
Coming On Strong
Sacramento wants a strong mayor — just not the one we have now
The idea of Sacramento adopting the so-called “strong mayor” system of city government is dead. It’s kaput. If this was baseball, it was out on strikes even before voters threw another heater past Mayor Kevin Johnson’s fourth attempt at it in 2014. It’s done. Or maybe it’s not.

The Long Game
Councilman Eric Guerra on homelessness, the marijuana industry and Latino representation in city government
After a decade as a key staffer in the California Legislature, last year the 36-year-old Sacramento District 6 City Councilman Eric became the first Latino to be elected to the Sacramento City Council since former Sacramento Mayor Joe Serna died in 1999. We sat down with him recently to discuss some of the city’s major challenges and opportunities.

What Motivates Millennial Voters?
Young voters help shape presidential elections, but can we make sense of them?
When Sacramento City Councilman Eric Guerra, 36, was elected to represent the 6th District last spring, he called his win “an iconic moment” for his generation. Today’s young people, he said, often feel disillusioned about their government and disconnected from the political process.

Dilemma of the Month: When a Personal Matter Gets Professional
The less you trust your boss, the more honest you need to be
I am an exempt employee and have been working at my company for just under three years. I recently had a serious medical issue that required me to terminate a pregnancy for my own health. I’ve now had three doctor visits in comparatively short succession, and my supervisor is asking why. Since this is an incredibly personal matter, I’m wondering how much I am required to disclose?

Share & Share Alike
Senator Mark Leno says the ‘sharing economy’ is a misnomer for big business
California State Senator Mark Leno never intended to enter the political arena. A Wisconsin native who spent two years in rabbinical studies at the Hebrew Union College in New York, his focus was on running the small sign business he owns in San Francisco. But in 1998, then-Mayor Willie Brown appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Board of Supervisors, and a new career was born. Now approaching his final year in the Legislature, we sat down with him to discuss raising the minimum wage, regulating the sharing economy and LGBT rights.

A Matter of Privacy
Sen. Mark Leno on the fight for privacy in the digital age
California State Sen. Mark Leno is often at odds with his Republican counterparts in the Legislature. But there is one area where Leno, a San Francisco Democrat, has regularly found bipartisan agreement: protecting consumers’ digital privacy.

Save the U.S. From the Harvard-Educated Oligarchy
The late Justice Antonin Scalia argued last year that there was something wrong with having a Supreme Court composed entirely of people who had studied at Harvard and Yale law schools.

Action Civics
Civic learning belongs at the forefront of preparing students for college, career and civic life
We hear a lot about the bad news: Fewer than 8.2 percent of eligible voters ages 18–24 turned out in the 2014 general election; most Americans cannot name the three branches of government; many young people do not think their civic involvement is worthwhile. But there are pockets of good news all around us. More schools are building on the old adage, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” We call this “action civics,” and we know it works.

Jerry Brown Proposes Record $123 Billion California Budget
California Governor Jerry Brown proposed a $123 billion general-fund spending plan for the next fiscal year, a 6 percent increase over the current budget and the largest ever as state coffers overflow with surging tax revenue.

The Right Assisted Living Facility for Mom
I am looking into assisted living facilities for my mother. What is the difference between assisted living facilities, residential care facilities, retirement homes, and board and care homes? What agency oversees these facilities and how are they licensed?