California is significantly overhauling its cannabis tax structure, including entirely eliminating a tax on growers, in an effort to boost a struggling legal industry begging for relief. The changes, which were adopted last week as part of a broader state budget agreement, will also create tax credits for some cannabis businesses, expand labor rights within the industry […]
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Deal is Close on Recycling California’s Plastic Trash
Deal or no deal? Most likely, deal. The California environmentalists who back a November ballot measure to reduce single-use plastics appear headed to withdrawing it just ahead of the Thursday deadline, following fierce negotiations with lawmakers and others on a bill that aims to achieve many of the same goals and that is supported by […]
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After Roe: What Happens to Abortion in California?
UPDATE: Two local rallies are planned in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark ruling that instilled the legal right to abortion. The first takes place at 5 p.m. today at the Humboldt County Courthouse and the second on Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 1 […]
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Supreme Court Ruling Puts Target on California Concealed Carry Law
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued one of its most significant gun law rulings in more than a decade, tossing out New York state’s tight restrictions on who can carry a concealed gun in public. Gun rights activists are celebrating the 6-3 decision, while advocates for stricter gun laws decry it. Both agree that California’s […]
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New Law Expands Time for Parents to Register Newborns to Respect Native Cultural Traditions
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill by North Coast Assemblyman Jim Wood that expands the time period in which parents must register the birth of their child. Parents will now have 21 days to register their newborn instead of the previous 10, a time frame that did not recognize culture traditions followed […]
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Topsy-turvy Top-two: Is California Primary System Keeping Its Promises?
If you need an example of just how befuddling California’s top-two primary system can be, consider the case of the $50,000 mailer sent to voters across 13 California counties in early June. The mailer’s message: In the crowded race for a state Senate district that sprawls from Modesto to Truckee to the Owens Valley, the […]
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Climate Controversy: California’s Plan for Handling Crisis is Flawed, Advisors Say
As California races to prevent the irreversible effects of climate change, some experts are questioning key policies that the state is counting on to meet its ambitious goals and accusing state officials of failing to provide substantial details to back up its claims. The California Air Resources Board’s proposal, called a scoping plan, outlines policies […]
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Reparations Could Include Tuition, Housing Grants, California Task Force Says
California’s reparations task force will release today its first of two reports detailing the state’s history of slavery and racism and recommending ways the Legislature might begin a process of redress for Black Californians, including proposals to offer housing grants, free tuition and to raise the minimum wage. The 500-page study describes decades of state […]
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Sex Abuse Suits Pouring in as State’s Catholic Leaders Seek Relief From Highest Court
In California, the lawsuits are mounting — middle-aged men, saying they were sexually assaulted as children by a Boy Scout leader or a priest. A woman, now in her late 30s, detailing how she was allegedly assaulted in a center for foster children. A man who said he was abused while volunteering with the Salvation […]
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Who’s Missing from California’s Community Colleges?
California community colleges have seen their enrollment drop by about a fifth during the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 300,000 fewer students enrolled in fall 2021 compared with fall 2019. “This raises critical concerns about equitable access to higher education as well as the ability to meet workforce needs,” said Paul Feist, vice chancellor of […]
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Medical Malpractice Deal Could Replace Ballot Measure, Still Raise Monetary Awards
A measure slated for California’s November ballot that sought to raise the cap on medical malpractice awards could be pulled, under an agreement announced today. Instead, a bill will seek to raise the cap for a patient’s “non-economic damages,” or pain and suffering, although in a more incremental approach than the ballot measure would have. […]
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Can a Conservative Break Through for California Attorney General?
The last time California voters elected a Republican to statewide office, Gavin Newsom was the youthful mayor of San Francisco, Mark Zuckerberg had just opened up Facebook to non-college students and Donald Trump was a Democratic celebrity tycoon wrapping up the sixth season of “The Apprentice.” That was 16 years ago. Now Newsom is the […]