Rotarians fete foreign diplomats, Washington, D.C., February 24, 1937, On the left and right are the presidents of two local Rotary clubs, along with the ambassadors of Russia, Italy and Germany.
The Rotarians are mindblowing. If you're picturing a bunch of business people eating breakfast or lunch together in a banquet room, networking and talking about doing some do-gooder stuff for their community—that's an accurate picture. What's missing is the scope of the Rotarians' do-goodery—which is vast, as you will learn below. And maybe also the depth of the comaraderie, which I found touching in my brief brush.
I've been to a handful of Rotary Club gatherings, all in San Jose in the company of Dan Pulcrano, publisher/editor of Metro Silicon Valley, where I worked as news editor. The Rotary experience surprised me. I was surprised at one breakfast when Larry Stone, then and now the quick-witted Santa Clara County tax assessor and then-Rotary president, came to the podium amid a gale of boos. (Even in deep blue San Jose, businesspeople do not cheer for the tax collector.) (Maybe you had to be there.)
Nancy Pelosi addressed a Rotary luncheon I attended in 2009, where she did a Q&A with Rep. Zoe Lofgren while Tea Party protesters carried signs decrying Obamacare on the street below. The Rotarians—a presumably rather conservative bunch—gave these powerful, liberal women a warm welcome.
At another event, a young woman who had received a Rotary scholarship to spend a year abroad stepped up to thank her benefactors. She tearfully told them they had blessed her with a life-changing experience—and detailed the ways that she had grown.
It makes sense that the organization known offically as Rotary International would focus its charitable giving on programs that give American kids opportunities to see the world—I hadn't known that. Again, as you will see, that is barely the tip of the iceberg of good that this organization does.
With proponents of Proposition 36 raising nearly $15 million so far — about three times as much as its opponents — and 71% of likely voters in support, it appears the statewide ballot measure will pass in November.
And that’s exactly what immigrant rights advocates are worried about.
(10/22/2024) CalMatters
More than half of the school board races in 49 counties analyzed won't appear on the November ballot because either no one is running for the seat or a single candidate is unopposed.
(10/21/2024) EdSource
Capturing and storing carbon underground is a big part of California’s efforts to tackle climate change but community members and environmentalists say it prolongs the life of fossil fuels.
(10/21/2024) CalMatters
With Democrats firmly in control of statewide offices and the Legislature, California isn’t often seen as a “battleground state.” But California could decide which party controls Congress — and both parties and their allies are spending tens of millions of dollars to seize the opportunity.
(10/18/2024) CalMatters
The Yes and No on 33 campaigns have collectively spent more than $140 million. CalMatters fact checked some of the more pervasive claims made by both sides.
(10/17/2024) CalMatters
A new state law bans private colleges from considering an applicant’s ties to family members who are alumni or donors. California’s public universities don’t use legacy admissions.
(10/17/2024) CalMatters
Multiple state agencies spent nearly $24 billion on housing and homeless programs in the first five years of Gavin Newsom’s governorship, but the number of people without homes continued to grow, rising by 20% to more than 180,000 in the most recent federal count in 2023.
(10/17/2024) CalMatters
Elon Musk, the tech mogul who runs Tesla, said in December that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts “must die.” Now, two civil rights groups are calling for the nation’s largest public pension fund to divest from the electric vehicle maker.
(10/17/2024) CalMatters
Supporters of a proposition to ban forced labor in California prisons believe they have a strong message centered on rehabilitation. But as Election Day nears, polls show it’s a toss-up or trailing.
(10/16/2024) CalMatters
Tens of thousands of California ride-hailing drivers, and possibly more, could eventually get back pay after a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that clears the way for the state and some cities to proceed with their lawsuits against Uber and Lyft.
(10/16/2024) CalMatters
Only a few months delayed, Gov. Gavin Newsom finally got to take his victory lap over the oil industry on October 14.
(10/15/2024) CalMatters
Last week, VotingMatters went to public libraries, colleges, and a museum to talk about California’s ballot propositions. So far, VotingMatters has reached more than 750 people across 20 events, bringing crucial election information to voters around the state.
(10/14/2024) CalMatters
After the Watergate scandal, California voters approved a ballot measure that created the Fair Political Practices Commission — an independent, nonpartisan agency to police election campaigns and investigate political ethics violations.
(10/14/2024) CalMatters
