We’re joined today by Asm. Josh Lowenthal (D – Long Beach) who spoke with us about his bills, AB 1709 and AB 2 - both signed by the governor last week – to regulate Social Media use by children and to hold tech companies financially liable when they cause harm. We also chat about a bill that did not make it out of the legislature - Senate Bill 1013, an effort to regulate the use of Flock cameras. Plus, as always, we tell you who had the Worst Week in California Politics.

1:08 AB 1709 and AB 2 have been signed

2:22 Now on the Capitol Weekly website

3:18 Asm. Josh Lowenthal

0:48  AB 1709 and AB 2

4:57 85% spike in child suicide rate

6:34 Social media screen time vs. television screen time

8:21 An attempt to regulate social media

12:48 Why the legislation is not a total ban for kids

15:15 Social media and marginalized communities

16:41 SB 1013 to regulate Flock cameras

18:80 Law enforcement opposition

20:50 “How much technology do we employ to keep us safe?”

22:13 Joe Jost’s

23:40 #WWCA

Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation
here: capitolweekly.net/donations/

Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang 

"#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're joined by Mariel Garza, co-founder and executive editor of the Golden State Report. Garza was a longtime reporter and editor for mainstream California news organizations, including the Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times, until she abruptly resigned from the L.A. Times’ editorial board in October 2024 after owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong blocked publication of an endorsement of Kamala Harris for president. Garza spoke with us about her decision to leave the Times, why she and her colleagues have launched a new independent media venture, and what she's watching in the Los Angeles mayors race.

Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation here: capitolweekly.net/donations/

Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang 

"#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A poll from Median Strategies roiled the Los Angeles mayoral race earlier this month, showing Mayor Karen Bass with an 11 point lead over challenger Nithya Raman. The results were cited by several media outlets, and were touted by the Bass campaign before the poll was exposed as fake. When contacted, Median Strategies posted a statement that their polling had been "a short-term social experiment examining how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification." 

Social experiment or not, the poll did impact the race - at least in the short term - and certainly impacted election prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. Political data expert Paul Mitchell joined us to talk about how junk polls, paid influencers and strategic gaming of the election markets can distort perceptions about a campaign. Plus, who had the Worst Week in California Politics?

2:01 "That's the Pacific Ocean"

4:35 Capitol Weekly Internship

7:30 Death penalty

9:04 Paul Mitchell

10:23 Bogus polling

13:37 Picked up by media

17:02 "Everybody's a pundit"

20:48 Prediction markets

22:13 $7M bet on Spencer Pratt AFTER the election

23:56 Could prediction markets replace polling?

27:15 How is this legal?

30:05 Predictit

31:35 A note about gaming

34:01 Duane Dichiara debt

34:48 Scott Lay's election pool

35:33 Junk polls designed to generate coverage

38:28 "Traditionally, your campaign's internal polling is some of the highest quality polling"

41:03 What California race should people be watching more closely?

43:15 The split in the Democratic Party

47:14 #WWCA

here: capitolweekly.net/donations/

Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang 

"#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo has worked for a number of political candidates in his long career, including heavyweights like Hillary Clinton and Antonio Villaraigosa. He joins us on the Capitol Weekly podcast this week to talk about life in the political arena, the ongoing civil war within the Democratic Party, his role in the downfall of former Congressman and aspiring gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell and…breakdancing.

2:35  Capitol Weekly Interns Olivia Bye and Sydney Laird

16:02 Early accusations against Eric Swalwell

22:34 “I’ve personally spoken to about 17 victims of Congressman Swalwell.”

25:36 Role of influencers in helping victims come forward

29:35 I’ll be able to reflect on this cycle after the election

30:28 How did you get to where you are now?

35:19 Thoughts on the current condition of the Democratic party

39:12 “An expert middleman”

44:20 “Make sure you know what you’re saying is true”

46:24 The strength is in the candidate

47:26 Jayden Daniels

49:39 “You have to have a healthy ego to run for office.”

50:20 Breakdancing 

Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation

here: capitolweekly.net/donations/

Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang 

"#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It has been a very busy last few years for Fair Political Practices Commission Chairman Adam Silver. In addition to the usual challenges of an election year, Silver has been working on numerous efforts to utilize artificial intelligence in how the FPPC addresses campaign finance issues. He joined us recently on the Capitol Weekly podcast to talk about these issues and more. 

0:50 Top 100 Party recap

5:02 Adam Silver

7:08 Update on FPPC’s agenda last year

11:05 Highlighting productivity

12:40 Who sets the fines?

14:22 People using AI to file claims

17:45 Reporting requirements for social media creators

20:38 Clipping

24:27 AI disclaimer requirement

27:38 FPPC’s agenda this year

30:53 Use of campaign funds for security

33:49 Integrating AI into FPPC operations

35:15 Involvement in tech advisory groups

38:53 #WWCA

Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation

here: capitolweekly.net/donations/

Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang 

"#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster are joined by Jenny Huh of ABC10 for a look at the 18th edition of Capitol Weekly's Top 100, which published yesterday. Capitol Weekly’s Top 100 is our annual analysis of the unelected political power structure in California. We look at the mostlybehind the scenes players who influence policy, elections and governance, including Capitol staff, lobbyists, Agency staff, donors, business leaders, activists, Labor leaders – and even journalists. Huh, Ehisen and Foster run through the Top 10, look at some of the new faces and discuss the themes running through this year's list.

