Tim Anaya – Senior Director of Communications and PRI’s Sacramento Office
Winners: Californians Who Are 16+ – The wait is finally over. Californians who are 50 years of age or older will be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine starting on April 1, and Californians who are 16 years of age or older will get their turn starting on April 15.
Loser: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Is the end finally near for Israel’s longest serving prime minister? According to the Washington Post, “Netanyahu has fallen short of securing the parliamentary majority he needs to stay in office.” While the Likud Party won the most seats in the election, “the bloc of parties that are certain to support him has only won 52 seats, nine shy of the number needed for a majority in the parliament,” the Post notes.
Evan Harris – Media Relations and Outreach Manager
Winner: Rob Bonta – California State Assemblyman Rob Bonta scored the last of the Newsom political sweepstakes competition with his appointment as California attorney general. Fun fact: many moons ago when I was a legislative staffer, I played against Rob Bonta during a practice for the “Legislative Soccer Game.” Despite our many decades age difference, Bonta is still very good at soccer from his collegiate playing days at Yale (and I consider myself decent).
Loser: Naysayers of Joe Biden’s First Press Conference – Include me in the naysayers who thought President Biden would have a poor showing at his first press conference. Biden was with it, stayed on message, and spoke at length about a number of issues including immigration and the filibuster.
Kerry Jackson – Fellow, Center for California Reform
Winners: Ailing Californians and their families – Visitors are finally being allowed into some hospitals.
Losers: Everyone who is part of California’s agriculture industry – According to the Sacramento Bee, state and federal officials are issuing warnings about the water supply this summer and “telling farmers and others to gear up for potential shortages.”
McKenzie Richards – Development Associate
Winner: California Condor – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans to release four juvenile California condors into the Redwood National Park each year for the next 20 years, starting this fall. In the 1980s, there remaining 22 condors were captured and have been bred in captivity ever since.
Loser: The Massive Evergreen Container Ship – While traversing the narrow Suez Canal, a container ship nearly the length of the Empire State Building, accidentally wedged itself in the waterway – blocking all seafaring traffic in both directions. The route carries about 12 percent of the world’s trade, costing the world billions of dollars in lost revenue.
