Three years after California stopped allowing families to easily opt out of childhood vaccines, the number of kids getting medical waivers has tripled—the result, critics say, of some doctors loosely issuing exemptions to help families get around the law. The decrease has left some counties, including Nevada and Plumas, below the recommended vaccination rate required […]
CALmatters
Posted inCalifornia
Kristin Olsen | My turn: GOP is dead in California. A new way must rise
Nov. 13, 2018 – The California Republican Party isn’t salvageable at this time. The Grand Old Party is dead – partly because it has failed to separate itself from today’s toxic, national brand of Republican politics. Painful though it was, that was the message I delivered at the California Priorities Summit, sponsored by the Sacramento […]
Posted inCalifornia
A political firestorm is about to hit the Capitol: Who will pay for wildfire damages?
July 16, 2018 – Asked this spring to identify the most important issue facing California lawmakers, the leader of the state Senate didn’t hesitate: wildfires. Two months later—with fires blazing from the Oregon border to San Diego—legislators are poised to wade into a political firestorm sparked by last year’s historic fires and mudslides, which destroyed […]
Posted inCalifornia
California climate deal could net big bucks for polluters
August 17, 2017 – Against the sparkling backdrop of sailboats bobbing on San Francisco Bay, Gov. Jerry Brown last month signed a bill extending California’s cap-and-trade program, assuring that the most high-profile piece of the state’s fight against climate change persists for another decade. In a Sacramento hearing room two days later, the California Air […]
Posted inCalifornia
Toxic Priorities: Switching cleanup rules, state risks leaving homes contaminated
March 16, 2017 – Struggling with what officials call the largest and most expensive toxic contamination in California history, embattled state regulators have changed the formula for assessing the level of lead-laced soil in residential areas—a move that could result in a significant number of homes falling off the priority cleanup list. The little-noticed switch […]
Posted inCalifornia
Trump suggests yanking fed dollars if California’s a ‘sanctuary’ — can he do that?
February 9, 2017 – The burgeoning political standoff between California and the Trump administration took another step into unprecedented terrain this week when, on a pre-Super Bowl televised interview, the President denounced California as “out of control” and contemplated cutting its federal funding. The threat came in response to moves by the Democratic-controlled Legislature toward […]
Posted inCalifornia
Branding Bud: Marijuana companies want California to issue trademarks for pot
Jan. 12, 2017 – The sandwich baggie brimming with buds is gradually becoming a thing of the past in California. In its place, an era of name-brand marijuana is emerging. Celebrities—including actress Whoopi Goldberg, rapper Snoop Dogg, rocker Melissa Etheridge and the family of reggae legend Bob Marley—are branding their own herb. Law firms have […]
Posted inCalifornia
California’s 17 ballot props: What you need to get up to speed
SACRAMENTO, CA, Sept. 25, 2016 – Ready to make your way through a thicket of 17 California propositions on the November ballot? CALmatters is here to help you sort through the many thorny questions: Should we end the death penalty? Legalize marijuana? Extend taxes on the wealthy? Ban plastic bags? Raise taxes on cigarettes? Require actors […]