Latest news with #CaliforniaAssembly
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kern County's 2026 primary candidates: One-on-one interview with AD-35 hopeful Andrae Gonzales
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The 2026 Election is already underway, as candidates throw their names in the ring for local, state and federal offices. Wednesday morning, Bakersfield Ward 2 City Councilmember Andrae Gonzales announced his run for California's 35th Assembly District. 17 Political Reporter Jenny Huh sat down with Gonzales for a candidate profile. It's a political domino effect or ladder, if you will. Gonzales announced Thursday morning he's running to replace Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains in the 35th Assembly District, who, one day prior, announced she's running for Congress. 'My goal is to know the district as well as I know Ward 2, and to be as involved, as engaged as I can,' said Gonzales. The 43-year-old has represented Bakersfield's Ward 2 since 2016, prior to that serving as a board trustee on the Bakersfield City School District. An east Bakersfield native and current Eastchester resident, the Democrat is eyeing the step up to Sacramento, saying the state must do more for cities. 'We know and I know that Sacramento can do so much more to help us address some of the most chronic pressing issues that are facing our neighborhoods for too long,' Gonzales said. 'Kern County has got the short end of the stick. We have our older brothers, the Bay Area and in the L.A. Southern California area, our big brothers who seem to have a seat at the table and kind of nudge us out.' 17's Jenny Huh: 'How do you, amid all the other state legislators and senators that are working to do the same thing for their community, how do you prioritize Kern?' Andrae Gonzales: 'I grew up in a family with five siblings, and I know a thing or two about nudging my way in. I was a middle child.' On his priorities at the state level, Gonzales said, 'Number one is to grow and diversify our local economy. We know that we're facing so many challenges when it comes to with respect to our region and in good paying jobs.' Gonzales has long focused on issues like homelessness, housing affordability and support for small local businesses, all of which he says his 'Downtown Ward' feels especially hard. 'The issues compound themselves, everything from chronic poverty to disinvestment in some of our oldest neighborhoods to homelessness, to a decline in the downtown area and a lack of investment over a period of 30, 40 years,' the assemblymember hopeful explained. AD-35 is a seat Gonzales has eyed before, in the 2024 cycle, though he ultimately bowed out. 'This opportunity with Dr. Bains running for Congress has opened the seat up. And it's an open seat, I want to give it a shot,' Gonzales answered, when asked about his first go at the seat. The work has already started. 17 News joined Gonzales Wednesday evening in Delano, as he met with community leaders. Delano is the second largest city in kern but is also where the incumbent Bains' roots lie. Gonzales said when it comes to his ability to transition to state leadership, he hopes the proof is in the pudding. He highlighted various accomplishments at the city level, especially in helping hundreds of small businesses, including through the B3K Initiative, the Bakersfield College Launch Pad Initiative, and the Prosperity Neighborhood Initiative. Gonzales also highlighted his role in the launching of the Bakersfield community land trust, which offers affordable housing opportunities to those low to moderate income. He credited his late father, who served as a counselor at Bakersfield College — for his public servant mindset, which Gonzales said began at the young age of six. 'I am very serious about getting to work and just focusing on the issues and being very pragmatic and practical in getting things done for people,' Gonzales said. Click here for the full interview with Andrae Gonzales. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
San Francisco Chronicle
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Roy Wood Jr. says Willie Brown crashed his show and walked off with merch
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. shared a distinctly San Francisco story this week: a surprise encounter with former Mayor Willie Brown that ended with a free ticket, a handshake — and a missing CD. Posting on X Wednesday, July 16, Wood described how Brown appeared unannounced at one of his stand-up sets in San Francisco. 'Willie Brown showed up to my sold out San Francisco shows once & told the door man 'Willie Brown on every list' (he was NOT on my list),' Wood wrote. 'Still they gave him a free ticket.' The comedian, a veteran of 'The Daily Show' and a regular at Cobb's Comedy Club and the Bay Area's comedy festivals, said Brown didn't stop at the velvet rope. Willie Brown showed up to my sold out San Francisco shows once & told the door man "Willie Brown on every list" (he was NOT on my list) still they gave him a free ticket. THEN after the show, he came up to my merch table, took a CD w/o paying, then shook my hand and said "You… — Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) July 16, 2025 After the show, he approached Wood's merchandise table and picked up a CD without paying. 'You just met Willie Brown, You want a picture?' Brown reportedly said, before disappearing 'into the night.' 'No date, no homeboys, no security detail,' Wood continued. 'Just the mayor out by himself showing up to yo show for free and stealing yo sh–. He was so charming I couldn't even be mad.' For many San Franciscans, the anecdote fits Brown's well-known persona. Now 91, he remains a towering figure in California politics — the city's first Black mayor and the longest-serving Speaker of the California Assembly — renowned as much for his political clout as his social style. Even in retirement, Brown is a fixture in the city, often spotted dining alone or holding court at longtime haunts.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A new student loan program emerges: no interest, no fees, 'pay-it-forward'
