In the News

Calmatters

California lobbyist fights for his daughter, with Legislature’s help

August 14, 2018

By Dan Morain

Lobbyist Joe Lang is the guy to see if you’re a billionaire wanting to build a basketball arena in Inglewood, or a weed start-up testing the boundaries of commercial cannabis, or a tobacco company with its many issues.

In any legislative session, his firm—Lang, Hansen, O’Malley and Miller—is one of the two or three top-billing lobby operations in Sacramento. For decades, he and his partners have been pushing, molding and killing legislation depending on their 60-plus clients’ wishes.

Lang also is Jordan’s dad.

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The Mercury News

A push for mental health care at colleges: Depression and anxiety ‘really eat up our kids’

August 14, 2018

By Felicia Mello

When student leaders from 23 California State University campuses came together last fall to set priorities for the academic year, improving campus mental health services received more nominations than any other issue. It beat out even that perennial concern, tuition costs.

Cal State Student Association president Maggie White said she’s not surprised.

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Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Amazon facility ‘just amazing’

August 14, 2018

By Mark Glover

Stepping in the door of Amazon’s sprawling fulfillment center at Metro Air Park north of downtown Sacramento on Friday morning, the energy was almost palpable.

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Sacramento Bee

He took on the NFL. Now he’s after California’s ‘primitive’ sheriff-coroner system.

August 14, 2018

By The Sacramento Bee editorial board

It has been months since the nationally renowned Dr. Bennet Omalu abruptly quit his job as chief medical examiner of San Joaquin County, sending shock waves through California’s close-knit community of forensic pathologists.

A brilliant practitioner with a stellar reputation for his work identifying a pattern of brain disease among NFL players, Omalu probably could work anywhere in the country. Californians should be thankful that he has opted, so far, to stay here.

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San Diego Union Tribune

EDITORIAL: Why California needs an even tougher vaccination law

July 20, 2018

California lawmakers deserved praise in 2015 for taking steps to push more students to have all the required vaccinations that are needed to reduce the risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases. Senate Bill 277, sponsored by state Sen. and pediatrician Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, barred parents from citing their personal beliefs in refusing to have their children vaccinated.

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Sacramento Bee

He took on the NFL. Now he’s after California’s ‘primitive’ sheriff-coroner system

March 22, 2018

It has been months since the nationally renowned Dr. Bennet Omalu abruptly quit his job as chief medical examiner of San Joaquin County, sending shock waves through California’s close-knit community of forensic pathologists.

A brilliant practitioner with a stellar reputation for his work identifying a pattern of brain disease among NFL players, Omalu probably could work anywhere in the country. Californians should be thankful that he has opted, so far, to stay here.

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Bakersfield Californian

OUR VIEW: Who should speak for the dead?

March 17, 2018

A controversy up the road in San Joaquin County has once again fueled criticism of a conflict-plagued system in which a California county sheriff also serves as the county coroner.

Ripples from the controversy and a proposed state law are certain to be felt in Kern County, where a sheriff-coroner system has been the focus of occasional criticism since its creation in the early 1990s.

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Stockton Record

Bill would require coroner change; ‘This is about confidence in our justice system’

February 26, 2018

By Alex Breitler

While San Joaquin County leaders consider whether to switch to an independent medical examiner’s office, legislation introduced this week at the state Capitol would basically take the decision out of their hands.

The bill, brought by Democratic Sens. Richard Pan and Cathleen Galgiani, would require counties with a population of greater than 500,000 people to replace their coroner’s office with an independent medical examiner’s office by January 2019.

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Elk Grove Citizen

Governor approves lunch law influenced by EGUSD case

October 25, 2017

Senate Bill (SB) 730, which requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to monitor compliance of the Buy American provision of the National School Lunch Program, was signed into law on Oct. 7 by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), who is a pediatrician, said that he authored the bill to stop schools from sourcing food from outside the United States.

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Sacramento Business Journal

New B Street Theatre venue gets money from state budget.

June 28, 2017

B Street Theatre’s new $30 million arts complex The Sofia, still under construction, got a boost from the state budget.

In a one-time expenditure this year, the state granted B Street $1.9 million to fund items that had been value-engineered out of the project in order to start construction of the complex at 27th Street and Capitol Avenue.

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