Category: Northern California

Effort to Suspend California Gas Tax Fails Again

March 24, 2022
AssemblyCalifornia state assemblyLocal NewsNorthern CaliforniaRegional NewsRegional-Local NewsSouthern CaliforniaUS
0 Comment

SACRAMENTO—State Republican lawmakers attempted to suspend the 51 cents-per-gallon gas tax on March 24—but were denied again. Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) introduced Assembly Bill 1638 in January which would have immediately shut down the statewide gas tax. However, the bill failed in the state assembly on March 14. The bill was attempted to be reintroduced…

Read More

17 of 183 People Removed from Echo Park Lake in Long-Term Housing: Report

March 24, 2022
homelesshomelessnessLocal NewsLos AngelesNorthern CaliforniaProject HomekeyRegional NewsRegional-Local NewsSouthern CaliforniaUCLAUS
0 Comment

LOS ANGELES—Only 17 out of 183 homeless people who were removed from an Echo Park Lake encampment last March have been placed in long-term housing, according to a report published Wednesday by the University of California (UC)–Los Angeles Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy. The report, titled “(Dis)Placement: The Fight for Housing and Community after…

Read More

California Community Colleges Consider Diversity Quotas in Hiring, Tenure Review

March 24, 2022
california community collegesdiversityequityinclusionLocal NewsNorthern CaliforniaRegional NewsRegional-Local NewsSouthern CaliforniaUS
0 Comment

The governing board that oversees the California Community Colleges (CCC) considered March 21 including diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the employee evaluation and tenure review process amid enrollment decline, and some have expressed concern, calling it a “divisive measure”. The proposal (pdf) was introduced as part of the enrollment management strategy by Deputy Chancellor…

Read More

Expect More California Labor Strikes

March 24, 2022
CaliforniaLocal NewsNorthern CaliforniaOpinionRegional-Local NewsSouthern CaliforniastrikeUSViewpoints
0 Comment

Commentary Inflation roils markets, especially labor markets. When inflation is reasonable, as it has been for four decades, families, companies, and governments more accurately can predict future costs and incomes. When inflation is unreasonable, calculations get scrambled. Most employees today are not in labor unions, so they make their own arrangements with employers. But labor…

Read More

New California Bill Will Allow Workers to Not Show up Under a State of Emergency

March 23, 2022
CaliforniaLocal NewsLos AngelesNorthern CaliforniaPolicies & ImpactsRegional NewsRegional-Local NewsSACRAMENTOSouthern Californiaunionunion-backedUS
0 Comment

SACRAMENTO—A new bill allowing employees to skip work if they cite the State of Emergency as a reason for their absence has received backlash from more than 30 business advocacy groups across the state—including the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Hospital Association, and the California Restaurant Association—who say the bill will harm business owners….

Read More

Newsom Signs Law Eliminating Out-of-Pocket Costs for Abortion

March 23, 2022
abortionCaliforniaLocal NewsNorthern CaliforniaRegional NewsRegional-Local NewsSouthern CaliforniaUS
0 Comment

SACRAMENTO—Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law March 22 that eliminates out-of-pocket costs for abortions and abortion-related services. “As states across the country attempt to move us backward by restricting fundamental reproductive rights, California continues to protect and advance reproductive freedom for all,” Newsom said in a statement. Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 245, the…

Read More

Democrat Lawmaker’s Bill to Reform Prop. 47 Fails in Committee

March 23, 2022
CaliforniaLocal NewsNorthern CaliforniaProp 47Regional NewsRegional-Local NewsSmash and GrabSouthern CaliforniaUS
0 Comment

SACRAMENTO—The effort to lower California’s threshold for felony theft from $950 to $400 failed in an Assembly Public Safety Committee hearing on March 22. Assemblyman Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) brought forward Assembly Bill (AB) 1603 in Januar to reduce the threshold for felony theft from $950 back to $400, which was the law in California before Proposition…

Read More

Newsom Proposes $400 Rebates for All Car Owners to Offset Gas Prices

March 23, 2022
Californiagas taxLocal NewsNorthern CaliforniaRegional NewsRegional-Local NewsSouthern Californiatax rebateUS
0 Comment

SACRAMENTO—Gov. Gavin Newsom on March 23 announced an $11 billion proposal to ease pain at the pump, which includes providing all Californians with a registered vehicle $400 tax rebates on a debit card. Rebates would be capped at two vehicles per household. “We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians…

Read More

Newsom Proposes $400 Debit Cards for All Car Owners to Offset Gas Prices

March 23, 2022
Californiagas taxLocal NewsNorthern CaliforniaRegional NewsRegional-Local NewsSouthern Californiatax rebateUS
0 Comment

SACRAMENTO—Gov. Gavin Newsom on March 23 announced an $11 billion proposal to ease pain at the pump, which includes providing all Californians with a registered vehicle $400 tax rebates on a debit card. Rebates would be capped at two vehicles per household. “We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians…

Read More

Rarely Has a Midterm Election Offered Such a Stark Choice on Issues

March 23, 2022
2022 midterm election2022 midtermsgas pricesLocal Newsmidterm electionNorthern CaliforniaOpinionRegional-Local NewsUSViewpoints
0 Comment

Commentary The first midterm election after a presidential election is most often a referendum on the new president and his party along with a natural pendulum swing toward the other side. Rarely do individual issues dominate such races. The 2022 midterms, however, could well be different. The 2020 presidential election was, in significant part, the culmination of…

Read More