The Governor has recently announced a partial reopening for many California businesses. The general stay-at-home order is rescinded, and most California counties are back in the “purple” tier, allowing personal services like barbershops and hair salons to reopen, while allowing restaurants to provide outdoor dining for their customers.

California’s high cost of living, crumbling infrastructure, rising crime and constant threat of natural disasters always present challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has made matters worse by stressing ICU capacity, causing tragic loss of life, damaging our economy and robbing many students of a year’s education.

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of about 1.8 million people worldwide, approximately 27,000 of which are right here in California. The virus captures our attention, while many other long-standing issues are ignored.

“Overdose deaths far outpace COVID-19 deaths in San Francisco” was a recent headline from the Associated Press highlighting the troubling fact that while COVID-19 is the most immediate threat facing Californians, it is not the only one worthy of our attention.

On January 1st, hundreds of new laws went into effect. Many are non-controversial or have limited impact, but some will directly affect the lives of thousands of Californians. 

SACRAMENTO: In response to Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget unveiling today, Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron issue the following statement:

On January 11th, 80 Assemblymembers and 40 Senators will return to Sacramento for the new 2021-2022 legislative session, which convened Dec 7th. Hundreds of bills will be introduced over the coming weeks.  Most won’t be controversial, and many will probably never become law.

The holiday season is traditionally a time of giving. It’s also appropriate at this time of the year to support organizations in our area that reach out to help those in need. Locally, many organizations are available to provide assistance, but these groups depend on all of us for their support, especially during the current pandemic. 

I introduced AB 1031 in 2017 to establish the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Fund. The bill allows taxpayers filing their returns to voluntarily ‘check off’ a specified amount to fund wildlife rescue programs. AB 1031 had bipartisan support and was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. 

The Employment Development Department (EDD) has clearly not been up to the task of providing unemployment benefits to the millions of Californians thrown out of work when the COVID-19 pandemic struck