WASHINGTON–In response to today’s Supreme Court ruling that companies can force workers into arbitration to prevent them from pursuing class actions against their employers, AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement: “The court’s shameful attack on these fundamental rights is just another blatant attempt to strip power away from working people. Class actions, like…
BURLINGAME – Eric Heins, president of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association (CTA), issued this statement today about the governor’s May Revise to the 2018-19 state budget on the heels of California’s new ranking as the fifth largest economy in the world: “Educators welcome the good news today and appreciate Gov. Jerry Brown for his resolve…
(OAKLAND, CA) Following last month’s visit by educator Marshall Tuck, Assemblymember Tony Thurmond will visit San Bernardino on Saturday, May 12 to participate in the second in a pair of forums hosted by The Education Trust-West. The forums provide an opportunity for Tuck and Thurmond, candidates in the statewide race for Superintendent of Public Instruction,…
Board of Equalization Member Jerome E. Horton is working with Assemblyman Miguel Santiago to introduce legislation that will reduce the housing cost for renters. A full-fledged housing crisis has gripped California, marked by a severe lack of affordable homes and apartments for seniors and middle-class families – as a result of property values climbing to…
Sacramento, California – The California State Senate voted to pass SB 972 with bi-partisan support. The bill authored by Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) would require public, charter, and private schools to print a suicide prevention hotline number and/or text crisis lines on student identification cards for grades seven through all…
SB 820 Ensures Victims Are No Longer Silenced SACRAMENTO – The Senate Judiciary Committee today passed Senate Bill 820—which will ban the inclusion of secret settlements related to specified sexual misconduct, including sexual assault and sexual harassment—by a vote of 5-1. Authored by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino), SB 820 will specifically ban secret settlements…
ONTARIO (April 19, 2018) – The Board of State and Community Corrections today approved 20 grant awards worth $9.2 million to help reduce violence in communities across California. As a requirement of the California Violence Intervention and Prevention grant the Board gave special consideration to cities that are disproportionately affected by violent crime. The Budget…
San Bernardino, CA – Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-San Bernardino) announced that 27 census tracts in the city of San Bernardino have been designated as Opportunity Zones by the US Department of the Treasury. The designations come after Rep. Aguilar sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown asking him to nominate specific census tracts in San…
Redondo Beach, CA – In a move hailed by housing advocates, the California Coastal Commission voted Wednesday to allow the City of Santa Cruz’s home sharing regulations to go into effect in a decision that sets the precedent that determines whether coastal communities retain the right to adequately regulate short-term rental platforms like Airbnb. Santa…
SACRAMENTO –Assemblyman Obernolte (R-Hesperia) announced that his Assembly Bill 2446 passed out of Assembly Judiciary Committee today with unanimous support. This bill seeks to fund 10 additional superior court judgeships and would also increase the number of appellate justices in the San Bernardino/ Riverside Division of the 4th Appellate District Court of Appeal from seven…
Sacramento – Senator Scott Wilk, R-Antelope Valley, announces Senate Bill 1199 (SB 1199) was unanimously approved Senate Committee on Public Safety. SB 1199 would require, when at all possible, that there be a family or community connection before paroling a sex offender into a community (unless that placement would violate any other law or pose…
SACRAMENTO – State Treasurer John Chiang today urged the nation’s largest institutional investors – including CalPERS and CalSTRS — to divest holdings from wholesale or retail sellers of military-style assault weapons, ammunition and other devices such as “bump stocks” that are banned in California. “If Congress and statehouses are unwilling or unable to deliver real…
By Elizabeth Primas (Program Manager, NNPA/ESSA Public Awareness Campaign) We are our children’s first teachers, and what we teach them makes a difference. According to research by Betty Hart of the University of Kansas and Todd Risley of the University of Alaska, by age 3, poor children have an accumulated experience with 30 million less…
SACRAMENTO — Providing local water suppliers with a new tool to improve their drought resilience, the State Water Resources Control Board today adopted water quality and other requirements to ensure the safe use of treated recycled water to augment surface water supplies. “Cities and counties around the state are looking to stretch their local water…
Locations Eligible for Support from FCC’s Connect America Fund This Summer WASHINGTON, February 15, 2018– Over 62,500 rural homes and businesses in California that are currently unserved by high-speed Internet service could get connectivity in the near future. These homes and businesses are in unserved areas of California eligible for financial support from the next…
LOS ANGELES—On Thursday, a federal court in California ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) unlawfully detained thousands of suspected immigrants on the basis of unconstitutional requests from ICE known as immigration detainers. The landmark decision entitles class members to injunctive relief and monetary damages and is…
Advocates Praise Move to Protect LifeLine Program from Federal Cuts SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – At the urging of The Greenlining Institute and other advocates, the California Public Utilities Commission yesterday approved a plan spearheaded by Commissioner Martha Guzman-Aceves to protect low-income Californians from drastic federal cutbacks to eligibility for the LifeLine program. LifeLine provides affordable…
Says recent order issued by DMHC and its Director exceeds authority, violates due process and is discriminatory against Asian-owned business. Pasadena, CA – After being unfairly and illegally targeted by government overreach and discrimination, Employee Health Systems Medical Group (EHS) today brought suit against the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) and its director,…