California

Poll Finds Only A Third of Voters See California On The Right Track

Published

10 months ago

January 21, 2024

Poll Finds Only A Third of Voters See California On The Right Track

Only a third of registered voters think California is moving in the right direction, while 57% think the state is off on the wrong track, according to a new poll by the University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.

A statement released with the poll results Thursday described the findings as a “a somewhat more negative assessment than voters have given in measures taken over the past eleven years” of consistent and regular mood assessments by UC Berkeley’s IGS, the state’s oldest public policy research center. The poll was co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.

Still, the pollsters added that the voters surveyed were not nearly as negative as they were during the nationwide economic crisis from 2008 to 2011, when some 69% to 80% of state voters described California as headed in the wrong direction.

The latest poll found that voters are split on the question of whether Gov. Gavin Newsom is doing a good job leading the nation’s most populous state, with 46% approving of the governor’s performance and 47% disapproving. However, a third of voters (33%) said they strongly disapproved of Newsom’s performance, while just 17% said they strongly approved.

The results fell strongly along partisan lines, with 90% of Republicans saying they disapproved of governor’s performance and 72% of Democrats saying they approved.

The survey took place just as Newsom has unveiled a $291.5-billion spending plan for the next fiscal year as well as plans to address a nearly $38-billion deficit projected by his administration.

The state analyst’s office pegs the number at a much more worrisome $58 billion for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which starts July 1. Either way, tough choices lie ahead for the governor, who is reportedly seeking to delay minimum-wage pay increases for health-care workers he signed into law just last year.

READ MORE: Why the Race To Replace Gov. Gavin Newsom Is Already So Crowded

Half of the voters recent surveyed described the budget deficit as “extremely serious,” while 37% called it “somewhat serious.”

When asked how the state should deal with forecasts of a shortfall in the upcoming state budget, voters chose from among four options: spending cuts to government services, tapping into the state’s “rainy day” reserve fund, borrowing from special funds or raising taxes.

Of those four, two were most popular: spending cuts to government services, at 51%, and tapping into the rainy-day fund at 35%. Only around 17% backed borrowing from special funds, while 13% preferred raising taxes. (Voters who mentioned several choices led to totals adding up to more than 100%.)

The survey revealed that three-fourths of Republicans and conservative voters supported spending cuts, as did majorities of men, older voters, whites, Asian Americans and no-party-preference voters. By contrast, only about a third of the state’s Democrats, liberals and African American voters in the poll said they supported such cuts, while more backed dipping into rainy-day funds as a way to deal with the deficit.

The Berkeley IGS poll was conducted online Jan. 4-8 among a random sample of 8,199 registered California voters, including a weighted sub-sample of 4,470 voters likely to take part in the March 5 primary.

Eric Schickler, co-director of the institute, said in the statement released with the poll results that the survey “suggests little appetite for tax increases to address the deficit, but a challenge for Governor Newsom and the legislature is that while spending cuts, in principle, are relatively popular, that support would likely dissipate when it comes time to making cuts to specific programs and services.”

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California

California man dies after semi-truck crash on I-44

Published

1 hour ago

November 17, 2024

Press Room

California man dies after semi-truck crash on I-44

PHELPS COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) – A man from California has died after a semi-truck crash on I-44 Saturday morning.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, the semi-truck was driving west on I-44 around 2 a.m. near the 193-mile marker.

The crash happened when the semi went off the right side of the road and hit a guardrail and a concrete bridge. After hitting the bridge, the semi went airborne and hit an embankment.

The passenger, a 54-year-old man from Hacienda Heights, California, died at the scene. The driver, a woman from California, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

This marks MSHP Troop I’s 33rd fatal crash in 2024.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.

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California

California to remove racist term for Native American Woman from more than 30 places

Published

9 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Press Room

California to remove racist term for Native American Woman from more than 30 places

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Officials in California are working to remove a racist term towards Native American women in more than 30 locations in California, according to the state Natural Resources Agency.

The removal of the term “squaw,” which was deemed “derogatory” by the Secretary of the Interior in 2021, is part of AB 2022, a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022. The law asks that the term be removed “all geographic features and place names in the state” by Jan. 1, 2025.

“The term is recognized as a racial, ethnic, and gender-based slur, particularly aimed at Native American women. Its removal is a crucial step in recognizing the ongoing trauma and oppression that Native communities have faced,” officials said in a news release.