:32 Jenny Huh

1:04 The Top 100

2:04 The Top 10

2:15 Nathan Barankin

5:55 Ann Patterson

9:16 Joe Stephenshaw

12:05 Christine Aurre

12:58 Bob Hertzberg

19:03 Nani Coloretti

19:18 Jim DeBoo

19:55 Jennifer Barrera

20:43 Tia Orr

21:03 Teri Holoman

25:20 Dave Regan

33:10 Ned Wigglesworth

35:00 Dolores Huerta

40:45 Alexei Koseff and Sophia Bollag

49:00 Generational change

49:45 Tony Bui, Laiza Negrete and Ramona Prieto

50:26 Tiffany Whiten and Angela Pontes

51:13 Paul Mitchell

56:10 Who is not there?

56:33 Alma Hernandez and Izzy Gardon

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the podcast we often joke about our "very special guests" but legendary California lobbyist Paula Treat truly fits the bill. Treat was one of our very first, and one of our most frequent, guests on the Capitol Weekly Podcast. Next week she will be inducted into the Top 100 Hall of Fame, so we invited her to talk about her Hall of Fame-worthy career, and about the other members of the Class of 2026: Allan Zaremberg, Bob White, Scott Lay, Robbie Hunter and Carmela Coyle.

:20 The Top 100 is coming

3:02 Capitol Briefs

3:20 Return to Office Podcast comments

9:00 Next week's episode publishes Tuesday night

9:50 Crime fiction

15:56 Chris Shary shout out

17:39 Paula Treat

18:56 The Barracuda Award

20:48 Straight shooter

22:57 A different era

23:43 George Skelton Oral History

25:37 Big changes

29:03 Big issues this year?

33:33 The Top 100 Hall of Fame

33:53 Allan Zaremberg

35:57 Bob White

40:43 Scott Lay

48:04 Robbie Hunter

52:40 Carmela Coyle

1:00:07 #WWCA

Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation here: capitolweekly.net/donations/

Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang 

"#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

State employees returning to Downtown Sacramento following Gov. Newsom's Return-To-Office order are finding a vastly different universe from the vibrant metro area of 2019, the last time Sacramento food writer Becky Grunewald was on the Podcast. Many longtime lunch and coffee favorites have closed, moved, or offer only limited hours. She joined us to talk about some current lunch options for the Downtown crowd, and other highlights of the local food scene.  Plus, as always, we tell you Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics.

1:18 Rising Star: Annika Bjork

1:48 Experts Expound: Gavin Newsom's legacy

2:10 Proposition 40

4:45 Becky Grunewald

6:05 Five picks for Abridged

7:05 Drunken Tortilla

8:28 Buddah Bowls and Rolls

9:03 CalPERS Cafeteria

9:36 Capitol Weekly article on Capitol favorites

12:20 Mother (RIP)

13:42 Pizza Supreme Being

15:05 Buffalo Pizza's breakfast pizza

16:47 Sapha Kafae

18:40 My Sister's Cafe

21:59 Jimboys

24:58 Sal's Tacos

26:00 Whitey's Jolly Kone

26:47 The Sunflower Drive-In

28:45 DoorDash

32:32 Stockton detour: Manny's California Fresh

34:20 Sacramento burgers

41:12 WWCA

Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation here: capitolweekly.net/donations/

Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang 

"#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today we welcome author, environmental attorney and pro-democracy activist, Gary Lucks, whose new book “We Are the Power,” is a how-to guide for community activists.  As the founder of two East Bay progressive groups he has built one of California' most active grassroots networks, and helped raise millions of dollars, delivering critical support to Democrats in swing districts across the country.  Lucks spoke with us about why he wrote the book, what the Democrats need to do to find their way out of the wilderness, and what to make of the Left-Moderate  split that threatens to tear the party apart.

1:20 AI Bills in #caleg

1:53 A look at the Billionaire Tax

2:45 Op Ed Policy

7:43 The Top 100

9:19 Jonesin' For a Cure

12:44 Gary Lucks

15:57 Focus of "We Are the Power"

19:16 "The circular firing squad"

22:06 50 Shades of Blue

26:35 Tea Party populism vs. Democratic populist movement

33:14 The age issue

40:12 How to reconnect with MAGA

44:11 Where to find the book

45:15 #WWCA

Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation here: capitolweekly.net/donations/

Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang 

"#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today we welcome Ahmad Thomas, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, an association that represents hundreds of technology and innovation companies in the birthplace of the computer revolution. Thomas joined SVLG in 2020 and has overseen his organization's efforts to encourage Sacramento to implement thoughtful AI policies that won't "stifle innovation." He is no stranger to legislative oversight -Thomas got his start as an aide to Senator Dianne Feinstein, an experience he cites as the foundation of his career. 

4:46 Labor shortages in law enforcement

5:38 Ahmad Thomas

6:40 How was the year for tech?

9:04 The legislature

14:32 "You can't eat GDP"

19:00 How are perceptions of AI changing?

21:02 Municipal governments and AI

22:00 Data centers

24:44 Origin story

29:13 Maintaining Silicon Valley's competitive edge

37:13 Anti-tech backlash

47:25 #WWCA

Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation here: capitolweekly.net/donations/

Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang 

"#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.