Joshua Alferos was two semesters away from a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering when he ran out of money. He was about to change his major or drop out. Then he heard of a new, experimental program run by philanthropies and private businesses that would loan him what he needed to finish college — at zero interest and with no fees. The debt wouldn't come due until he earned a minimum salary, and his employer would probably help him pay it off. One of the best parts, to Alferos: The repayment goes into a pool to provide the same help for other young, low-income Hawaiians who come after him. 'It's pretty empowering, because you can help future students,' said Alferos, who has continued his studies with the loan program. This pay-it-forward approach to covering the cost of college multiplies the number of students who can benefit from a fixed supply of financial aid and can help fill shortages of workers in critical industries. California will soon join the effort. A San Diego county-run program will begin in the fall. And while a bill introduced in the California Assembly by Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) to create a pay-it-forward fund for some students in the University of California and California State University systems did not advance this session, it will be heard again in January. The San Diego program will target majors in behavioral health, including clinicians, practitioners and psychiatric nurses — professions with a collective 8,000-worker shortfall in San Diego. Those loans will be entirely forgiven for graduates who work in behavioral health for five years or more. 'What you need to be looking at is where there is enduring demand for particular credentials or degrees,' said Kirstin Hill, president and chief operating officer at Social Finance, a nonprofit that designed and helps to manage pay-it-forward funds around the country. At a time when millions of people have defaulted on their student loans and face aggressive renewed enforcement measures by the federal government to collect payments, the pilot programs are intended to spur momentum, their backers say. "It's a new way of thinking about scholarship support that lets you extend your dollars' further than by simply giving away money, said Alex Harris, vice president at the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, the lead donor of the Hawaiʻi Renewable Learning Fund. That's because once it's paid back, it can be loaned again. This feature resonates in Hawaii, which has a tradition of mutual support called 'kokua.' 'There is that long cultural history that when one person succeeds, everyone is raised up,' Harris said. Under the pilot, Hawaiian engineering students from families with low incomes can borrow from a $2.5-million revolving fund underwritten by the Castle Foundation and other donors. Repayments don't start until the students graduate and earn $50,000 or more. Some of the state's biggest engineering firms have agreed to help their new employees pay off the loans to boost recruitment. The university helps to promote the program. The pilot in Hawaii began with engineering majors because the state is heavily dependent on engineers in its key defense, construction and tourism industries — but has a chronic shortage of them. In addition to Hawaii and San Diego, pay-it-forward programs have been started or will launch in the fall in Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Miami. Each is focused on a field with high demand but short supply — healthcare and information technology in Colorado and New Jersey and climate careers in Massachusetts. In 24 states with shortages or projected shortages of registered nurses, a pay-it-forward fund has been set up to help residents study nursing at the national, online Western Governors University. Google is doing something similar for students pursuing certificates in data analytics, digital marketing and e-commerce, IT support, project management and other fields. Massachusetts and New Jersey have put public money behind these efforts, but in collaboration with private sources. Massachusetts and New Jersey have put public money behind these efforts in collaboration with private sources. There are obstacles. At least 24 states have considered such programs, but high startup costs and other issues prevented the launch. In Illinois, for example, a proposal for a universal pay-it-forward loan fund got as far as a feasibility study. But researchers calculated that it would take billions of dollars in startup money and decades to pay for itself. This isn't the only problem, according to the study, done by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Giving students loans at zero interest might encourage colleges and universities to raise their prices, it speculated. Also, because the programs are so far focused on higher-paying jobs, students might be nudged away from important but less-well-compensated fields such as teaching and social work. And sorting details about taxes or what would happen in bankruptcy is complex. But advocates argue that paying for college now is also complicated and expensive, and discourages many Americans from going. The interest rate for undergraduate federal-government-subsidized student loans is 6.53%, and Americans hold more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. Another unexpected issue: Students are surprisingly suspicious of the programs. Many have experienced misleading promises of financial aid from universities and colleges, the changing rules for federal loans and slow and unresponsive loan servicers. No students responded to an initial email he sent out announcing the fund, said Brennon Morioka, dean of the University of Hawai'i College of Engineering — and their program is small. Since it began in the fall, 17 engineering majors have signed up, according to Harris at the Castle Foundation, fewer takers than anticipated. 'I thought it was too good to be true, but I took a chance,' said one, Melanie Habon, whose immigrant parents from the Philippines encouraged her to become a structural engineer. Habon said she worked on new graduate housing going up on campus, a project she joined as an intern for one of the firms that's part of the program. 'I like that there's a direct line from being a student to working in your industry,' she said. 'And I like that I know where my money will be going.' This article was written by the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
A new student loan program emerges: no interest, no fees, ‘pay-it-forward'
