Capitol Weekly Podcast

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at the California Insurance Crisis, which was held in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 14, 2025

This is Panel 3: What Next?, featuring Sen. Roger Niello; Alex Hall, UCLA; John Norwood, Norwood Associates; and Denni Ritter, American Property Casualty Insurance Association

Moderated by Rich Ehisen of Capitol Weekly

Thanks to our California Conferences sponsors:

THE TRIBAL ALLIANCE OF SOVEREIGN INDIAN NATIONS, WESTERN STATES PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION, KP PUBLIC AFFAIRS, PERRY COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, CAPITOL ADVOCACY, THE WEIDEMAN GROUP, CALKIN PUBLIC AFFAIRS and CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS 

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This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at the California Insurance Crisis, which was held in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.

This is Panel 1: The State of the Insurance Industry, featuring Amy Bach of United Policyholders; Rex Frazier, Personal Insurance Federation of California; Meredith Fowlie, UC Berkeley.

Moderated by Levi Sumagaysay of Calmatters

Thanks to our California Conferences sponsors:

THE TRIBAL ALLIANCE OF SOVEREIGN INDIAN NATIONS, WESTERN STATES PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION, KP PUBLIC AFFAIRS, PERRY COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, CAPITOL ADVOCACY, THE WEIDEMAN GROUP, CALKIN PUBLIC AFFAIRS and CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS

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

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at the California Insurance Crisis, which was held in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.

This is the KEYNOTE – CALIFORNIA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER RICARDO LARA

Introduced by Rich Ehisen, Capitol Weekly

Thanks to our California Conferences sponsors:

THE TRIBAL ALLIANCE OF SOVEREIGN INDIAN NATIONS, WESTERN STATES PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION, KP PUBLIC AFFAIRS, PERRY COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, CAPITOL ADVOCACY, THE WEIDEMAN GROUP, CALKIN PUBLIC AFFAIRS and CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS

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

In March, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a 22-bill package aimed at reforming the building permitting process in California, an effort to fast-track housing development statewide. Wicks described the package as an effort to “slash red tape, remove uncertainty and to drastically reduce the time it takes to get new housing approved and built” in California. Asm. Wicks joined us to talk about the bills, why they are needed, and what it will take to get the package to the governor's desk this year.

Next up, we're joined by Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero to talk about the impact of the new Trump tariffs on the nation's busiest port. Long Beach has already seen a significant reduction in shipping traffic this month; now, with zero container ships leaving China destined for California ports, empty shelves - and job losses - are likely not for behind.

Plus, as always, we tell you Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics

1:33 Insurance

2:43 Gubernatorial candidates

4:29 "I wrote my Master's thesis on the Recall"

5:14 Obligatory Alex Vassar reference

5:55 New Capitol Weekly Insiders survey

6:38 California Journal

7:43 Asm. Buffy Wicks

9:18 "People Want Change"

10:25 The need for CEQA reform

11:43 "A coalition of the willing"

14:36 A streamlined housing package on the governor's desk in September

14:47 BCTC and the Carpenters

16:49 "In California we make it too damn hard to build"

18:08 Permitting reform

20:24 "Government has to deliver for people"

21:58 Housing and Transportation Policy is Climate Policy

24:17 "As someone who grew up in a trailer, and dreamt of a wooden house someday..."

24:36 Where does the package go next?

25:28 $10 Billion affordable housing bill

26:01 Shout out to Asm. Joe Patterson

27:33 Two things to solve the Housing Crisis

28:04 Crisis Fatigue

32:49 Mario Cordero

33:22 Impact of the tariffs

34:40 The timing

36:43 May 2025 numbers vs. past

39:38 Are ships sitting offshore, waiting to come in?

42:29 "China plus one"

43:24 State of the wareshouses at the Port

46:02 How many workers are impacted?

