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...
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...
Walters: Will Schools Get More State Aid?
To the denizens of the state Capitol, the onset of the holiday season also marks the beginning of the state budget cycle. Gov. Gavin Newsom and his budget staff will soon decide the hundreds of individual appropriations that will make up the 2020-21 budget he will propose in early January,...
He Buried Fresno Man Alive. DA Urges Newsom to Deny Parole.
Gov. Jerry Brown twice blocked parole for the killer of a developmentally disabled Fresno man who was buried alive in 1980. Now the state Parole Board again has granted a parole date for David Weidert, who murdered 20-year-old Michael Morganti to cover up a $500 burglary Weidert committed. Fresno County...
Rejecting Federal Proposal, California Lays out Vision for Protecting Endangered Species and Meeting Water Needs
California’s water policy can be complex, and — let’s be honest — often polarizing. Water decisions frequently get distilled into unhelpful narratives of fish versus farms, north versus south, or urban versus rural. Climate change-driven droughts and flooding threats, as well as our divided political climate, compound these challenges. We...
Prather Resident Named Cal Fire's Second-in-Command
Prather resident Craig Tolmie is the new chief deputy director for Cal Fire. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tolmie's appointment last Friday. Tolmie, 50, has been the assistant region chief at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, Southern Region since 2015. Listen to this article: Fire Protection, Forest Management...
California Justices Reject Law Requiring Trump Tax Returns
LOS ANGELES — President Donald Trump does not have to disclose his tax returns to appear as a candidate on California’s primary ballot next spring, a unanimous state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The court said the law, the first of its kind in the nation and aimed squarely at Trump,...
Walters: Newsom Huffs and Puffs, Like the Big Bad Wolf
Remember the children’s fable about the wolf who was attempting to capture and consume the three little pigs? If a pig refused to admit him or come out of its house, the wolf threatened: “Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declaration that the state...
California Halts Fracking Permits in Oil Producer Crackdown
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom cracked down on oil producers Tuesday, halting approval of hundreds of fracking permits until independent scientists can review them and temporarily banning another drilling method that regulators believe is linked to one of the largest spills in state history. Listen to this article: The state...
Walters: Our Laws Protect Criminal Cops
When the state of California licenses professionals, it is telling Californians that they can depend on licensees to perform their services competently, that miscreants will be disciplined and that in serious cases, their licenses will be lifted. For instance, the state bar, which oversees attorneys, publishes all of its disciplinary...