[Source: Orange County Register] Back in the 1980s, the Schylling Company produced an amusing toy, Ernest the Balancing Bear. Ernest performed a “death-defying high wire act” on a string strung high across a room. Ernest the Bear pedaled his unicycle as fast and as furious as possible across the wire trying to keep his balance Read More…
Category: California News
How the coronavirus is hampering enforcement of California’s air pollution rules
[Source: The Los Angeles Times] The coronavirus is having another unintended effect on California’s environment, hindering the enforcement of clean-air rules that could help protect people’s lungs during the pandemic. Field inspections have been halted since mid-March at the California Air Resources Board, which enforces rules on trucks, ships and other major pollution sources, because Read More…
California avoids addressing causes of its high energy costs
[Source: Fox & Hounds] Californians will continue to pay some of the highest costs for electricity and fuel use as the State unexpectedly collides catastrophically with the global pandemic that will impact businesses and employment for an unpredictable economic future. The State’s much-touted $21 billion operating-budget surplus is likely to disappear entirely due to declining Read More…
Who should pay for pandemic impacts?
[Source: CALMatters / Dan Walters] The COVID-19 pandemic and the severe economic recession it induced are disasters unparalleled in recent generations and it will take years to fully recover from their human and financial tolls. Already, however, they are spawning legal and political conflicts, over whom, if anyone, should be accountable for their impacts. There Read More…
California to borrow federal money to cover soaring jobless claims
[Source: Los Angeles Times] California has been approved to borrow what is expected to be billions of dollars from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits to those left jobless by the coronavirus pandemic, raising concerns about the cost of repaying the debt. The state made the request as its reserves for paying unemployment benefits Read More…
Coronavirus prompts Gov. Gavin Newsom to suspend California’s plastic bag ban
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Gov. Gavin Newsom has suspended California’s ban on grocery stores providing single-use plastic bags amid concerns that clerks may be at risk for exposure to the coronavirus if shoppers are required to supply their own reusable bags to carry their purchases home. Newsom announced Thursday that he signed an executive order Read More…
As Californians stay at home, air quality improves – for now
[Source: Cal Matters] The global coronavirus pandemic has inadvertently achieved what state officials have sought to do for decades: Californians have parked their cars. Freeways and highways are clear. And the constant burn of fossil fuels has been markedly diminished. The statewide stay-at-home order has brought about drastic reductions in air pollution and planet-warming emissions, Read More…
Virus attacks California ballot measures
[Source: CalMatters] As the coronavirus pandemic was clobbering California — and the rest of the known world — this month, local government officials in Sacramento County enthusiastically decided to ask voters to approve a hefty sales tax increase for transportation improvements. Were members of the Sacramento Transportation Authority board smoking some of California’s newly legalized Read More…
Furloughs versus layoffs: is there a difference in California?
[Source: CalChamber] Many Californian businesses are facing difficult choices during this COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic). Confronting losses in revenue and uncertainty in the future, businesses are evaluating their options for preserving their companies while maintaining their workforce. CalChamber members are asking, “What is the difference between furloughing and laying off employees?” Read More…