Joshua Alferos was two semesters away from a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering when he ran out of money. He was about to change his major or drop out. Then he heard of a new, experimental program run by philanthropies and private businesses that would loan him what he needed to finish college — at zero interest and with no fees. The debt wouldn't come due until he earned a minimum salary, and his employer would probably help him pay it off. One of the best parts, to Alferos: The repayment goes into a pool to provide the same help for other young, low-income Hawaiians who come after him. 'It's pretty empowering, because you can help future students,' said Alferos, who has continued his studies with the loan program. This pay-it-forward approach to covering the cost of college multiplies the number of students who can benefit from a fixed supply of financial aid and can help fill shortages of workers in critical industries. California will soon join the effort. A San Diego county-run program will begin in the fall. And while a bill introduced in the California Assembly by Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) to create a pay-it-forward fund for some students in the University of California and California State University systems did not advance this session, it will be heard again in January. The San Diego program will target majors in behavioral health, including clinicians, practitioners and psychiatric nurses — professions with a collective 8,000-worker shortfall in San Diego. Those loans will be entirely forgiven for graduates who work in behavioral health for five years or more. 'What you need to be looking at is where there is enduring demand for particular credentials or degrees,' said Kirstin Hill, president and chief operating officer at Social Finance, a nonprofit that designed and helps to manage pay-it-forward funds around the country. At a time when millions of people have defaulted on their student loans and face aggressive renewed enforcement measures by the federal government to collect payments, the pilot programs are intended to spur momentum, their backers say. 'It's a new way of thinking about scholarship support that lets you extend your dollars' further than by simply giving away money, said Alex Harris, vice president at the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, the lead donor of the Hawaiʻi Renewable Learning Fund. That's because once it's paid back, it can be loaned again. This feature resonates in Hawaii, which has a tradition of mutual support called 'kokua.' 'There is that long cultural history that when one person succeeds, everyone is raised up,' Harris said. Under the pilot, Hawaiian engineering students from families with low incomes can borrow from a $2.5-million revolving fund underwritten by the Castle Foundation and other donors. Repayments don't start until the students graduate and earn $50,000 or more. Some of the state's biggest engineering firms have agreed to help their new employees pay off the loans to boost recruitment. The university helps to promote the program. The pilot in Hawaii began with engineering majors because the state is heavily dependent on engineers in its key defense, construction and tourism industries — but has a chronic shortage of them. In addition to Hawaii and San Diego, pay-it-forward programs have been started or will launch in the fall in Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Miami. Each is focused on a field with high demand but short supply — healthcare and information technology in Colorado and New Jersey and climate careers in Massachusetts. In 24 states with shortages or projected shortages of registered nurses, a pay-it-forward fund has been set up to help residents study nursing at the national, online Western Governors University. Google is doing something similar for students pursuing certificates in data analytics, digital marketing and e-commerce, IT support, project management and other fields. Massachusetts and New Jersey have put public money behind these efforts, but in collaboration with private sources. Massachusetts and New Jersey have put public money behind these efforts in collaboration with private sources. There are obstacles. At least 24 states have considered such programs, but high startup costs and other issues prevented the launch. In Illinois, for example, a proposal for a universal pay-it-forward loan fund got as far as a feasibility study. But researchers calculated that it would take billions of dollars in startup money and decades to pay for itself. This isn't the only problem, according to the study, done by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Giving students loans at zero interest might encourage colleges and universities to raise their prices, it speculated. Also, because the programs are so far focused on higher-paying jobs, students might be nudged away from important but less-well-compensated fields such as teaching and social work. And sorting details about taxes or what would happen in bankruptcy is complex. But advocates argue that paying for college now is also complicated and expensive, and discourages many Americans from going. The interest rate for undergraduate federal-government-subsidized student loans is 6.53%, and Americans hold more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. Another unexpected issue: Students are surprisingly suspicious of the programs. Many have experienced misleading promises of financial aid from universities and colleges, the changing rules for federal loans and slow and unresponsive loan servicers. No students responded to an initial email he sent out announcing the fund, said Brennon Morioka, dean of the University of Hawai'i College of Engineering — and their program is small. Since it began in the fall, 17 engineering majors have signed up, according to Harris at the Castle Foundation, fewer takers than anticipated. 'I thought it was too good to be true, but I took a chance,' said one, Melanie Habon, whose immigrant parents from the Philippines encouraged her to become a structural engineer. Habon said she worked on new graduate housing going up on campus, a project she joined as an intern for one of the firms that's part of the program. 'I like that there's a direct line from being a student to working in your industry,' she said. 'And I like that I know where my money will be going.' This article was written by the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.
