It’s Not Just QAnon. Democrats and Independents Also Want to Recall California’s Governor.
By Angela Hart and Samantha Young
Gov. Gavin Newsom is painting the effort to remove him from office as a partisan power grab. But among the tens of thousands of Californians who signed the recall petition are Democrats and independent voters frustrated by his pandemic policies, from school closures to vaccine distribution.
Watch: Fauci, Other Health Officials Weigh California’s COVID Response
California Healthline’s Samantha Young helped lead a discussion about the state’s response to the novel coronavirus. Infections and hospitalizations are surging across the state.
Blue Shield Spent Years Cultivating a Relationship with Newsom. It Got the State Vaccine Contract.
By Samantha Young and Angela Hart
Insurance giant Blue Shield of California has made millions in charitable and political donations to Gov. Gavin Newsom over nearly two decades, largely to his dearly held homeless initiatives. In turn, Newsom has rewarded the insurer with a $15 million no-bid contract to lead the state’s covid vaccination distribution.
Xavier Becerra in His Own Words: ‘Health Care Is a Right’
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. As attorney general and during his 24 years in Congress, he has staked progressive positions on health care issues, fighting the Trump administration on contraception, suing a major California health system for monopolistic behavior and calling himself a supporter of single-payer health care.
Déjà Vu for California Voters on Dialysis
By Samantha Young
Californians are again being asked to weigh in on a dialysis ballot measure. This one purports to target patient safety, and dialysis industry giants are once again spending big to defeat it.
Xavier Becerra en sus propias palabras: “La atención de salud es un derecho”
El presidente electo Joe Biden eligió al fiscal general de California, Xavier Becerra, para dirigir el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales (HHS). Como fiscal general y durante sus 24 años en el Congreso, Becerra ha sostenido posiciones progresistas en cuestiones de atención de salud, peleando contra la administración Trump sobre planificación familiar, demandando al mayor sistema de salud de California por conducta monopólica, y definiendóse como un defensor del sistema de salud de pagador único.
Schools Walk the Tightrope Between Ideal Safety and the Reality of Covid
By Laura Ungar and Samantha Young
Across the country, politics have muddied the question of when and how to reopen schools. Even though teachers continue to fear for their safety, lawmakers and parents are demanding that schools take advantage of declining infection rates to open safely and quickly.
With Becerra as HHS Pick, California Plots More Progressive Health Care Agenda
By Angela Hart and Samantha Young
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he has already begun discussing California health care priorities with Xavier Becerra, tapped this week by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as his Health and Human Services secretary.
California GOP Consultant Rues ‘Big Mistake’ That Led to Family’s COVID Infections
By Samantha Young
Richard Costigan, a well-respected fixture in state Capitol circles, has detailed his family’s ongoing experiences with COVID-19 on social media after catching the virus — he surmises — at a backyard gathering. The former Schwarzenegger aide wants people to know this virus doesn’t care who you are.
KHN on the Air This Week
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
