In the News

EdSource: Gov. Gavin Newsom signs $123.9 billion package to support K-12 education

October 08, 2021

By BETTY MÁRQUEZ ROSALES

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a $123.9 billion package to increase broadband infrastructure, develop mental and behavioral health programming and require that all high school students take an ethnic studies course before graduating. The 22 bills included in the package amount to the highest per-pupil funding in state history, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

The Sun Gazette: Newsom signs proactive water solutions bill SB 403

October 06, 2021
By Ben Irwin, News Reporter
Gov. Gavin Newsom signs SB 403 into law, giving State Water Board more authority over small community water woes
 
TULARE COUNTY – On Sept. 23, after crushing the republican opposition in the recall election, Governor Gavin Newsom got back to governing and made a trip to smoke-choked Tulare County to sign a robust $15 billion climate package as the KNP Complex fire raged in the mountains above. During his trip to the Sequoias, he also signed a slew of water bills—among them extending the water utility shutoff moratorium through at least the end of the year and requiring water shortage contingency plans for small water suppliers—another tendril of climate change directly impacting Tulare County residents parched at the center of the West’s water crisis.

Signal Tribune: Hundreds march through Downtown Long Beach in support of reproductive justice

October 02, 2021

BY EMMA DIMAGGIO, MANAGING EDITOR

A march for reproductive justice attracted hundreds to the George Deukmejian Courthouse this morning as protesters chanted their way through Downtown Long Beach towards Harvey Milk Promenade Park.

The protest came just a month after Texas legislators passed Senate Bill 8, a restrictive law that prohibits abortions after six weeks—before many women know they are pregnant—and created financial incentives to turn in people who acted in support of these abortions.

International Brotherhood of Teamsters: TEAMSTERS CELEBRATE NEWSOM SIGNING BILL TO PROTECT PORT TRUCK DRIVERS

September 27, 2021
 
Following California Governor Gavin Newsom signing into law SB 338, a bill designed to protect truck drivers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Teamsters Port Division Director Ron Herrera released a statement. SB 338, by Senator Lena Gonzalez, will hold retailers accountable when they contract with trucking companies that have repeatedly engaged in misclassification.
 

Long Beach Post: Long Beach marchers to join hundreds of other events nationwide protesting anti-abortion laws

September 27, 2021
By Jason Ruiz
 
Shortly after a restrictive abortion law in Texas went into effect earlier this month, and the United States Supreme Court declined to block it, the Women’s March national organization put out a call for action. Belmont Heights resident, C.J. Crockett, had never organized anything political but she responded to the email with a request to host an event in Long Beach.
 

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.