Posts From Drew Gregory Lynch

Back to homepage
Drew Gregory Lynch

Drew Gregory Lynch

Trump administration exploring possibility of opening up California land to fracking

The Trump administration this week took the preliminary steps toward opening around 1.6 million acres of public land in California to hydraulic fracturing and oil drilling. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Wednesday explained in a notice to the Federal

Read More

‘Three California’ plan won’t appear on November ballot, California Supreme Court rules

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked the controversial initiative aimed at dividing California into three states from going to voters in November. Earlier this summer, the Tim Draper-backed plan announced that it had obtained enough signatures to get on

Read More

Stockton to become first U.S. city to test universal basic income plan

Stockton, California, will soon become the first U.S. city to experiment with a universal basic income program, granting 100 residents $500 a month with no strings attached. The project is being backed by Silicon Valley titan Chris Hughes, whose Economic Security

Read More

San Francisco’s $15 minimum wage goes into effect for all businesses

San Francisco this week enacted its $15 minimum wage, making it the first major U.S. city to mandate a $15 wage floor for all businesses. It’s the last phase of Proposition 14, which voters passed in 2014 and raised the

Read More

Gas tax repeal will be on California ballot in November

The initiative to repeal the controversial gas tax in California will be on the ballot in November, with the secretary of state confirming Monday that organizers received enough signatures to qualify. Senate Bill 1, passed last year, raised the base excise tax on

Read More

Plan to split California into three states makes it onto November ballot

A plan to split up California into three separate states has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla’s office confirmed this week. The initiative received around 600,000 signatures — almost double the amount

Read More

California legislators launch push to expand health care coverage to undocumented immigrants

State Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, is renewing his push to reform health care in California, this time proposing new legislation to cover illegal immigrants’ health care. “Two years ago we passed #Health4All children in California & now the Senate

Read More

California regulators approve plan to mandate solar panels on new homes

California regulators on Wednesday approved a first-in-the-nation plan to mandate the installation of solar panels on all new homes beginning in 2020. The move was approved with a 5-0 vote by the California Energy Commission, in what supporters of solar energy

Read More

California Supreme Court makes it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors 

On Monday, the California Supreme Court issued a major ruling on the distinction between independent contractors (IC) and employees, establishing a new test for determining classification that presumes that workers are employees and not ICs. The case, Dynamex Operations West,

Read More

California gubernatorial race may hold key to boosting Republican turnout in 2018

With Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox polling neck-and-neck with Antonio Villaraigosa for second place in the race for governor, the prospect of a Republican being on the ballot in November appears to be increasing – a development that could be instrumental

Read More