48:01 The Green Port Policy

54:01 "When I was about 10 years old I wanted to be the Mexican-American Leonard Bernstein"

56:24 #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

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Our 400th episode! On today's show we welcome April Manatt, Executive Director of the California Problem Solvers Foundation. The California Problem Solvers' mission is to help elected officials find solutions through collaboration and mutual respect, and work in service to the people they represent. In short, to "put people over party," a nearly radical idea in today's hyper-partisan political environment.

Prior to joining the Problem Solvers, Manatt ran the California Legislative Staff Education Institute. CLSE, a program of Capitol Impact, is dedicated to professional development for legislative staff, offering opportunities for staff to gain a deeper understanding of complex policy issues through discussions with experts, field trips and engagement with other staffers.

Manatt spoke with us about her work in both of these organizations, and the importance of bipartisanship in policy making bridging the divide.

Plus, as always, we tell you Who Had the Worst Week Week in California Politics.

:20 400th Episode

3:38 What's new at Capitol Weekly

5:07 Speaking of interns: Ellie Appleby and Leah Lentz 

9:14 April Manatt

9:47 California Problem Solvers Foundation and Caucus

12:53 "A labor of love"

13:20 A challenging time to be doing this work

15:18 Your role in the org

16:43 Who funds the Foundation?

19:20 California Legislative Staff Education Institute

24:00 Relationship building

24:39 How do staff participate?

26:55 Attitude of the Problem Solvers Caucus

31:56 Getting legislators out of the building to see what they are voting on

32:57 Obligatory Alex Vassar mention

33:57 What efforts have the Problem Solvers been involved in?

37:06 What's on the agenda for the Foundation?

40:03 #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 have a packed show today: first up, we chat with California Secretary of State Shirley Weber about The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, proposed federal legislation that would require all Americans to reregister to vote, in person, with either a birth certificate or passport. Weber outlines concerns that the law would effectively disenfranchise millions of voters who may not have access to their birth certificate, and those - like many married women - whose documents no longer match their birth name. And, perhaps an even bigger problem: who pays?  Counties project millions in costs to administrate, but the  legislation includes no funding mandate.

We also spoke with Trans activist Ebony Harper, founding executive director of California TRANScends, and the author of The Trans Manifesto. Harper shared how she is responding to the current wave of anti-Trans sentiment, her reaction to Governor Newsom's recent podcast comments, and how Coast to Coast and NPR shaped her life.

Plus - Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics?

1:38 Capitol Weekly Update

2:13 Correction: Dan Weintraub was the first California politics blogger

3:33 Big Day of Giving: May 1

5:49 SOS Shirley Weber on the SAVE Act

6:21 "What are they trying to save?"

7:25 What does it do?

8:41 Disproportionately affects women

11:12 The fraud problem

13:11 The cost to counties

15:05 Impact on Trans people

16:51 Litigation?

18:01 Most states see this as an obstacle

19:56 Ebony Harper

24:01 How do you respond to the current moment?

27:55 The Trans Manifesto

30:09 The governor's comments carry a lot of weight, but..

34:12 Anti-Trans messaging

36:13 "The same playbook"

37:13 Origin Story

39:18 Coast to Coast and NPR

42:37 "We're still coming out every day, even though it's a hostile environment"

43:24 Where is Ebony Harper in five years?

45:44 #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

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Jeff Pearlman has been a sportswriter for three decades, and is the best-selling author of ten books on sports, including Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, which was adapted as the HBO series Winning Time. In February 2025 he turned his attentions to the ultimate contact sport: politics. 

His new Substack newsletter, The Truth OC, digs deep into Orange County politics, skewering what he refers to as "the crazy people" in many Orange County local governments. If he is unabashedly partisan, he brings the receipts, sharing photos, videos and other documents of officials behaving badly - or at least strangely.

He spoke with us about his decision to cover local politics, how a lifetime of sportswriting prepared him for this beat, and why Democratic messaging "sucks." 

