Special Episode recorded October 6, 2021 at Capitol Weekly's conference on California's Mental Health Crisis. This is Panel 1: Origins of California’s Mental Health crisis and Long Term Solutions

Our panelists examine the origins of California’s mental health crisis and discuss long term solutions to the problem.

Moderated Angela Hart of Kaiser Health News

We'll be posting the other programming from the day as individual episodes of the Capitol Weekly Podcast. We'll be back to our regular programming on the week of October 17.

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

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

Anthony York and Paul Mitchell join us to remember Nooner publisher Scott Lay, who died unexpectedly in September.

Scott was a fascinating person with a unique backstory: He never finished high school, but later graduated from college and law school at UC Davis. His experience outside the regular high-school-to-university pipeline gave him a particular appreciation for the role of junior colleges, and he went to work for the Community College League of California, ultimately serving as their President and Chief Executive Officer from 2006 - 2014.

While at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Scott - along with his soon-to-be best friend Paul Mitchell - became involved in politics. He volunteered with other young Democrats and created an innovative politics newsletter, The Donkey's Mouth, where he got his first taste of acclaim for his political insights.

Scott was a technology whiz who created websites and other online tools dedicated to California elections and State Capitol information, among them, AroundTheCapitol.com and ElectionTrack.com. In 2004, he, along with Anthony York, co-founded The Roundup, one of the earliest political news aggregation online newsletters. A few years later, he launched The Nooner, an essential daily politics newsletter with 9000 subscribers.

Scott served on the Board of Open California (the publisher of Capitol Weekly) and was our Board Vice President at the time of his death. His guidance and advice on all things politics have been absolutely essential. His understanding of the inner workings of Sacramento was unparalleled, and when we wanted to confirm or dispel any Capitol rumor - Scott was the first call.

It is no exaggeration to say that without Scott, there probably would not be an Open California today. As we transitioned ownership of the Capitol Weekly publications from the former publisher to Open California, The Roundup's ad revenue was our most consistent income stream. Scott gifted his ownership portion of The Roundup to Open California - without that gift, Open California would likely never have come to be.

We discuss Scott’s very public battle with alcoholism and mental health issues. It was a struggle that Scott continued until his death.

A memorial for Scott will be held on October 11, from 4-6PM at the Sterling Hotel, 1300 H St, Sacramento, CA 95814.

A scholarship in memory of Scott Lay has been established by the Orange Coast College Foundation where he was a student in the early 1990s. Online gifts can be made at: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/scottlaymemorial

Donations by check to the Scott Lay Memorial Scholarship should be directed to:

Orange Coast College Foundation

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

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

Today's guest is Robb Korinke, who turned heads in August with a data-driven pushback on the pundit-driven panic driving Democrats to despair regarding the governor's odds in the Recall. Korinke's projection that Gov. Newsom would win, and win handily, was not only correct, but actually underestimated the size of the groundswell to keep him in office. Korinke leads GrassrootsLab's client activities in Southern California, and specializes in state and local government, open data and transparency issues, digital communications and community engagement. He is also the Editor of CaliforniaCityNews.org and CaliforniaCountyNews.org, a position which came in very handy when it came time to choose who had the Worst Week in California Politics.... or, as Korinke puts it: "the most bananas political story in the state, bar none."

Show Notes:

:45 Let's talk about the Recall

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

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

Last week, the governor signed SB9 and SB10 into law. These bills will effectively end single family zoning in the state, with the goal of making it easier to build new homes in preexisting neighborhoods, near transit. A little-discussed impact of SB9 is that it helps homeowners finance new construction on their property without tying up the equity in their existing home. We're joined today by Steven Dietz of United Dwelling, an LA-based housing builder leading the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) industry with the most rental units built in California. United Dwelling partners with homeowners to transform their garage or backyard space into a high-quality rental unit.

Plus, as always, we tell you who had the Worst Week in California Politics.

Show Notes:

1:05 What is an ADU?

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

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

We sat down on Friday for a chat about the looming Recall election with Jonathan Brown, president of Sextant Strategies & Research, a Democratic polling firm based in Southern California. Brown published an intriguing analysis of the race back in August, noting that Democrats were outperforming their registration numbers in early voting, and challenging the chorus of pundits who had predicted grave danger for the governor. Brown offers his thoughts on the state of the race, what the Recall says about the parties and even offers his estimate on the final numbers.

Plus, as always, we tell you who had the Worst Week in California Politics.

Show Notes:

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

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

We are joined today by Anne Dunsmore, Campaign Manager for Rescue California, the organization that is heading the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. Dunsmore is a longtime fundraiser and activist and has plenty of experience with the Recall process: she worked on the campaign to oust Gov. Gray Davis and the earlier effort to remove Supreme Court Justice Rose Bird. Will she make it three-for-three?

Plus, as always, we tell you who had the Worst Week in California Politics.

Show Notes:

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

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

Last week Capitol Weekly published The 2021 Top 100 - naming the most powerful movers and shakers in California politics. We don’t include elected officials. Instead, we look at those who devote their professional lives to fighting for – or against – issues of state politics and policy, including lobbyists, bureaucrats, activists, trade group leaders, Capitol staffers and even journalists.

On this episode we discuss the 2021 list with Scott Lay, publisher of The Nooner and consummate capitol insider, and look at the forces - COVID, wildfires and the recall - that strongly shaped this edition of the list. And speaking of the recall, Scott poses an interesting question: what will next year's Top 100 look like if Larry Elder become Governor?

Plus, as always, we tell you who had the Worst Week in California Politics.

Looking for a copy of the 2021 Top 100 Book? Books are $10 per copy, plus $5 shipping (or pick up in Sacramento). For details end email to [email protected]

Show Notes:

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

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

The decennial census data released last week by the US Census Bureau offered insights into how the country has changed since 2010 and will be instrumental in redrawing California's political maps. We're joined today by Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc., who offers his thoughts on what the data portend for California's redistricting. And he shares his very favorite redistricting story with us!

Plus, as always, we tell you who had the Worst Week in California Politics.

Show Notes:

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

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

Longtime lobbyist Chris Micheli stops by the Capitol Weekly Podcast to talk with Tim Foster and John Howard about his TWO new case books: Introduction to California State Government and Cases and Materials on Direct Democracy in California.

Micheli, a lawyer and an adjunct professor at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law has published numerous books on the subject of lobbying, and explains the value of his these latest resources.

Plus, as always, we tell you who had the Worst Week in California Politics.

Show Notes:

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

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

The latest Berkeley IGS Poll finds that among likely voters, 47% favor recalling Governor Gavin Newsom and only 50% favor his retention. Those numbers are a stark warning for a Governor serving amid the most turbulent era in memory, where extreme circumstances within - and beyond - his control could impact the attitude of the electorate at any moment. We are joined today by veteran pollster Mark DiCamillo of the Berkeley IGS Poll - he walks us through his findings, and even breaks a little news, sharing the preferred political news sources of the respondents.

Plus, as always, we tell you who had the Worst Week in California Politics.

Show Notes:

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

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