My-turn

The college admissions scam, much of which involves parents of USC students, serves as a blaring signal that college is not about education. It is about status. The majority of us do not have anyone to help buy our admission, let alone our education. I am one of the millions of Americans who will graduate with massive debt. By the time I earn my master’s degree in a year and a half, my student loans will amount to about $80,000.

California’s 4.2 percent unemployment rate is at a 10-year low. Wages are accelerating at their fastest pace in nearly a decade. But prospective home buyers continue to see sticker shock, with median prices still hovering in the $530,000 range. The affordability problem must be addressed and fast if California is to remain a place where middle class people can live.

We all have biases. We need to stop pretending that we don’t act on our perceptions. Most of us prejudge, even if those prejudices are unintentional. The good news is that studies also reveal that as people become aware of their unconscious biases, and are reminded of them regularly, they can correct themselves.

Any new path on California water must bring Delta community and fishing interests to the table. We have solutions to offer. We live with the impacts of state water management decisions from loss of recreation to degradation of water quality to collapsing fisheries.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s call in his State of the State speech to restrain health care costs in California is rooted in some eye popping numbers.  The cost of healthcare for a family of four reached $28,000 in 2018. If nothing is done, it will soon be $30,000 and more. This is clearly unsustainable. The governor can take the lead on two issues right now.

Violent offenses such as murder, robbery, rape, and assault are declining. Lower-level offenses, especially petty theft, minor vandalism, and minor status offenses like truancy, show the biggest increases in court dispositions per arrest. Yet lesser offenders are exactly the ones most successfully diverted to community-based and restitution programs.

Anyone who has witnessed an execution never forgets it. The memory of August (Boogie Woogie) LaFontaine's death by lethal gas, pushed far back into the darkest shadows of my mind, came to light again with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement of his moratorium on the state’s death penalty, an action taken in four states in recent years.

Some charter parents assert their children’s charter school experience is positive. I can believe it. But sincere charter parents need to understand that while for some students charters can be beneficial, their overall impact on public education is destructive.

To a 6-year-old child considering Proposition 187 of 1994, the question was simple: How could a government deny a human being the right to an education or health care just because they didn’t have proper documentation to live in this country?

Between 2010 and 2017, stolen firearms were used in at least 60 homicides in California, and 203 youths ended their lives because of unauthorized access to a firearm. AB 276 will hold gun owners accountable by requiring all firearms to be securely stored with Department of Justice-approved firearm safety devices.