Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti delivers testimony on the fiscal year 2025 budget request at the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense hearing in Washington D.C., April 16, 2024.
Chris here, thinking of Admiral Lisa M. Francetti, the former Chief of U.S. Naval Operations and the first woman to serve in that capacity and to sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
And frankly, reading her biography on Wikipedia, I'm angry.
I'm angry that someone so capable, so tested and so proven, who spent her career in the service of this country, was fired from her position as the head of the United States Navy a few weeks ago—on February 21—because in the end that wasn't good enough for the current administration. She was a woman and she had to go.
I could go on, but the national scene is outside of our lane here at California Local, where we (try to) stay focused on our state, our counties and our communities.
It's Women's History Month, and this issue of The Newsletter salutes the women who shaped California and continue to work tirelessly to make their communities better and the Golden State shine a little brighter.
Sisters, rock on.
Groundbreakers
The history of Women's History Month goes back to 1911 here in the United States with the first celebration of International Women's Day.
By 1969, International Women's Day was almost forgotten and rarely celebrated. A women's rights advocate who called herself Laura X led a march in Berkeley, California, to raise awareness, and the rest, as they say, is history. Or rather, herstory.
Below, we present three articles celebrating some groundbreaking women.
A new conservancy will oversee work to improve vegetation, water quality and natural habitat in the Salton Sea. Will nearly half a billion dollars in projects be enough?
(03/11/2025) CalMatters
California Assembly Bill 247 would significantly raise the hourly wage of inmate firefighters. Read on to learn more.
(03/11/2025) Los Angeles Times
From pushing for oversight of the FAIR Plan to providing tax breaks for premiums, California lawmakers try to fix insurance market problems.
(03/10/2025) CalMatters
It’s legal in California to evict tenants for nonpayment even when they can pay all their overdue rent. A proposal pending in the Legislature seeks to change that.
(03/09/2025) CalMatters
In these hyper-partisan times, less than 1% of the more than 2,000 bills California lawmakers filed this year have bipartisan coauthors. Here are some of the issues on which Republicans and Democrats agree.
(03/09/2025) CalMatters
Los Angeles Assemblymember Rick Zbur says he wants to narrow the standards for justifiable homicide. Critics say he wants to make self-defense illegal.
(03/06/2025) CalMatters
Five years ago, as COVID-19 hit the state, legislators cancelled a hearing to discuss a state audit that found the state’s office of emergency services and at least three California counties weren’t prepared to help vulnerable people during natural disasters.
(03/06/2025) CalMatters
Gov. Gavin Newsom called it “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to participate in girls' sports today — a notable change in his position that thrust the Democratic governor into the center of a national maelstrom. It was unclear whether he will act on his new position as Republicans urged him to follow conservative states in banning transgender athletes from girls' sports.
(03/06/2025) CalMatters
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to see tangible results from the $6.4 billion mental health bond voters approved last year. Moving fast carries a risk of neglecting under-resourced communities.
(03/05/2025) CalMatters
The Fremont city council has revised a new city camping ordinance, removing what had become a controversial clause — first reported on by CalMatters — that could have punished those “aiding and abetting” encampments.
(03/05/2025) CalMatters
This appears to be the first such injunction since the U.S. Supreme Court let cities crack down on homeless encampments in California and beyond.
(03/04/2025) CalMatters
Since 2016, the DMV has collected more than $8 million from nearly 5,300 car sales, according to a CalMatters analysis.
(03/03/2025) CalMatters
Oakland Democrat Buffy Wicks said lawmakers will soon see 20 bills to speed up housing construction, along with more on energy, water and transit.
(03/03/2025) CalMatters
The governor’s announcement affects most of the state workforce and will take effect on July 1.
(03/03/2025) CalMatters
