Tag: california

Gavin Newsom Just Gave California’s 800,000 Uber and Lyft Drivers a One-Way Ticket to the Unemployment Line

California Governor Gavin Newsom just gave his state’s Uber and Lyft drivers a one way ticket to the unemployment line.

Newsom signed a landmark agreement on Friday that would allow Uber and Lyft drivers to form a union.

The Democrat said at a press conference that the unionization deal will offer ride-hailing drivers a “voice, to give them choice, give them dignity and a say about their future.”

“I say that because it needs to be said: I’m not naive about how people are feeling about their future,” he explained.

California has become the second state in the nation, after Massachusetts, to allow Uber and Lyft drivers to unite at an industry level to negotiate for higher pay and benefits, such as health coverage.

The arrangement was finalized in August through talks between Democratic lawmakers in Sacramento, SEIU union officials, and representatives from Uber and Lyft.

The measure, known as AB 1340, was introduced by Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks and Marc Berman and sponsored by SEIU California.

It establishes rules that allow app-based drivers to bargain collectively for improved wages and access to employee-style benefits, including health insurance.

Yet sadly, it does not take a genius to work out that all Newsom is condemning the state’s 800,000 Uber and Lyft drivers to losing their jobs altogether.

Companies such as Uber and Lyft are already aggressively driving down the wages earned by their drivers as part of their efforts to become profitable.

The decline in wages is also linked to the exploding popularity of ride-sharing as a profession, in many cases embraced by immigrants and people who are searching for more permanent work.

Nowadays, most long-time drivers reminisce about the “glory days” when they could earn a respectable living from their work.

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California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Certain Health Care Facilities

A county health officer in California issued an order requiring masking in acute care facilities starting on Nov. 1, an order authorities attribute to rising seasonal respiratory illnesses.

The mandate, which lasts until March 31 of next year, requires the use of face masks by people in acute care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, surgical and maternity centers, and infusion centers such as dialysis and chemotherapy centers, during respiratory virus season, not including patients.

“These respiratory viruses can cause serious illness, particularly in vulnerable groups such as infants, older adults, pregnant individuals, and those with weakened immune systems,” Lisa Hernandez, the Santa Cruz County public health officer, said in a statement. “This order aims to reduce the spread of these viruses and protect those most at risk from severe outcomes, including hospitalization and death.”

Santa Cruz County is located to the south of San Jose and other cities that make up Silicon Valley in California.

Last fall, officials in counties around California’s San Francisco Bay Area implemented similar mask mandates in health care facilities that lasted from Nov. 1, 2024, to April 2025.

An official in California’s Yolo County said last month that residents were advised to wear masks indoors because of COVID-19.

“Based on current wastewater levels of the virus that causes COVID-19, I recommend that everybody in West Sacramento wear a mask when they are around others in indoor public spaces,” Aimee Sisson, the Yolo County health officer, said in the statement.

The most recent data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that the rates of positive tests and emergency department visits across the United States are continuing to fall.

Positive tests fell to 6.7 percent for the week ending Sept. 27, down from 9.6 percent during the previous week, according to the data. The percentage of emergency visits for COVID-19 fell from 1 percent to 0.7 percent.

Nineteen states are experiencing “high” or “very high” levels of COVID-19, according to wastewater data reviewed by the CDC. Connecticut, Delaware, Nevada, and Utah are seeing the highest levels.

“COVID-19 activity has peaked and is declining in many areas of the country, but emergency department visits and hospitalizations are elevated nationally,” the CDC said in a separate statement.

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California plan redistributes prime farmland in the name of “equity”

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s “agricultural equity” advisers have a plan to de facto nationalize farmland and redistribute it along largely racial lines.

This is according to a draft document released this summer by the California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force. According to the report, 82% of private farmland in California is owned by white producers; a fact authors blame on “inequities in resource distribution.” Their draft plan lists reparation-style recommendations to disrupt this status quo, restoring “stolen wealth” to the committee’s preferred groups.

California lost 1.6 million acres of farming and grazing land between 1984 and 2018—more than 47,000 acres per year or one square mile every five days. To address this crisis, the task force suggests removing prime farmland from the market altogether.

“In order to protect California’s Prime Farmland and Farmland of Statewide Importance, the Legislature should move to safeguard them in the public domain,” the report states.

