I was pushed around for being skinny when I was a kid. Also for wearing an eye patch, for being the smart kid and for always acting like a performer. And did I mention I was called “Petunia”? It doesn’t take much to make a child feel like an outsider. Most of us have felt that way at one time or another. What can be hard is helping children feel like they belong — like they are part of something bigger than themselves. That’s what I always worked for as a teacher. Read More

This year, state Assembly Speaker John Perez reversed a protocol in the chambers by announcing a rule banning media interviews on the Assembly floor. He later amended it to require all conversations to be held in the back of the Assembly in a designated area, though he left intact a new rule that prevents reporters from approaching assembly members after the session has ended, leaving media to stand outside the chambers. Read More

It is easy to spark a lively debate in California with just six syllables: Proposition 13. Arguments over the voter-approved 1978 tax reform initiative have reverberated through the state capital for decades. Politicians — even the many who opposed it — have generally avoided the measure like unfavorable publicity. But the political winds are shifting. Talk of Prop. 13 reform is all the rage, with several San Francisco state legislators taking up the cause. Read More

Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting’s election to the California Assembly has set into motion a possible series of personnel changes that could result in the appointment of a new San Francisco supervisor and affect who becomes the next board president. Ting bested Michael Breyer on Tuesday to capture the Assembly seat representing western San Francisco and parts of northern San Mateo County. After Ting is sworn in Dec. 3, it will be up to Mayor Ed Lee to appoint his replacement. Read More