To recap: Charlie Brown is depressed because Christmas has been trivialized and commercialized and has lost its meaning. Exasperated, he lets out a wail: “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”
Linus then takes the stage, calls for a spotlight, and tells the story of the shepherds, the angel and the tidings of great joy; the heavenly host singing of peace and goodwill; the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.
I believe that last piece was always my favorite part of the story. I still love the idea of the divine embodied as a child in a barnyard, even if I no longer think of the story in the way I once did. I loved and still love the story of the kings who travel to Jerusalem to kneel before this poor child. Whatever you believe or don’t believe, I hope you agree that that’s a powerful and good idea. And, humbly, I want to offer a reminder that, as the Christmas story illustrates, the central tenet of the faith in which I was raised calls for respecting and helping the poor.
I also want to wish all of you a happy holiday, regardless of your religious affiliation or lack thereof.
Just as you might intend to change your diet or workout plan, resolve to make changes that will allow you to meet financial goals.
(12/27/2023) Daily Democrat
Under new state laws, five cities will test cameras to catch speeding drivers and cruising bans will be lifted statewide. The first is supposed to improve road safety, but critics of the second say it will endanger the public.
(12/27/2023) CalMatters
Visitors can see the critically endangered Lord How Island stick insect, on display for the first time in North America, in a special habitat at the zoo’s Wildlife Explorers Basecamp.
(12/27/2023) San Joaquin Valley Sun
Under a new law, employees in California are guaranteed five paid sick days a year, two days more than previously. Worker advocacy groups say the benefit is needed, but business groups warn of additional costs.
(12/26/2023) CalMatters
In a report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, researchers instead lay out a plan for what society might do to improve adolescents’ interactions with social media.
(12/26/2023) Santa Cruz Sentinel
Prescribed burns, used to limit destructive wildfires, are growing in frequency at California State Parks. But as the smoke drifts into residential areas, it’s easy to see why many Californians are concerned about the health impacts.
(12/26/2023) Monterey Herald
A dark-sky movement to save birds from window strikes is sweeping the San Francisco Bay Area. Several cities have passed or are drafting laws restricting light pollution while making windows easier for birds to see.
(12/26/2023) → Read the full The Mercury News report
Novelist Jonathan Franzen looks at how trap-neuter-release policies in feral cat colonies have troubling consequences for city residents, local wildlife and even the felines themselves.
(12/25/2023) The New Yorker
State audits of the University of California and the California State University found both systems have failed to comply with decades-old state and federal laws mandating the return of Native ancestral remains and cultural artifacts. Only UCLA and Cal State Long Beach have returned a majority of their collections.
(12/25/2023) CalMatters
This past year, more than 1,000 bills went into effect, and most will become new laws in 2024. Plus, there are bills from previous years that are also scheduled to take effect after Jan. 1.
(12/25/2023) CapPublicRadio
The Chico-based brewer has taken a more traditional approach to creating its non-alcoholic beer.
(12/22/2023) San Joaquin Valley Sun
Sarah Grimes investigates reports of dead marine mammals up and down the coast. So when she began finding the decapitated bodies of harbor seal pups just a few miles north of Fort Bragg in 2016, she was on the case. Grimes wasn’t able to pin down the culprit until last year, with the help of a UCSC student.
(12/22/2023) Monterey Herald
The California Department of Water Resources has approved building a tunnel between the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The approval could signal a new wave of legal challenges to the long-running and controversial project.
(12/21/2023) Sacramento Bee
The Hoopa Valley Tribe announced it is acquiring about 10,000 acres of land in Northern California for $14.1 million. As part of this, the tribe will remove dams along the Klamath River and restore salmon runs.
(12/21/2023) SFGate
The 33-year old Mexican-born man—who from toddler age has been a permanent legal resident of California—has reported abuse, unsanitary conditions and threats of force-feeding before his release from immigration detention in April.
(12/21/2023) CalMatters
California fast-food workers will earn a $20 minimum wage in April. Other employers might have to raise their pay floor to recruit and retain staff.
(12/20/2023) CalMatters
The California Faculty Association has announced it will strike in January at the state’s 23 CSU campuses. It’s part of an ongoing effort by the group to obtain a 12% raise for the 29,000 professors and lecturers it represents.
(12/20/2023) EdSource
An effort spearheaded by the Newsom administration and congressional leaders resulted in Congress authorizing and accelerating the transfer of seven C-130 aircraft from the U.S. Coast Guard to CalFire, expanding California’s firefighting fleet.
(12/19/2023) → Read the full Escalon Times report
Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit new spending is unlikely.
(12/19/2023) CalMatters
Google has agreed to pay $700 million and will make changes to its app store it has resisted for years in order to resolve a lawsuit over whether its app store is an illegal monopoly.
(12/19/2023) CapPublicRadio
