown Over Crime Looms
No California ballot would be complete without at least one measure about crime and punishment and 2020 will be no exception. A referendum seeking to overturn California’s landmark ban on cash bail in criminal cases will once again test voters’ sentiments about the treatment of accused lawbreakers. During previous decades,...
Home-State Skepticism of Kamala Harris Foretold Trouble
SACRAMENTO — When Sen. Kamala Harris entered the presidential race in January, her California roots were supposed to give her special access to the cash and delegates required to win the Democratic nomination. Instead, she faced headwinds in her home state that would become a microcosm for the trouble that ultimately forced her...
Walters: Court Must Fix Tax Vote Ambiguity
Sooner or later, the state Supreme Court must clear up a legal ambiguity it created over how many votes are needed to enact local tax increases. It should be sooner, because a new election year is nigh, dozens — and perhaps hundreds — of local tax measures are being drafted...
What's the Safest City? SF, LA, or Fresno?
Fresno is a "safer" place to live than either San Francisco or Los Angeles, according to WalletHub. The personal finance website went beyond crime statistics in its "Safest Cities in America" ranking of 182 communities. Listen to this article: "Besides the types of hazards that can cause bodily injury...
Locals Gear Up to Keep Kings River Water
Just as they did more than two generations ago, Kern County farmers are looking to another Central Valley river to the north to refill their groundwater shortfall. But this time around, natives in the Kings River watershed are “sharpening their knives” to fight off what they say is a desperate...
Marijuana Vaping Busts on Rise; Over 500K Seized in 2 Years
NEW YORK — As health officials scrutinize marijuana vaping, it’s increasingly on law enforcement’s radar, too. From New York City to Nebraska farm country to California, authorities have seized at least 510,000 marijuana vape cartridges and arrested more than 120 people in the past two years, according to an Associated...