Bakersfield
Political Playback: California Capitol News You Might Have Missed
News You Might Have Missed
Stefi Mar October 13, 2025
News You Might Have Missed
The dismissal of Karen Attiah from the Washington Post has become more than a personnel decision. It is a scarlet warning, a reminder of what has long haunted the American press: the Black voice is too often invited in only to be pushed out when it dares to speak of the nation’s truths.
Assemblymembers Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) and Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), are celebrating the signing of two of their bills aimed at improving education outcomes — one reforming the student expulsion process, and the other strengthening the state’s early childhood education system.
Across America, families are being broken not by illness alone, but by the quiet cruelty of denial letters from insurance companies. Patients in crisis are told their care is not medically necessary. Others learn too late that their coverage has been canceled. The denials come swiftly, the appeals take months, and the system often feels rigged against the very people it was built to protect.
California, like much of the nation, is not producing enough nurses working at bedsides to meet the needs of an aging and diverse population, fueling a workforce crunch that risks endangering quality patient care. Nearly 60% of California counties, stretching between the borders with Mexico and Oregon, face a nursing shortage, according to state data.
In the first months of 2025, America’s safety net began to fray. From food banks to community health programs, thousands of nonprofits found their government funding delayed, frozen, or stripped away. The Urban Institute’s October 2025 report, How Government Funding Disruptions Affected Nonprofits in Early 2025, captures what those on the ground already knew. The country’s moral infrastructure is buckling under the weight of political choices and bureaucratic neglect.
When the Supreme Court began its 2025–26 term on Monday, legal observers, scholars, and advocates warned that the justices are again positioned to shape the country’s direction on equality, freedom, and democracy itself.
facebooktwitterinstagram Up at the Fort Greely U.S. Army Base in Alaska, Major Daniel Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos, Hamilton) sees a blip on a screen that’s concerning.
In St. Louis, a team of students aboard a well-equipped van visits senior centers, a nursing home, a church, and other sites, learning to conduct comprehensive, hourlong geriatric assessments.
The Ferris wheel glowed against the Bakersfield night sky. The scent of kettle corn, barbecue, fries, and other fair treats drifted through the air as children’s laughter and screams mingled with the sounds of carnival rides. Beyond the games and food stalls, Kern County showcased its agricultural pride through livestock displays and farm produce exhibits. But as the sun dipped below the horizon, all eyes turned toward the main stage, where living legends were about to perform, the Isley Brothers.
The Posse Comitatus Act was born in 1878. It was short, a single sentence, but it carried a promise: soldiers would not patrol American streets. Its origin was poisoned by the retreat from Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow, but its meaning grew larger. It became a vow that liberty cannot live where rifles enforce the law of civilians.
Democrats and Republicans are both pointing fingers, saying the shutdown is the other party’s fault. The government shutdown means that money has stopped flowing, and there is no continuing resolution to continue the funding for the government. Republicans are in charge of the House, Senate, and White House and do not want to open borders or focus on healthcare to expand the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Lieutenant Colonel George E. Hardy, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen to fly combat missions during World War II, has died in Sarasota, Florida. He was 100 years old.
The Protect Voters First Coalition is voicing concerns about Proposition 50, arguing that California’s proposed redistricting plan is designed to give Democrats an advantage in next year’s U.S. House midterm elections. The initiative, they say, is a response to Texas’ recent gerrymandering efforts aimed at securing more Republican seats in Congress.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced last week that services under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will continue operating during the federal government shutdown — as long as existing funding remains available.
News You Might Have Missed
I was diagnosed with lupus while recovering from a divorce I did not see coming. Not only did I believe I was happily married, but I was only 32 and at the top of my game working at a very prestigious law firm.
Hours into the federal government shutdown, Julio Fuentes stood steps from the U.S. Capitol to deliver an urgent message about the Hispanic voting bloc that helped the GOP sweep into power last year.
The passing of Assata Shakur has left a deep void in those who saw her as more than a revolutionary. She was a mother, poet, and symbol of liberation whose life embodied struggle and sacrifice.
Another wave of bomb threats has shaken historically Black colleges and universities, with Morgan State University and Towson University in Maryland the latest to be forced into emergency measures on Tuesday.