Longtime poverty fighter Jess Bartholow surprised many when she left her longtime gig with the Western Center on Law and Poverty in 2020 to become East Bay Senator Nancy Skinner's Chief of Staff. The move made sense: Skinner has long been an outspoken advocate for California's poor, and was a personal inspiration for Bartholow. But with the senator terming out at the end of this year, Bartholow recently opted for a new post: Director of Govt. Relations for SEIU California, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state and across the country. Bartholow joined us to talk about her journey f ..read more

We're joined today by longtime journalist, and co-founder of CalMatters, David Lesher. Last year David stepped down as editor-in-chief to direct a new project at CalMatters: Digital Democracy. Using the latest technology, including AI, Digital Democracy will gather a tremendous amount of data from California's state government: "every word uttered in public hearings, every dollar given to a politician, every bill introduced, every vote taken and more." After more than a year of development, Digital Democracy launched this month. David tells us how the system works, how it can be used by journa ..read more

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Crime which was held in Sacramento on Thursday, March 21, 2024 This is PANEL 3 – THE LEGACY AND FUTURE OF PROP. 47 Panelists: Asm. Kevin McCarty; Lenore Anderson, Alliance for Safety and Justice; Marc Beaart, Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office; Sheriff Jim Cooper Moderated by Emily Hoeven, San Francisco Chronicle Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation here: capitolweekly.net/donations/ Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang ..read more

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Crime which was held in Sacramento on Thursday, March 21, 2024 This is PANEL 1 – RETAIL THEFT Panelists: Asm. Rick Zbur; Eric Brown, Office of Governor Newsom; Cristine Soto DeBerry, Prosecutors Alliance; Rachel Michelin, California Retailers Association Moderated by Lindsey Holden, Sacramento Bee Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation here: capitolweekly.net/donations/ Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang ..read more

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Crime which was held in Sacramento on Thursday, March 21, 2024 This is the KEYNOTE – SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY BROOKE JENKINS Introduction by Rich Ehisen, Capitol Weekly Find a full transcript here: https://capitolweekly.net/special-episode-a-conference-on-crime-keynote-brooke-jenkins/ Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation here: capitolweekly.net/donations/ Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang "#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided ..read more

Our guest today, Larissa May, has become one of the leading voices in California and across the country in the quest for young people to have a healthier relationship with social media and the digital world in general. May came to this work through her own traumatic experiences as a young person overwhelmed by social media. Mays is the founder of #halfthestory, which works with schools, state and federal governments, and Fortune 500 companies to create new standards for digital use and to educate young people on the dangers inherent to obsessing over social media. She joined us today to share ..read more

California has set ambitious climate goals, including phasing out the use of fossil fuels and becoming carbon neutral by 2045. Our guest today is here to talk about the role nature can play in meeting those goals.  Laurie Wayburn is the co-founder and president of the Pacific Forest Trust and the chair of the California Natural and Working Lands Expert Advisory Committee. She was also the lead author of a recent report suggesting the state should invest “as much in nature-based climate solutions as it has in clean energy and transportation.” With proper forest management, California could ..read more

Our guest today is Assembly Speaker Emeritus Anthony Rendon. Rendon joined us for a fascinating conversation that looked back over his seven year tenure as Speaker, through some of the most turbulent times in the state's history, and forward, as he outlined his goals for the remainder of his time in office. In an in-depth and roaming conversation that ranged from the Water Bond to Waiting for Godot, Rendon spoke plainly about the joys and challenges of creating meaningful policy, in contrast to what he called "Fashion Show Politics" - i.e. SB 562, the unfunded Single Payer bill he derailed in ..read more

Everyone's favorite California politics data guru Paul Mitchell joins us to talk about California's March 5 Primary. With the Presidential primaries all but wrapped, what was expected to be a high-stakes, high profile March election appears to generating yawns from CA voters. Based on the pace of returned ballots, experts are predicting a historically low turnout: What does that mean for the four main candidates vying to make it into the Top Two for California's open US Senate seat? Next, we welcome Ron Hughes, Deputy Director of EDD’s newest organizational branch, the EDDNext Modernization an ..read more

Michael Weinstein is the president of the LA-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a sprawling international nonprofit with the stated mission of providing its 1.5 million global clients with “cutting-edge medicine and advocacy regardless of ability to pay.” Weinstein is also the driving force behind several statewide ballot measures, including two previously failed attempts to implement statewide rent control. Undeterred, he is back again this year with a new rent control measure on the November ballot. This time he could also face a challenge of his own – a competing measure aimed at limiting hi ..read more