California's minimum wage would be increased, under a measure that will appear on this year's statewide ballot. It seeks $15 an hour, compared with the current rate.
UPI's Ed Adamczyk reports: "A proposal to raise California's minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2021 will be on the 2016 ballot in November, election officials said."
"Sponsors of the "Fair Wage Act of 2016" presented sufficient voter signatures to put the measure to a vote, the state's Secretary of State's Office announced Tuesday. Under the proposal, California's minimum wage of $10 per hour, since the start of the year, would increase by $1 dollar each year, to $15 per hour by 2021, with automatic increases afterward in line with the cost of living. Statewide polls show support for the new minimum wage increase, as well as for future increases."
"The proposal was sponsored by the Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers West. Supporters raised $4.7 million to promote it, largely from the union."
An interesting analysis of California's campaign financing reveals that a majority of professional fund raisers are women.
KQED's Katie Orr reports: "It’s shaping up to be a pricey election cycle in California, maybe the most expensive ever. And politicians at all levels are trying to tap into the state’s deep-pocketed donors. Raising money for all those campaigns is a full-time job — and it’s a job done largely by women."
"The woman in charge of fundraising for the California Democratic Party is Angie Tate. She is often credited with raising a multimillion-dollar war chest for Gov. Jerry Brown, although she insists the governor did most of the work. That attitude is at the core of Tate’s take on fundraising."
"Being humble when you’re raising money is super important,” she says. “Because it’s not about you, it’s about the candidate you’re moving forward. It’s about what the donor’s needs are. It’s not about thinking about yourself.”
A former Californian collegiate sports star narrowly escaped the Brussels terrorist attack and described his experiences.
The Chronicle's Jenna Lyons writes: "A former Bay Area college basketball star who was inside the Brussels airport at the time of Tuesday morning’s terrorist attacks said he is grateful to be alive after he took off running from the explosions and saw victims sprawled on the floor maimed and bloodied."
"Brad Waldow, 24, a former forward at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, was inside Brussels’ Zaventem airport around 8:30 a.m. when he heard screams. Waldow said he had been standing at the heart of the explosion site just minutes beforehand."
“It was just pandemonium,” he told The Chronicle in a telephone interview from Belgium. “Everybody just started screaming and running, and we knew something happened.”
Two more of California's hospitals came under siege last week as hackers made ransom demands against the institutions.
Chad Terhune in Capitol Weekly: "Hackers demanded a ransom from two more Southern California hospitals last week and federal authorities are investigating the case."
"Prime Healthcare Services Inc., a fast-growing national hospital chain, said the attackers infiltrated computer servers on Friday at two of its California hospitals, Chino Valley Medical Center in Chino and Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville."
"The company said the cyberattack had not affected patient safety or compromised records on patients or staff."
California's voter turnout at the ballot will ultimately affect party strength.
Logan Jenkins in the Union-Tribune: "You’re only as good as your last story, journalists learn early."
"For Republican presidential candidates, the same may apply to the last big primary."
"It’s a dicey numbers game, to be sure, but there’s a decent chance California’s primary will measure the closing strength of the Republican presidential candidates heading into a hotly contested convention in Cleveland."
And from our "Poilitics is Show Business for Ugly People" file, comes a memo to political junkies who will be descending on the Golden State this year to cover the primary election, courtesy of Paul Mitchell.
"California is not homogeneous. Throw away the melting pot and think of the chef’s salad. We’ve got eggheads and nut balls, meat and potatoes and leafy greens, and they are geographically dense in several pockets of the state. For the most part, diversity is found among different cities and neighborhoods, but not as much within them."
"As a rule, the coastal districts are liberal and inland voters are more conservative. The Central Valley counties are our rural, low income “Southern States,” San Francisco has our “Northeastern Elites” (with some dense Asian populations thrown in there), Northern California is our Montana, and Los Angeles is, well, what you actually think of when someone says “California,” with the beaches, mountains, Hollywood stars and crowded freeways."
"San Diego, well, that’s also its own subculture, with large immigrant populations, retirees and some dense LGBT populations — basically, our own little Florida."
No alligators in San Diego, though...