By stripping owners of their right to freely sell or transfer farmland, the California government would be able to “halt the problem at the root,” the report claims. A state-funded entity could then buy up available farmland and redistribute it to “priority producers or land stewards”—defined as socially disadvantaged or historically excluded farmers.

The report predicts much of this available farmland will come courtesy of a 2014 California law that regulates water use. The controversial Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) shifted control from landowners to local agencies, giving government the power to dictate water use on private property and to impose fees for groundwater pumping. SGMA forces farmers to stop farming near “overdrafted basins,” in some cases calling for pumping reductions of 20-50% or more.

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California Ends Kamala Harris’s Truancy Law Punishing Parents

California parents will no longer face arrest if their children miss school following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Oct. 1 decision to approve legislation repealing Kamala Harris’s truancy law.

The 2011 law that the former vice president sponsored when she served as the state’s attorney general made it a misdemeanor for parents if their children were chronically truant by missing 10 percent or more of school days, starting in kindergarten.

The law punished parents with a fine of up to $2,000 or one year in county jail. At the time, she said the bill was an “effective strategy” to reduce chronic elementary school truancy and a smart approach to crime prevention.

This week, Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 461 to end the criminalization of truancy for parents and remove the 2011 law from the state’s penal code. Newsom did not explain why he signed AB 461 in his press release about legislation decisions on Oct. 1. The bill, one of 105 bills signed into law that day, takes effect on Jan. 1.

The bill’s author, Assemblyman Patrick Ahrens, a Silicon Valley Democrat, called the truancy law a “failed policy.”

“Thank you to Gov. Newsom for signing my bill to repeal this failed policy of criminalizing struggling California families for their children missing school,” Ahrens said in a statement. “Fining or imprisoning parents did nothing to get kids the education and support they need.”

While California’s truancy law remained on the books for more than a decade, school districts were becoming less likely to enforce the punitive measures against parents, according to EdSource, a nonprofit educational resource focused on the state’s school systems.

The first arrests under the law were of five parents in Orange County in 2011. The parents were handcuffed and taken to Orange County Jail before being released on their own recognizance for ignoring repeated requests to get their children to school.

While parents have been arrested in California under the truancy law, it was unclear how many cases resulted in criminal charges. Most school districts instead went beyond the law to reach out to parents with emails, letters, and phone calls to resolve truancy problems, according to the California District Attorney’s Association.

The new law was sponsored by End Child Poverty California, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty. Several justice and parent organizations, including the California State Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), also supported it.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom Threatens to Withhold Billions from State Colleges Signing Trump ‘Compact’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to withhold billions in state funds from any college that signs an agreement to support President Donald Trump’s education agenda.

Deemed the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” the Trump administration seeks to require universities to adhere to “rules written by the administration in a variety of areas, including admissions, hiring, free speech on campus, teaching and the use of endowments,” per KCRA.

“Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits,” the compact states.

Gavin Newsom denounced the compact as a “radical agreement” and pledged to withhold billions in state funds should any college cooperate with it.

“IF ANY CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY SIGNS THIS RADICAL AGREEMENT, THEY’LL LOSE BILLIONS IN STATE FUNDING — INCLUDING CAL GRANTS — INSTANTLY. CALIFORNIA WILL NOT BANKROLL SCHOOLS THAT SELL OUT THEIR STUDENTS, PROFESSORS, RESEARCHERS, AND SURRENDER ACADEMIC FREEDOM,” Newsom said in an intentionally uppercased statement as a troll of President Trump.

At least nine universities in the country have received the compact, with only one — University of Southern California (USC) — residing in the Golden State.

“USC is a private school that receives Cal Grants from the state. Cal Grants are part of the state’s financial aid program that provides funding to students that does not need to be paid back,” per KRCA.

“According to the California Department of Finance, USC received a total of $28.4 million in Cal Grant funding in the past year. The independent AICCU intuitions together received $227.6 million in total in that same year,” it added.

Abigail Jackson, a spokeswoman for the White House, said Newsom opposes the protection of free speech.

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California Governor Signs Bill To Integrate Hemp And Marijuana Markets After Banning Intoxicating Cannabinoids Outside Of Dispensaries

The governor of California has signed a bill to integrate intoxicating hemp products into the state’s existing marijuana market—an attempt to consolidate the cannabis industry and prevent youth access to unregulated hemp.

After the legislation from Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) passed the Senate last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it into law on Thursday.