In a statement on social media, the agency described the move as a “bold new step towards healing for past injustices.”

PRO-NATIVE AMERICAN ACTIVISTS FIGHTING TO SAVE INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS IN NATIONWIDE WAR AGAINST WOKENESS

California ski resort whose name included a derogatory term for Native American women changed its name to Palisades Tahoe. ((Photo by Slim Aarons/Getty Images))

The full list of new California names is not currently available but has been selected with the help of California’s Native American tribes and will be released shortly, the natural resources agency told The Associated Press in an email.

FLASHBACK: HARRIS DECLINED TO INTERVENE ON BEHALF OF NATIVE TRIBE PUSH TO PROTECT SACRED SITE FROM WIND FARM

Three California delegates from the Indian Rights Association meet with Representative Harry Shepard of California to put their claims before Congress. The delegates are Julia Ross Gardner form the Piute, Celestine Pico Von Bulow from the Pachanga, and Thomas Largo from the Cahuilla. (Getty Images)

Deputy Secretary for Tribal Affairs at the Natural Resource Agency Geneva Thompson said this is an extremely important step for Indigenous people.

“Acknowledging those historical wrongs that were committed against Native Americans is extremely important, but we need to take the next step toward healing,” Thompson said. “While there are differences among folks, we can build communities that reflect and honor and celebrate those differences instead of alienating and perpetuating historical wrongs.”

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The California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names says they will implement approved replacement names by Jan. 1.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the California Natural Resources Agency for comment.

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California

Woman Arrested After Allegedly Posing as Nurse and Caring for Around 60 Patients in California Hospitals

Published

17 hours ago

November 16, 2024

Press Room

Woman Arrested After Allegedly Posing as Nurse and Caring for Around 60 Patients in California Hospitals

A woman has been arrested for allegedly impersonating a nurse and working in multiple California hospitals without a license.

The Burbank Police Department arrested Amanda Leeann Porter on Nov. 7 after hospital staff at the city’s Saint Joseph Medical Center reported she was impersonating a nurse while caring for patients, police said in a statement.

Police alleged that Porter, originally from Virginia, fraudulently applied for a job at the hospital and was hired. She cared for around 60 patients, per the statement, between April 8 and May 8, before staff realized she was impersonating a real registered nurse who did not live in California.

“By the time Porter was terminated, she received two paychecks for the time she was fraudulently employed,” police added.

Amanda Leeann Porter’s mugshot.

Burbank Police Department

Porter, 44 — who police said does not hold a nursing license — is also accused of committing a similar crime at the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles.

“During this investigation, detectives learned that Porter continued to obtain employment with various local hospitals using a variety of false identities,” the police statement said.

Porter had bonded out of custody from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department after being arrested in Santa Clarita, according to police.

Porter faces charges of felony identity theft, felony false impersonation and felony grand theft. According to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, Porter pleaded not guilty to all of the charges on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

“Ms. Porter’s alleged actions are deeply troubling and egregious as she deceived patients and medical professionals alike, betraying the trust of those who rely on our medical community in their most vulnerable time of need,” district attorney George Gascón said in a statement.

“We acknowledge the profound distress that this situation may have caused those who were treated by the defendant,” the statement continued. “Our office will work relentlessly to hold this individual accountable and ensure that justice is served.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that Porter is also on federal probation for a fraud violation in Virginia, and that a woman named Amanda Porter-Eley pleaded guilty to impersonating a nurse and committing bank fraud in the state.

The outlet reported that Burbank police would not confirm whether Amanda Leeann Porter and Amanda Porter-Eley were the same person, but that their ages match and prior court filings have used both names.

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Porter-Eley was found guilty of impersonating a nurse in Virginia and worked for six months as a nursing supervisor without a license, the U.S. Department of Justice said, per the Times. The woman was accused of using the nurse’s identity from September 2015 to 2016 to open bank accounts and take out loans for cash, services and goods worth around $450,000.

Burbank police said that Porter is being held without bail at the L.A. County Central Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood.

Authorities are now seeking more information about Porters’ case, with Burbank police alleging that she “may have committed additional similar offenses in the Southern California area during the past year.”

Anyone with further information is asked to contact local law enforcement or Burbank detectives at (818) 238-3210.

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