Capitol Weekly Podcast

As California stares down the largest budget deficit in a decade, lawmakers - most of whom have never governed during a down time - will be facing hard choices. Labor lobbyist Kristina Bas Hamilton remembers the rough days of the Great Recession, and sat down with us to talk about what this go round might be like, and how it will differ from the past.  She also talks with us about her podcast, and...

For our final episode of 2023 we've got a big show with three special segments:  First up, hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster talk with Sammy Perez of Prison Fellowship to learn about the Angel Tree Program, which gives incarcerated parents a way to provide a Christmas gift and a personal message for their children. Perez, who spent nearly a decade in prison, shares the importance of family connecti...

KQED's Marisa Lagos joins us for a look back at the biggest stories of the past year. Lagos is a correspondent for KQED’s California Politics and Government Desk and co-hosts a weekly show and podcast, Political Breakdown. We discuss Governor Newsom's year, hot labor Summer, the success of the YIMBY movement, the death of Dianne Feinstein and arrival of Laphonza Butlerr, and much, much more.  Plus...

A new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California finds that many Californians no longer believe the American Dream holds true, or believe that the dream is harder to achieve in California than in other states. We're joined by Dean Bonner, associate survey director and research fellow at PPIC, to talk about the results of the survey, how they compare to earlier iterations, and about the...

Just a few years ago, people following California public policy news were the beneficiaries of what was in retrospect an online media renaissance: Joining traditional legacy media, new sites like CalMatters and Politico California offered greatly expanded capitol coverage, and a whole series of newsletters and other aggregators devoted to California government and politics made tracking news easie...

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Education Policy which was held in Sacramento on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 This is the KEYNOTE – CALIFORNIA SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION TONY THURMOND Introduction by Rich Ehisen, Capitol Weekly Find a full transcript here: https://capitolweekly.net/education-policy-tony-thurmond-superint...

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Education Policy which was held in Sacramento on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 This is Panel 3 – LOOK AHEAD: BALLOT MEASURES AND LEGISLATION PANELISTS: Michael Borges, California Teachers Association; Christina Laster, Bold Enterprises LLC; Scott Richards, Teach For America Moderated by Rich Ehisen,...

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Education Policy which was held in Sacramento on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 This is Panel 2 – THE ROLE OF SCHOOL BOARDS PANELISTS:Amy Christianson,  California School Boards Association; Marshall Tuck,  EdVoice; Richard Zeiger,  Zeiger Strategies Moderated by Dan Morain for Capitol Weekly Find a f...

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Education Policy which was held in Sacramento on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. This is Panel 1 – TEACHER SHORTAGE AND OTHER CHALLENGES. PANELISTS: Heather J. Hough, Policy Analysis for California Education, Stanford University; Katie Hardeman, California Teachers Association; David Schapira, Califor...

Loretta Lynch is fired up. The former President of the California Public Utilities Commission is sounding the alarm on a proposed change to California's commercial electricity providers' rate structure that, she says, will dramatically increase rates for electricity customers. AB 205 easily passed the legislature and was signed by the Governor as a Budget Trailer Bill back in the summer of 2022. I...

Former legislator Phil Isenberg died last week after a brief illness. Isenberg wore many hats in his life: Mayor of Sacramento, Assemblymember, Vice Chair of the Delta Stewardship Council, and husband to Marilyn Araki Isenberg. But for all that, perhaps his biggest legacy will be as a supporter of - and enthusiast for - the arts. Dan Morain covered Isenberg for decades and penned an obit for Capit...

We are joined today by Jenn Bowles of the Water Education Foundation, or WEF. WEF was founded in 1977, in the midst of a deep drought, to facilitate a better understanding of water resource issues in California and the West, and to give context to the challenges facing California's most precious natural resource. Now, nearly five decades later, we are just emerging from the latest drought period t...

We're joined today by Democratic Senator Steve Glazer , who represents SD7 in the Bay Area. While Glazer was first elected to the senate in a 2015 Special Election, he has been engaged in politics for four decades, including stints working for Gray Davis, Chief Justice Rose Bird , and two stints - thirty years apart - for Governor Jerry Brown . Glazer is the only California senator to host own pod...

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Women’s Health which was held on Thursday, September 28, 2023  This is Panel 3 – Women in the Health Care Workforce California faces a significant shortfall of healthcare staffing: nursing vacancy rates among local hospitals are over 30%. And the need for home healthcare workers is predicted to e...

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Women’s Health which was held on Thursday, September 28, 2023 This is The Keynote– SEN. BARBARA BOXER in conversation with JODI HICKS of Planned Parenthood Introduced by Rich Ehisen of Capitol Weekly 38:06 Worst Week in California Politics A full transcript of this discussion may be found at: htt...

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Women’s Health which was held on Thursday, September 28, 2023 This is Panel 2 – HEALTH EQUITY Women of color, rural women and women in poverty have less access to healthcare – and worse outcomes. What – if anything – is being done to lessen these disparities and make the state’s healthcare system...

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Women’s Health which was held on Thursday, September 28, 2023 This is Panel 1 – REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH The reversal of Roe vs. Wade has created turmoil and uncertainty in reproductive care. In 2022, voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 1, adding the right to choose into the California Constitu...

It wasn't long ago that the idea of chefs moonlighting as political advocates - and finding a willing audience of elected officials - might have seemed ludicrous. Now, celebrity chefs and a fascination with food culture has changed all that.  Many chefs are dedicated activists for causes like hunger relief efforts, supporting local farmers, fighting food waste, confronting racism and sexism in the...

The California Republican Party Convention kicks off Friday in Anaheim with a luncheon featuring former president and current GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. While Trump is likely to get the lion's share of the attention, other prominent GOP candidates including Sen. Tim Scott, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy will also be on hand throughout the weekend. California boas...

Viviana Becerra was one of the new names this year on Capitol Weekly's annual Top 100 List. As Chief of Staff to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, she oversees the Office of Communications, Office of Native American Affairs, Office of External Affairs, Community Awareness, Response, and Engagement Team, and the Office of Legislative Affairs. While Becerra may be new to the list, she is alread...

This episode we welcome friend of the podcast Chris Micheli to talk about his two new books about the legislative process: Handbook on California's Legislative Process and Handbook on Legislative Drafting in California . Micheli will be a familiar name to Capitol Weekly readers; his Micheli Files column, in which he explains - in plain language - nuances of the California legislative process, is a...

Since it's Labor Day we're just doing a quick Worst Week - back to our regular episodes next week! 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 by freebeats.io Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information ab...

Last week, 'Keep It A Secret,' a documentary that tells the story of the pioneers of surfing in Ireland, premiered on Irish television following a spate of film festival appearances. If the reviews are any indication, the film is headed for success: Ed Powers of The Irish Times raved, writing, "[The] broadcaster should urgently commission a drama based on the wonderful Keep It a Secret..." This is...

Each year, Capitol Weekly’s Top 100 names the most powerful movers and shakers in California politics. We don’t include elected officials. Instead, we look at those who devote their professional lives to fighting for – or against – issues of state politics and policy, including lobbyists, bureaucrats, activists, trade group leaders, Capitol staffers and even journalists. Last week we published the...

We are joined today by Robin Swanson, a political strategist and communications expert with more than 25 years of political experience in both DC and Sacramento. She is also the co-founder and president of #WinLikeaGirl, a bipartisan group that spotlights the often unrecognized achievements of women who work in politics. Swanson shares the #WinLikeaGirl origin story, talks about the reluctance of...