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Newsom Outlines Proposed State Budget With Medi-Cal Expansion, $45.7 Billion Surplus

Newsom’s budget proposal received plaudits from the Bay Area’s state legislators, who argued that it positions the state well to combat immediate issues while also investing in broader support for the state’s economy and environment.

Published

4 years ago

January 20, 2022

Oakland Post

California Governor Gavin Newsom announces the state’s new plan of action against the rising omicron variant cases at Native American Health Center in Oakland on Dec. 22, 2021. Harika Maddala/ Bay City News photo.

By Eli Walsh | Bay City News Foundation

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his proposed 2022-2023 state budget Monday, including a proposal to extend health care coverage to every low-income resident in the state.

The proposal would expand access to Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid, to all residents who meet the program’s income eligibility threshold, which varies depending on household size, regardless of immigration status.

Medi-Cal is already available to adults age 50 and up and people under age 26. Newsom’s budget proposal estimates it will cost roughly $2.7 billion annually once the expansion is fully implemented by 2024.

Overall, Newsom proposed a total budget of some $286.4 billion, with a $213.1 billion general fund, with funding focused on combating the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and its effects, homelessness, the state’s cost of living and public safety.

The total proposal is roughly 9% higher than the 2021-2022 budget, Newsom said Monday during a briefing on the budget.

“The budget is not a reflection of me, but it is a reflection of what I believe are our values as a state,” he said.

The budget includes a $45.7 billion surplus, but only roughly $20 billion will be usable for discretionary spending as the state has obligations to reserve a certain amount of its budget to education funding and pension liabilities.

Newsom noted that he expects both the budget’s overall and surplus amounts to change during negotiations with the state Legislature this spring and by the time he issues his revised proposal in May, when the state will have more clarity on its total tax revenue.

At that time, the state will also have more clarity on whether its surplus will be large enough to send out stimulus checks as it has during the current fiscal year.

“My sense is … there likely will be substantial contributions back to the taxpayers,” Newsom said. “What form they come in, we’ll work with the Legislature, and to what degree in terms of total amounts of dollars will be determined in May.”

State Republican Party Chair Jessica Millan Patterson called on Newsom to avoid a “reckless spending spree” with the surplus, arguing that his policies are driving people to move out of the state.

“Democrats should take the budget surplus accrued from aggressively over-taxing Californians and work with Republicans to make wise investments that will restore the Golden State to a place where people come because of opportunity, not one they are rushing to leave,” she said.

The budget proposal includes some $2.7 billion to support increased COVID-19 vaccination and testing and bolster the state’s health care workforce. The funding would be split across the two upcoming fiscal years, with $1.3 billion for the 2022-2023 fiscal year and $1.4 billion for 2023-2024.

To combat climate change, the budget includes some $1.2 billion for wildfire prevention efforts, $648 million to bolster Cal Fire’s workforce and equipment and $750 million in funding for immediate drought response.

Newsom’s proposal also includes roughly $2 billion for homelessness services, mental health support and to clear encampments, which the governor called “unacceptable” and “inhumane.”

The homelessness funding builds on the $12 billion the state allocated in the 2021-2022 fiscal year budget.

The proposal also includes a slew of grants and tax credits both to support the construction of housing units across the state and to support small businesses that have struggled to remain open throughout the pandemic.

“With this budget proposal, California can invest in essential services like schools while addressing significant challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic, wildfires and the climate crisis,” said state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa. “We can walk and chew gum at the same time.”

Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, both argued that the proposed budget aligns with the Senate’s goal of utilizing California’s wealth to make the state more equitable for middle- and low-income families.

“I look forward to reviewing the governor’s plan and working with Pro Tem Atkins, legislative colleagues and the administration to create a 2022-23 budget that further moves toward an equitable economy for all,” said Skinner, the chair of the Senate’s Budget Committee.

The full proposed budget can be found at https://www.ebudget.ca.gov/FullBudgetSummary.pdf.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

3 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Bling It On: Holiday Lights Brighten Dark Nights All Around the Bay

On the block where I grew up in the 1960s, it was an unwritten agreement among the owners of those row homes to put up holiday lights: around the front window and door, along the porch banister, etc. Some put the Christmas tree in the window, and you could see it through the open slats of the blinds.