“We are continuing to place the safety of every Californian first,” Newsom said. “For too long, nefarious hemp manufacturers have been exploiting loopholes to make their intoxicating products easily available to our most vulnerable communities—that stops today.”

This follows the governor’s emergency order last year that outright prohibited hemp products with any trace amounts of THC from being sold, which industry stakeholders warned would devastate the marketplace.

Under the newly signed bill, intoxicating hemp products that meet certain regulatory requirements would be able to be sold at licensed cannabis retailers with age restrictions and testing rules. But it’s unclear how that might ameliorate the hemp industry’s concerns, when adults and patients go to a store with the option to buy a broader array of marijuana products.

“Bad actors have abused state and federal law to sell intoxicating hemp products in our State. As the author of legislation that allowed the legal sale of non-intoxicating hemp CBD products, this is absolutely unacceptable,” Aguiar-Curry said. “AB 8 is a result of years of collaboration with this Administration, and I appreciate the Governor’s signature.”

“Our first job is to protect our kids and our communities,” she said. “With this bill, we’ll have responsible regulation, increase enforcement, and support struggling legal cannabis businesses against criminal competition.”

Nicole Elliott, director of the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), said the legislation represents “a critical step forward for California’s cannabis industry and for consumer safety.”

“By closing loopholes around intoxicating hemp products and bringing them under the same strict rules as cannabis, this legislation protects consumers, ensures fair competition for licensed businesses, and strengthens the integrity of our regulated marketplace,” she said. “AB 8 makes it clear that all intoxicating products must be held to the same important standards Californians expect.”

The key provisions of the law take effect in January 2028, mandating that consumable hemp products with cannabinoids other that CBD must comply with the state’s current medical and recreational marijuana laws.

A Senate analysis of the bill released last month said the measure would ban the sale of “synthetic cannabis products and inhalable cannabis products containing cannabinoids derived from hemp,” place restrictions on incorporating raw hemp extracts into foods and beverages and expand “the authority for state and local enforcement agencies to inspect, seize, and destroy unlawful cannabis products.”

This all follows Newsom announcing emergency regulations last year to outlaw hemp products with any “detectable amount of total THC.” Under that move, hemp products that don’t have THC are also limited to five servings per package, and sales are restricted to adults 21 and older.

The proposal came less than a month after the state legislature effectively killed a governor-backed bill that would have imposed somewhat similar restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids.

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TEN MONTHS AFTER THE FIRES: Only TWO Reconstruction Permits Have Been Issued in Malibu, California

The wildfires that swept through southern California happened in January. That was ten months ago. Since then, in Malibu, which lost more than 700 structures in the fires, only two reconstruction permits have been issued. TWO.

What are the people who run California doing all day? How is this even possible?

We are reminded of the predictions by Adam Carolla after the fires. Pretty much everything he predicted is coming true.

Hot Air reports:

Malibu Lost 720 Structures in the Fire; 2 Building Permits Have Been Issued So Far

Remember the halcyon days of January 2025, when every politician representing the Los Angeles area, from city councilmen to the governor, promised to expedite permitting to help residents rebuild after the disastrous fires the Democrats created?

It was all bulls**t, and everybody knew it then, but of course, everybody in California’s Pravda pretended to take them seriously. After all, this is California, where the sun shines ever day and Gavin Newsom has a perpetual 10-year plan to end homelessness. Democrats are GOOD and Republicans are EVIL.

Well, as predicted by every sane person, the politicians have failed to follow through with their promised expediting of the permitting process. Of the 720 structures destroyed, only two have gotten permits to rebuild. One suspects that Newsom’s promise to rebuild the area better than ever actually means that he and the Democrats want to reshape it into their version of utopia.

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‘Big losses’: Study confirms Newsom’s $20-an-hour minimum wage decimated industry

Gavin Newsom, California’s far-left Democrat governor, is known to have presidential aspirations.

If he chooses that path, one of issues on which he will face a grilling will be economics.

And a new study has revealed it won’t look good.

It’s because since he imposed a $20-an-hour minimum wage for fast food workers in his state, California has lost close to 20,000 such jobs.

“That’s nearly 25% of the country’s fast-food job losses during that same period, according to an analysis of quarterly data released this month from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” charged a report in the Washington Examiner.

“These grim statistics should be a wake-up call for Newsom and other policymakers pushing for drastic wage hikes that will cause unintended consequences,” said Rebekah Paxton, if the Employment Policies Institute.