:36 Oral History of Speaker Robert Hertzberg

1:45 Problems at the State Bar

3:01 Experts Expound: The best and worst political jobs in California

3:51 Welcome Jeff Pearlman

8:39 The Truth OC

10:57 Style

12:52 Seal of God

13:49 "You bring the receipts"

16:08 Impact in the community

18:04 Enjoying the cruelty

22:13 How did sportswriting prepare you for this?

25:06 "I find him so exasperating"

25:52 Getting in your face

29:02 The N word at a school board meeting

30:55 Don't let things disappear

34:16 Will this affect your sportswriting career?

36:32 What journalists/writers do you follow?

37:37 The new Jon Fleischman

38:33 How long will you do this?

40:33 #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.

Democratic Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo joined us to talk about her legislative priorities, the Los Angeles Fires, the Chiquita Canyon Landfill environmental crisis, and why cuts to the VA are personal for her. And as always, we tell you Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics.

1:25 Best and worst jobs in California politics?

3:08 Welcome, Asm. Schiavo

3:35 The 3 Hs: housing, homelessness and healthcare

4:15 #AB301

6:17 The impact of the Los Angeles Fires

9:29 How has the state's resPonse been?

11:18 And the insurance companies?

13:09 Chiquita Canyon Landfill fire

17:42 "There is one man who has cancer. He looks out his front door and four of his neighbors have cancer. It's not normal."

21:37 VA cuts - a personal story

26:18 Can California offset cuts?

28:16 Realistically, what can the #caleg get done this year?

31:49 #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.

California political data expert Paul Mitchell joins us to talk about his recent polls that explored public reaction to Governor Gavin Newsom's This is Gavin Newsom podcast, and the results of the first Capitol Weekly Insider Survey, which asked how and where the Capitol Community gets its news.

1:11 Capitol Weekly Internship application deadline: April 18

3:40 What about the Gov's podcast?

14:20 Methodology

17:44 Capitol Weekly Insiders Survey

20:13 LinkedIn

21:33 X/Twitter

23:01 Bluesky

25:23 Starter Packs

26:53 Facebook

29:02 Democratization of the dialogue

30:45 Alex Vassar mention

32:13 How to get the survey

33:28 Becerra Effect?

36:41 Will 2026 be another Blue Wave?

39:28 #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 Asm. David Tangipa, the freshman Republican legislator from the 8th Assembly District, and at 29, the youngest member of the California Legislature. Tangipa grew up off Watt Avenue in Sacramento, not for from McClellan Air Force Base. The impact that McClellan's closure had on Tangipa's friends and neighborhood left a lasting impression - and an awareness that policy decisions affected lives in very real ways. Sports offered a way out of the neighborhood; encouraged by his high school football coach, Frank Negri, Tangipa attended college at Cal State Fresno where he played tight end for the Fresno Bulldogs. Tangipa began working in real estate and got involved involved in Fresno politics, serving as a field representative for Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig. In 2024 he launched a bid for the open 8th District Assembly seat, challenging the favorite, former Congressman George Radanovich. Radanovich led in the Primary, but lost by 7 points in the general.  

Tangipa joined us to talk about his path to Sacramento, his extraordinarily short tenure on the Assembly Insurance Committee, and why he - the first Tongan ever to serve in the #caleg - is not part of the AAPI Legislative Caucus.

Plus: Who had the worst week in CA politics?

1:01 SB581 story

2:35 Welcome Paula Treat and Matt Rodriguez

3:31 Conferences coming: AI on July 8; Health Care on October 1

6:05 Welcome Asm. Tangipa

7:09 Origin story

10:26 "By the time I was 14 years old I was 6'4 and 200 pounds"

12:10 vs. George Radanovich

14:01 Sacto vs. Fresno

16:33 Removal from committees

19:42 Relationships with other legislators

25:40 Any news on Federal fire funding?

29:14 Thoughts on the new building reform package?

32:34 #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.