Business Wire
05-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Ellis George LLP: Proven Problem Solver, Gubernatorial Candidate Villaraigosa Stands on First Amendment to Fight Trademark Suit by Political Rival
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Democratic California Gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles Mayor and Speaker of the California Assembly, demanded in a court filing (Case No. 2:25-cv-03790) the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking to prevent him from using the phrase 'proven problem solver' in his campaign for California governor. 'Cloobeck's lawsuit is without merit, and his shotgun attempt to register a trademark on some 70 phrases is an insult to the First Amendment." Share In his motion to dismiss filed by Ellis George LLP, Century City, CA, Mr. Villaraigosa says the commonly used phrase 'proven problem solver' is not subject to trademark protection and that preventing him from using the phrase infringes on his rights under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Political opponent Stephen Cloobeck earlier filed to try to trademark the phrase, 'I am a proven problem solver,' and filed his trademark infringement lawsuit against Mr. Villaraigosa and Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2026 on April 29, 2025. Additionally, in preparing the filing, attorneys for Mr. Villaraigosa uncovered a number of occasions, sometimes sordid, where Mr. Cloobeck has used the courts and legal system in an attempt to weaken political, business and even personal rivals. Villaraigosa lawyer Eric M. George stated: 'Cloobeck's lawsuit is without merit, and his shotgun attempt to register a trademark on some 70 phrases is an insult to the First Amendment. Commonly-used words, phrases, speech that are part of political debate and elections cannot be trademarked. Californians are entitled to and deserve robust public debate from candidates when electing a governor.' According to the brief filed by Villaraigosa, '(U)nder Mr. Cloobeck's urged scenario, Mr. Villaraigosa would be violating a court order by describing himself as a 'proven problem solver' in a press conference, in campaign literature, in response to a journalist's questions, or in a campaign debate. To such draconian requests, Mr. Villaraigosa responds: 'Not in this country. Not under our First Amendment—no matter the bullying or wealth used in an attempt to silence a candidate for elected office. And not in keeping with anything I have witnessed during my more than 30 years of public service-including as Mayor of Los Angeles and as Speaker of the Assembly.'' In disputing Mr. Cloobeck's claim on the 'proven problem solver' phrase, Mr. Villaraigosa's brief cites countless instances over prior decades in which politicians before him have used the phrase in speeches, campaign materials and interviews. Mr. Villaraigosa's brief also notes that Mr. Cloobeck's suit is part of a pattern of frivolous litigation to drain rivals of finance and resources. In a text to Mr. Villaraigosa, Mr. Cloobeck said he was prepared to fight this case 'to the Supreme Court… which has been my consistent business practice for decades upon decades.' Mr. Villaraigosa and his campaign seek to have the trademark suit dismissed immediately. About Ellis George LLP Ellis George LLP is an elite litigation and trial firm based in Los Angeles and with offices in San Francisco and New York. Whether plaintiff or defendant, individual, Fortune 500 corporation or entrepreneur, clients call upon Ellis George when seeking litigation counsel of the highest quality, creativity, dedication, and ethics. Visit for more information.
