In The Media

By Gregory S. McNeal

California’s leading position as one of the top markets for aerospace related research and development cannot be maintained without significant attention from the Legislature and the Governor.  California accounts for nearly 9% of the world’s aerospace R&D, but a globally competitive marketplace threatens the state’s leadership role. What California needs is an Aerospace Commission, and that’s why Senator Ben Allen’s SB 1215 is a critically important piece of legislation.

The proposal is as straightforward as it is non-controversial, California needs an Aerospace

By Melody Gutierrez

SACRAMENTO — A San Francisco surgeon preparing to perform a life-saving liver transplant from an HIV-positive donor to an HIV-positive patient ran up against an unexpected problem this month. The procedure, although allowed under federal law, is illegal in California.

On Wednesday, UCSF transplant surgeon Peter Stock stood before a group of lawmakers at the state Capitol and pleaded for an immediate law change that would allow him to try to save his patient’s life. And legislators are rushing to fix the California law this week in hopes that the change comes before it’s

By Richard A. Carranza 

Perla Rivas completed a degree in biochemistry at San Jose State in 2010 and was at a crossroads. She considered becoming a teacher, but paying for a teaching credential seemed financially unsound, especially with the high cost of living in the Bay Area. On average, a first-year teacher with a credential and a master’s degree begins her career $50,000 in debt. However, thanks to a public-private partnership called the San Francisco Teacher Residency, Perla didn’t have to choose financial stability over teaching. Instead, she enrolled in a graduate program at the

As a kid, I loved the arts. My mom is an artist, and playing Captain Hook in my high school theater production of “Peter Pan” was one of the highlights of my youth.

I realize I was fortunate to have grown up in a community that values the arts and understands the positive influence the arts can have on young people. Students with a higher level of arts involvement are more likely to be high achievers on tests, less likely to drop out, and more engaged in school.

Fast-forward 20 years. As chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Arts, I held a hearing last fall to assess whether

SACRAMENTO, May 17, 2016: Senator Ben Allen (D–Santa Monica) received the 2016 March of Dimes Legislative Champion Award, today, in a special presentation before nearly eighty volunteers and staff at the annual March of Dimes day of advocacy and awareness. Volunteers came from across the state to Sacramento to educate legislators about the March of Dimes mission and advocate for key 2016 legislative initiatives. 

Senator Ben Allen was recognized by March of Dimes for co-authoring SB 277, which eliminated the personal belief exemption from school immunization law. Senator Ben Allen co

Drift gill nets, fiercely contested fishing gear used to snag swordfish and thresher sharks in deep waters off Southern California, would be largely banned under legislation authored by a South Bay state lawmaker.

Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat whose district includes much of the Los Angeles County coastline, is drafting the final language of a bill that would halt state permits for drift gill nets and create a new state permitting system for alternative swordfish-catching gear that California fishery managers and researchers still are testing for commercial use.

Senate Bill 1114 would allow

Bottlenose dolphins swimming in the ocean, sea turtles feeding along our shore, majestic whales traversing the coast – all of these are signs of a healthy and vibrant Pacific Ocean that makes California’s coastline unique.

Fishing is also part of our state’s heritage. That’s why we have joined with thousands of other California residents writing to encourage West Coast fishery leaders to authorize a promising new fishing gear that minimizes harm to the iconic species that define our coast while also sustaining a productive swordfish industry.

We believe that the Pacific Fishery Management

Thousands more Californians are registered to vote than were four years ago. You might think that's good news, considering all the efforts underway to increase voter participation. But it's actually a negative because there are also a lot more Californians today than there were four years ago — and they are registering at a lower rate.

In January 2012, 72% of Californians were signed up to vote, according to state records. As of January 2016, only 70% were registered. This is dismaying considering what is at stake in the upcoming presidential election, but there is still time to register

In an effort to increase the number of public schools offering theater and dance classes and to lure more dance and theater professionals to teaching, Santa Monica-area State Senator Ben Allen unveiled a bill on Wednesday to create, for the first time, teaching credentials in those subjects.

“Our message today is that we recognize the specialized training needed for dance and theater, that we value it, like we value these disciplines, like we value our teachers, our student, and our state,” said Allen, surrounded by half a dozen arts advocates at a Sacramento news conference.

Those