Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon get to make yet another appointment with far-reaching implications: Who should lead the independent agency tasked with evaluating the performance of his own administration? Elaine Howle — who has led the California State Auditor’s office for 21 years — announced last month that she plans to retire at the end […]
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COVID Misinformation Plagues California’s Indigenous Speakers
Ismael Patia and his family arrived at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic in downtown Fresno on a recent Saturday afternoon. His decision to get vaccinated had been a difficult one. But he finally was persuaded by an interpreter who talked to him in his native language, Mixteco, and eased his fears. “I’ve been hearing about people […]
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California Redistricting: Four Key Questions
It took weeks of long, late-night meetings full of wonky debate and digital line drawing — as well as a haiku and at least two songs as public comment. But Wednesday night, California’s independent redistricting commission reached a key milestone: Its first official maps are out. (Find an interactive map viewer here.) The citizen panel […]
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Winged Warning: Migrating Birds Hit Hard by California’s Drought
It says something about the complexity of California’s water crisis that there are so many actors in the state’s water wars, all clamoring for more. Nature, alone, is silent in this fight, relying on others to speak on behalf of the welfare of wildlife and waterways. Across the state, biologists, farmers and hunters are lending […]
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As UN Tackles Twin Climate Threats, California Struggles with Them, Too
Nations around the globe this month have pledged to tackle two thorny and critical threats to Earth’s climate: methane, which is the most potent planet-warming pollutant, and widespread destruction of forests. Both of these are major contributors to climate change that California has tried — yet struggled — to address. More than 100 countries inched […]
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Get Ready to ‘Fall Back’ this Weekend
It’s that “fall back” time of year, again. At 2 a.m. Sunday, daylight saving time comes to an end. And, once again, North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman is working with his Republican colleague Buddy Carter of Utah on a bipartisan bill that would allow states the option of staying on daylight saving time all year. […]
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Port Backlogs Sum up California’s COVID Crisis
The extent to which California’s — and the country and world’s — challenges are interconnected was exemplified by President Joe Biden’s Wednesday announcement that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will move toward 24/7 operations to help unsnarl massive supply chain backlogs. Still, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said Sunday during a CNN […]
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How Much Do Wildfires Really Cost California’s Economy?
Not a single structure burned down in the city of South Lake Tahoe. And yet, the threat of the fast approaching Caldor Fire cost surrounding El Dorado County tens of millions of dollars, if not more. In South Lake Tahoe, Domi Chavarria, co-owner of Verde Mexican Rotisserie, felt the devastation of the Caldor Fire even […]
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770 New Laws Coming to California
You’d be forgiven for not knowing Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the largest expansion of California’s college financial aid system in a generation — he did so during the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants’ first playoff game Friday night. Hours later, it was all over: Newsom signed his final bills on Saturday, a day […]
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Ethnic Studies Becomes Graduation Requirement for California Students
After a years-long battle reignited in recent months by controversies over misunderstandings of critical race theory, California students will soon be required to take ethnic studies to graduate high school. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 101 into law on Friday afternoon, requiring California high school students to take ethnic studies to graduate, starting with the […]
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Newsom is Running Out of Time to Sign Bills
T-minus three days. That’s how much time Gov. Gavin Newsom has left to decide the fate of the remaining bills on his desk — and as the deadline draws nearer, the buildup for big-ticket and contentious proposals is getting more intense. The direct impact of Newsom’s decisions was particularly apparent Wednesday, when he signed a […]
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What’s at Stake for Newsom’s Biggest Recall Campaign Donors
As Gov. Gavin Newsom wraps up a month of high-stakes decisions about what should become law in California, he’s also making calls that impact many of the donors who just spent millions of dollars to help him defeat the historic Sept. 14 recall. Labor unions, real estate moguls, tech titans — interest groups that lobby […]