The Examiner report noted Newsom “was all smiles two years ago when he signed the FAST Recovery Act, creating a $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers in his state. He called the legislation a win-win-win that would benefit restaurant owners, their employees, and customers alike.”

But it’s actually left behind “big losses.”

Besides job losses, there have been staff cuts, huge menu price increases and a turn to automation, the report said.

“California made national headlines when two large Pizza Hut franchises laid off more than 1,200 in-house delivery drivers to cut costs, while others, such as Mod Pizza and Foster’s Freeze, decided to close up shop entirely,” the report noted.

Paxton said, “Newsom’s $20 wage has turned out to be nothing more than a boost to his own ego at the expense of fast food workers. His consistent claim that the law is a ‘win’ is out of touch with reality, and lawmakers looking to mirror his job-crushing policies should think twice.”

Further, the analysis found even workers who kept working lost.

“The law has cost nontipped restaurant workers 250 hours of work annually, according to the EPI analysis, which represents $4,000 in lost income under the state’s previous minimum wage for fast-food workers.”

And, according to the American Cornerstone Institute, it’s hit small businesses hardest.

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California Marijuana Tax Cut Officially Takes Effect, With Planned Increase Delayed Through At Least 2028

Three months into a major marijuana tax hike in California, a new law putting a pause on the increase has officially taken effect.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the tax relief legislation from Assemblymember Matt Haney (D) late last month. Now, as of Wednesday, consumers will not be paying the increased excise tax—at least until October 2028.

“We’re rolling back this cannabis tax hike so the legal market can continue to grow, consumers can access safe products, and our local communities see the benefits,” Newsom said at the time of the bill signing.

Haney said that “California’s cannabis economy can bring enormous benefits to our state, but only if our legal industry is given a fair chance to compete against the untaxed and unregulated illegal market.”

“AB 564 helps level the playing field,” he said. “It protects California jobs, keeps small businesses open, and ensures that our legal cannabis market can grow and thrive the way voters intended.”

State officials announced in June that the cannabis excise tax rate would increase from 15 percent to 19 percent on July 1, prompting concern from industry stakeholders and consumer advocates.

Newsom previously supported including a tax freeze in a budget trailer bill, but that didn’t come to fruition. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D) also backed the delay, but Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D) reportedly blocked it from the budget legislation.

Before being amended in committee, the newly enacted legislation’s pause of the cannabis tax increase would have been in effect until June 30, 2030. After that, on a biennial basis, regulators would adjust the tax rate “by a percentage that will generate an amount of revenue that would have been collected pursuant to the cultivation tax imposed prior to its discontinuation, as specified, not to exceed 19 percent,” according to a summary.

The Senate Appropriations Committee, however, moved to shorten the period that the reduction will be in effect, to October 2028.

The new law will make it so the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), working with the Department of Finance, will be required to “adjust the cannabis excise tax rate upon purchasers of cannabis or cannabis products” based on the “additional percentage of the gross receipts of any retail sale by a cannabis retailer that the department estimates will generate an amount of revenue equivalent to the amount that would have been collected in the previous fiscal year,” the text says.

The department will need to “estimate the amount of revenue that would have been collected in the previous fiscal year pursuant to the weight-based cultivation tax” and “estimate this amount by projecting the revenue from weight-based cultivation taxes that would have been collected in the previous calendar year based on information available to the department.”

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Trump Admin Probes California State University System Over Anti-Semitism, Racial Bias Claims

The Trump administration has launched an investigation into all 22 campuses of the California State University (CSU) system over allegations of anti-Semitism and racial discrimination.

Chancellor Mildred Garcia said in a Sept. 26 letter to the Cal State community that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has launched “a systemwide antisemitism complaint” against Cal State. Garcia said investigators have already begun contacting faculty and staff to review allegations and speak with them about their experiences on campus.

Garcia also revealed that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has initiated a separate inquiry into Cal State. That probe centers on allegations of racial discrimination “due to interactions with the PhD Project,” a nonprofit organization created to diversify business education and the corporate workforce.

Garcia said that news of the investigations “may be unsettling” for faculty and staff, and she denied any misconduct and emphasized that Cal State intends to cooperate fully with the probes.

“The CSU does not discriminate against or give preference to any individual or group based on race, ethnicity, nationality, shared ancestry, religion or any other protected status,” Garcia wrote.

She added that the system is “firmly committed” to ensuring that admissions and hiring are based solely on merit.

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