In The News

Next Century Cities: Planning for California’s $6 Billion Broadband Investment is Underway. What Does Your Community Need?

September 24, 2021
Blog Entry, Broadband Funding, By Corian Zacher, California, California Public Utilities Commission, Last Mile, Middle Mile, State Funding, State Policy
 

The Porterville Recorder: Newsom signs $15 billion climate change package

September 23, 2021

BY CHARLES WHISNAND

Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Thursday that provides for a $15 billion package to deal with climate change.

Newsom signed the legislation at the site of the KNP Complex in Sequoia National Park as he visited the site on Thursday. Newsom dubbed the package as the largest climate change package in state history.

The Mercury News: Opinion: California must not squander chance to bridge digital divide

September 14, 2021
California is the technology capital of the world. Home to the largest and most innovative companies, our state is in many ways a shining example of the power of the digital to shape a more creative and prosperous society.
 
Yet outside the glitter of Silicon Valley and the state’s major urban hubs, there’s a major divide we must confront: California’s rural communities and their 2.2 million residents are largely shut out of the tech economy and its benefits because they lack access to broadband.
 

Random Length News: State Legislature Passes Two Bills by Senator Gonzalez

September 13, 2021
Keeping Workers Safe During COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
SACRAMENTO — The California Legislature Sept. 9, greenlighted SB 4 by Senator Lena A. Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and AB 14 by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), both landmark digital equity bills that will help get families connected to high-speed internet throughout the state. The bills will complement the State’s broadband deployment efforts to ensure infrastructure projects are realized and prioritized for communities that need it most.
 

Bay Area Reporter: Political Notebook: CA lawmakers pass LGBTQ bills

September 08, 2021
By Matthew S. Bajko
 
California lawmakers have adopted three more bills related to LGBTQ issues as they race to finish their work by the September 10 deadline to pass legislation this year and send it to Governor Gavin Newsom to either sign into law or veto.
 

Capital & Main: California Attempts to Rein in Exploitation of Truck Drivers

September 07, 2021

By Larry Buhl 

Like many truck drivers delivering goods from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to big retailers throughout Southern California, Juan Carlos Giraldo has a contract job, and it looks decent at first glance. His primary employer, Container Connection, pays a flat fee of $300 for a round trip from a port to a Walmart warehouse in Mira Loma. With no traffic or wait times, the trip takes four hours, which means Giraldo can make 10 round trips a week. In the best case scenario, he earns $3,000.

Los Angeles Times: Op-Ed: We need two laws to ensure reproductive choice for all Californians

September 04, 2021

BY DANIEL GROSSMAN

Associated Press: California aims to restrict using rubber bullets at protests

September 02, 2021
By ADAM BEAM and DON THOMPSON

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California would restrict the use of rubber bullets and chemical irritants during protests under legislation advanced Thursday in the wake of last year’s widespread public demonstrations over racial injustice. A similar bill died last year.

The bill would set statewide standards for using the weapons that advocates say sometimes harmed peaceful protesters. Police say they are needed to prevent violence and are often better than the alternatives.

Signal Tribune: Event connects immigrant children once held at Long Beach Convention Center to lawyers and resources

August 30, 2021

BY KRISTEN FARRAH NAEEM, STAFF WRITER

Now reunited with their families, the immigrant children once held at the Long Beach Convention Center were invited to “Welcome With Dignity Day” hosted by Immigrant Defenders Law Center at Shoreline Aquatic Park on Saturday, Aug. 28.

Signal Tribune: Local Hearts Foundation brings supplies to students and youth boxing club

August 16, 2021

BY RICHARD H. GRANT, PHOTO EDITOR

The Local Hearts Foundation held their annual school supply giveaway at MacArthur Park on Saturday, Aug. 14. 

Over 100 families began lining up at 5 a.m. to receive supplies from the “Education is Power” event by the Local Hearts Foundation. Families could also pick up groceries, get hair cuts, have their faces painted, and pick up a limited supply of Amazon Fire tablets.