Governor Newsom is already back out touring the state’s vaccination sites following last night’s State of the State at Dodgers Stadium. The Governor laid out his vision for the state’s road to recovery over the next, but the effort continues to loom over it all.  

Doug Sovern is on vacation, so KCBS Radio anchors Jeff Bell and Patt Reising were joined by KCBS Reporter Mike DeWald and Mike Madrid, a Republican Political Consultant and a Principal at GrassRoots Lab.

Governor Gavin Newsom's State of the State Address comes in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and against the backdrop of a recall campaign that is almost certain to mean the governor will face a referendum on his leadership this fall. 

For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Jeff Bell and Patti Reising and KCBS Radio political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with David McCuan, chair of the political science department at Sonoma State University.

All signs point to the possible recall of Governor Gavin Newsom heading to the ballot in November. Proponents of the recall said over the weekend they now have 1.95 million signatures ahead of the March 17th deadline.

For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Patti Reising and Jeff Bell and KCBS Radio reporter Mike DeWald spoke with Joshua Spivak, Senior Fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College in New York, and an expert in recall elections.

Governor Newsom signed legislation today that could pave the way for more public schools to reopen in person by next month. But are California’s schoolkids ready to go back? What challenges will they face after a year of learning by Zoom? 

For more, KCBS Radio's Political Reporter Doug Sovern, joined by KCBS Radio news anchors Jeff Bell and Patti Reising, spoke with Karen Rogers, PhD, a Clinical Psychologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Last year’s federal coronavirus stimulus package included the Paycheck Protection Program and forgivable small business loans. But in California at least, a new study says they may have led to the rich getting richer, and the poor getting poorer.

The study from UCLA says the relief bill failed to reach California’s most economically vulnerable neighborhoods, and it raises questions about how government programs target the most needy, and track their success.

And this information comes as California adjusts its COVID19 vaccination plan, to target that to the most underserved areas. So how will it work?

For more, KCBS Radio political reporter Doug Sovern and anchors Patti Reising and Jeff Bell spoke with Sonja Diaz, founding director of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative.  

Governor Newsom continues his statewide tour of mass vaccination sites and schools, as he tries to demonstrate pandemic leadership AND fend off a likely recall election

But he’s got to juggle competing demands as he does it balancing the needs of those who say he’s kept the state locked down too long with those who are nervous about reopening too quickly

Those competing interests fall not just along party lines, but also racial and ethnic ones, and socioeconomic ones, complicating his task even more. It’s the same balancing act the governor has had to do for a year now, and when we ask him about it, he says he is following science and data, and politics is not a consideration. Do we accept that at face value?

For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Jeff Bell and Patti Reising spoke with political scientist Dr. Anna Sampaio, Chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at Santa Clara University.