California Will End Its COVID-19 State Of Emergency Next Year — What Does That Mean?
Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that California’s COVID-19 state of emergency will end on February 28, 2023. Newsom enacted the state of emergency in March of 2020, freeing up state resources to fight the pandemic and empowering the Governor with more executive powers. The move to end the state of emergency comes as the state’s test positivity rate has plateaued, but a potential winter surge looms on the horizon. In a press release, the governor assured that his administration will seek a legislative route to maintain California’s laboratory testing and therapeutics treatment capacity. However, with the end of the state of emergency comes the potential for a lapse in COVID-19 resources that have become commonplace in the last two years.
Joining Larry to discuss what the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency means as well as what resources and programs will be affected, is Jackie Fortiér, LAist & KPCC senior health reporter, and Kristen Hwang, CalMatters reporter covering health care and policy.
The State Of Federal Student Loan Forgiveness As The Application Goes Live
President Joe Biden on Monday officially kicked off the application process for his student debt cancellation program and announced that 8 million borrowers had already applied for loan relief during the federal government’s soft launch period over the weekend. An early, “beta launch” version of the online form released late Friday handled the early stream of applications “without a glitch or any difficulty,” Biden said. Borrowers will be able to submit applications through the end of 2023. Biden acknowledged Monday that litigation is ongoing but said his administration believes the lawsuits won’t ultimately affect the program. Joining us for the latest on Student Loan information is Gabriel Rubin, National economics reporter for the Wall Street Journal covering federal student loan policy, labor markets and consumer behavior.
With files from the Associated Press
An Oral History Of California’s Bullet Train Project And Where It Stands Now
The United States’s first bullet train was a plan that’s taken billions of dollars to develop in the state of California— so what’s become of it? Well, according to a story by the New York Times, not much. The train’s development has been stagnant in part to the decision of having it cross the Mojave Desert, a move that wouldn’t make for the most efficient route but was a decision that was landed on by those leading the project.
Today on AirTalk, we talk about the challenges that have arisen with the state’s bullet train project with Ralph Vartabedian, freelance journalist who recently wrote a piece for the New York Times titled "How California’s Bullet Train Went Off the Rails."
Meet The Candidates: Lanhee Chen Wants To Bring A Fiscally Conservative, Independent Watchdog Approach To The State Controller's Office
Mail-in ballots for theNovember 8 general election have started being mailed out to registered voters, and one of the races we're following on AirTalk is for the office of California controller. Current controller Betty Yee is terming out, leaving the position wide open for a newcomer. The controller is California's top fiscal officer tasked with the disbursement of funds as well as keeping the state's spending accountable. The controller also performs independent audits on how state agencies spend their funding, serves on various commissions, and safeguards unclaimed property. Republican Lanhee Chen believes he's the person most fit for the job. He sees himself as apolitical outsider who is willing to hold Democrats in Sacramento accountable. At the same time, he also touts his ability to work across the aisle, having been appointed by then-President Barack Obama to serve on the Social Security Advisory Board in 2014.
Today on AirTalk, Larry speaks to Republican Candidate for California controllerLanhee Chen about how he would run the office.
AirTalk reached out to both California controller candidates. You can hear Larry's conversation with Chen's opponent in the general election, Malia Cohen, on Tuesday, October 25's program.
COVID-19 AMA: California To End COVID-19 State Of Emergency, Cases Surge In Europe And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks withDr. Kimberly Shriner, director of infectious disease and prevention at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.
- California will end COVID-19 State of Emergency
- Should we be worried aboutsubvariant BA.2.75.2?
- US health officials are concerned about thisyear's flu season
- FDA, CDC clear bivalent booster for children withno testing data for the age group
- California will end weeklyMPX news releases as cases slows
- A new COVID-19 surge is hittingEurope
- Unlike previous global waves,numerous subvariants are striving for dominance in different areas of the world
- Only5% of Americans got a new bivalent booster a month after their rollout