As the state prepares to close its youth prisons, workers for the Division of Juvenile Justice could receive up to $50,000 bonuses to stay on the job until then, CalMatters has learned. If approved, the bonus appears to be among the largest offered by the state to retain a group of employees. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s […]
Gavin Newsom
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State of the State: Will Gov. Newsom do More to Reduce California Inequality?
Gov. Gavin Newsom is an unlikely champion of California’s down and out. Yet the wine entrepreneur, who built his political career and fortune with help from the state’s wealthy elite, campaigned on a promise to address California’s disparities – and do so boldly. From his first day in office in January 2019, Newsom called the […]
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California School Mask Mandate to End March 12
All students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, will no longer be required to wear a mask indoors at schools and child care facilities starting March 12. Gov. Gavin Newsom and California state health officials issued the order on Monday, nearly a month after they lifted the mandate for vaccinated people gathering in restaurants and other […]
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‘SMARTER’: Newsom Administration Outlines Future Plans for COVID
Vowing to be smarter after lessons learned over the past two years, the Newsom administration on Thursday gave a glimpse of what the next few months — and potentially years — may look like in California with COVID-19 likely to stick around. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s health secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, said the state’s new plan […]
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Gavin Newsom was the Face of Legal Cannabis in California. Can He Fix Its Problems?
When California voters legalized marijuana for recreational use in November 2016, it was also a victory for Gavin Newsom, who spent months traveling the state as the face of the campaign. At an election night party at a San Francisco nightclub, the then-lieutenant governor celebrated this “point of pride,” telling attendees that California had sent […]
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Here’s What’s Changed as California’s New COVID Workplace Rules Go into Effect
As COVID-19 case rates in California have jumped to their highest levels yet — more than six times the peak of the delta variant wave — updated workplace rules kicked in last week to better help protect workers vaccinated against COVID-19. The revised rules come from the California Division of Safety and Health — also […]
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Free Tests? As COVID Surges, Rapid Results Cost Up to $300
When Rebecca Santucci of Lakewood learned that her sister, Stacy, may have been exposed to COVID-19, she set out to look for a rapid test. She needed to know quickly whether their 88-year-old father was at risk. Pharmacies had been wiped out of home test kits, and testing clinics were booked solid for at least […]
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Will COVID Sick Leave Return to California?
Labor unions and their Democratic allies in the Legislature want to bring back extra paid sick leave for COVID-19. Gov. Gavin Newsom is also proposing to revive supplemental leave in his budget. But as with so much else in the pandemic, it’s not a simple proposition. There’s opposition from powerful business groups. And key details […]
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Newsom Stops Short of Single-Payer Healthcare
Don’t ask Gov. Gavin Newsom about Democratic lawmakers’ proposal to create a state-funded single-payer health care system — he hasn’t read it. “I have not had the opportunity to review that plan, and no one has presented it to me,” Newsom said Monday while unveiling his record-high $286.4 billion budget proposal — which includes an […]
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No, California’s Drought Isn’t Over. Here’s Why.
In a clear sign that the drought persists, California this week adopted new emergency regulations aimed at stopping residents from wasting the state’s precious water. The rules ban practices such as hosing down sidewalks and driveways with drinking water, washing cars without a shutoff nozzle on the hose and irrigating lawns and gardens too soon […]
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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 […]