Bakersfield
Political Playback: California Capitol News You Might Have Missed
News You Might Have Missed
Stefi Mar July 8, 2025
News You Might Have Missed
Drinking coffee may help you live longer—but only if it’s black. A new long-term study analyzing the coffee habits of more than 46,000 U.S. adults found that coffee drinkers had a lower risk of dying from any cause, but only when the coffee was consumed without significant amounts of added sugar or saturated fat.
Application process for 2026 event has begun for teens from across the United States; Mentorship program with all-expense-paid experience aimed at fostering the dreams of high school students from varying backgrounds and communities nationwide
California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom have approved a $321.1 billion state budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year, closing a $46.8 billion shortfall through a combination of cuts, delays, and revenue shifts. Newsom signed the spending plan on June 27, following months of negotiations marked by divisions over environmental reforms, education funding, and health care access for undocumented Californians.
The California Black Freedom Fund (CBFF), previously a 5-year-$100-million initiative to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations have the sustained investments and resources they need, announced its evolution into a permanent, independent institution on June 27.
News You Might Have Missed
Stephanie Ivory counts on Medicaid to get treated for gastrointestinal conditions and a bulging disc that makes standing or sitting for long periods painful. Her disabilities keep her from working, she said.
In an era when the judiciary is often seen as a battleground for ideological warfare, the recent rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court deserve commendation for a principled defense of constitutional limits, individual rights, and the foundational tenets of American democracy. On the final day of this term, three pivotal cases emerged that, overwhelmingly, favored a conservative understanding of governance and personal freedom, particularly echoing the values once championed by President Trump.
As fired and retired scientists rallied outside in the Atlanta heat, an advisory panel that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. handpicked to replace experts he’d fired earlier met inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s headquarters to plan a more skeptical vaccine future.
Nearly seven months after the fatal shooting of an insurance CEO in New York drew widespread attention to health insurers’ practice of denying or delaying doctor-ordered care, the largest U.S. insurers agreed Monday to streamline their often cumbersome preapproval system.
Cedric Sturdevant woke up with “a bit of depression” but made it to church, as he does every Sunday. In a few days, he would drive from Mississippi to Washington, D.C., to join HIV advocates at an April rally against the Trump administration’s actions.
News You Might Have Missed
The people of Galveston, Texas, have been commemorating Juneteenth since the Civil War ended. Yesterday, in honor of the 160th anniversary, I went there to join them.
The California Disability Leadership Alliance (The Alliance) held its “Day at the Capitol” event on June 16, organized to advocate for policies and services that improve the lives of people with disabilities. The effort’s leaders also want to strengthen what they refer to as “cross-disability collaboration” in the state.
For months, Pres. Donald Trump and his allies have used California as a political punching bag.
On June 16, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) hosted an event in Sacramento featuring a film focused on the extraordinary career of Oakland-based civil rights attorney John Burris.
Natasha Hooper, a poet and event host in San Diego, said she is commemorating LGBTQ+ Pride Month by honoring Black historical figures – often overlooked or underappreciated by the broader LGBTQ+ community — and celebrating in solidarity with other African Americans.
Josefina Muralles works a part-time overnight shift as a receptionist at a Miami Beach condominium so that during the day she can care for her three kids, her aging mother, and her brother, who is paralyzed.
In the face of growing challenges, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles (PPLA) is reaffirming its commitment to the Los Angeles community with the reopening of the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Health Center. After undergoing extensive renovations, the center opened its doors on May 27, offering a full range of sexual and reproductive health care services, including birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment, and abortion.
The Trump administration has reportedly removed at least 500 migrant children from their homes across the United States and placed them into government custody, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.