Weekly CALmatters 11/30/2018 - CalMatters

IN SUMMARY Highlighting all of CALmatters’ work over the past week By Judy Lin What could happen if PG&E, which provides natural gas and electricity to 16 million people in northern and

central California, goes bankrupt in the aftermath of the deadliest blaze in state history? By Ben Christopher In every single congressional district that featured a face-off between a

Democrat and Republican in this midterm and the last, the California electorate shifted further blue. The average Democratic gain: 9 percentage points. By Martha Groves Opponents of a new

California law mandating gender diversity in corporate boardrooms warn that it will be challenged in court. Defenders of the law say it will bring California corporations into the 21st

century. By Ben Christopher The midterm elections whittled away all the purple sections of the state now represented by the GOP, leaving only the scarlet-red core. By Laurel Rosenhall The

resignation of California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman is a sign that the #MeToo story is far from over. By Ben Christopher These maps illustrate how California counties split over

the midterm ballot propositions. By Ben Christopher The data shows how California’s top-two primary left GOP voters with few good options—or an option they couldn’t stomach—in several key

races. By Ben Christopher Who got the best deal at the ballot box this year? We look at how much money was spent on each ballot proposition per vote. By Amita Sharma, California Dream

Project Lenders are selling seniors on the idea of home renovation work, but sometimes homeowners don’t realize they’ve taken on debt until it’s too late. By Amita Sharma, California Dream

Project Amid California’s record-shattering housing prices, the state’s senior homeowners are sitting on a gold mine. That’s made them marks for con artists. By Trevor Eischen Have you been

paying attention to the latest California policy and politics news this week? Test your knowledge with our quiz. By Dan Walters The Legislature has now made it quasi- legal for state

legislators to live outside their districts and one who had been prosecuted has been pardoned by Gov. Jerry Brown. Guest Commentary Earthquakes, floods, mega-fires, a recession and other

unforeseen events can disrupt the best-laid plans of any California governor. Potential disasters aside, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom should hit the ground running. Here are five policy

initiatives for him to consider. By Dan Walters Democrats enjoy political control of California, but are splitting into three factions that struggle for power within the party. Guest

Commentary Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom has the opportunity to chart his own course on climate change by addressing one of the state’s greatest challenges: the resilience of our water supplies.

If Newsom can modernize the state’s water governance and provide clean drinking water to all, he would truly make his own mark in establishing California as a world leader by building

resilience to climate change. Guest Commentary In the truest sense of the word, Harvey Milk was a populist and a fighter for disenfranchised people. He spoke of the “us-es”—the ethnic,

religious and sexual minorities, immigrants, women, those who are differently-abled, seniors. He fought for all those who lacked a voice. By Dan Walters How California deals with the

financial consequences of this year’s devastating wildfires will set a pattern for what Gov. Jerry Brown calls “the new abnormal.” By Dan Walters School reform advocates pumped big money

into two statewide campaigns this year but lost both as the education establishment’s preferred candidates won the governorship and the superintendency of public instruction. Now the “Equity

Coalition” must decide to continue their drive for structural change or back off.