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

Christmas lights on a house near the writer’s residence in Oakland. Photo by Joseph Shangosola.

By Wanda Ravernell

I have always liked Christmas lights.

From my desk at my front window, I feel a quiet joy when the lights on the house across the street come on just as night falls.

My father, the renegade of the block, made no effort with lights, so my mother hung a wreath with two bells in the window. Just enough to let you know someone was at home.

Two doors down was a different story. Mr. King, the overachiever of the block, went all out for Christmas: The tree in the window, the lights along the roof and a Santa on his sleigh on the porch roof.

There are a few ‘Mr. Kings’ in my neighborhood.

In particular is the gentleman down the street. For Halloween, they erected a 10-foot skeleton in the yard, placed ‘shrunken heads’ on fence poles, pumpkins on steps and swooping bat wings from the porch roof. They have not held back for Christmas.

The skeleton stayed up this year, this time swathed in lights, as is every other inch of the house front. It is a light show that rivals the one in the old Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia.

I would hate to see their light bill…

As the shortest day of the year approaches, make Mr. King’s spirit happy and get out and see the lights in your own neighborhood, shopping plazas and merchant areas.

Here are some places recommended by 510 Families and Johnny FunCheap.

Oakland

Oakland’s Temple Hill Holiday Lights and Gardens is the place to go for a drive-by or a leisurely stroll for a religious holiday experience. Wear a jacket, because it’s chilly outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 4220 Lincoln Ave., particularly after dark. The gardens are open all day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the lights on from dusk until closing.

Alameda

Just across the High Street Bridge from Oakland, you’ll find Christmas Tree Lane in Alameda.

On Thompson Avenue between High Street and Fernside drive, displays range from classic trees and blow-ups to a comedic response to the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Lights turn on at dusk and can be seen through the first week in January.

Berkeley

The Fourth Street business district from University Avenue to Virginia Street in Berkeley comes alive with lights beginning at 5 p.m. through Jan. 1, 2026.

There’s also a display at one house at 928 Arlington St., and, for children, the Tilden Park Carousel Winter Wonderland runs through Jan. 4, 2026. Closed Christmas Day. For more information and tickets, call (510) 559-1004.

Richmond

The Sundar Shadi Holiday Display, featuring a recreation of the town of Bethlehem with life-size figures, is open through Dec. 26 at 7501 Moeser Lane in El Cerrito.

Marin County

In Marin, the go-to spot for ‘oohs and ahhs’ is the Holiday Light Spectacular from 4-9 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026, at Marin Center Fairgrounds at 10 Ave of the Flags in San Rafael through Jan. 4. Displays dazzle, with lighted walkways and activities almost daily. For more info, go to: www.marincounty.gov/departments/cultural-services/department-sponsored-events/holiday-light-spectacular

The arches at Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Dr. will also be illuminated nightly.

San Francisco

Look for light installations in Golden Gate Park, chocolate and cheer at Ghirardelli Square, and downtown, the ice rink in Union Square and the holiday tree in Civic Center Plaza are enchanting spots day and night. For neighborhoods, you can’t beat the streets in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, and Bernal Heights. For glee and over-the-top glitz there’s the Castro, particularly at 68 Castro Street.

Livermore

The winner of the 2024 Great Light Flight award, Deacon Dave has set up his display with a group of creative volunteers at 352 Hillcrest Avenue since 1982. See it through Jan. 1, 2026. For more info, go to https://www.casadelpomba.com

Fremont

Crippsmas Place is a community of over 90 decorated homes with candy canes passed out nightly through Dec. 31. A tradition since 1967, the event features visits by Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23 and entertainment by the Tri-M Honor Society at 6 p.m. on Dec. 22. Chrippsmas Place is located on: Cripps Place, Asquith Place, Nicolet Court, Wellington Place, Perkins Street, and the stretch of Nicolet Avenue between Gibraltar Drive and Perkins Street.

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Lu Lu’s House is Not Just Toying Around with the Community

Wilson and Lambert will be partnering with Mayor Barbara Lee on a toy giveaway on Dec. 20. Young people, like Dremont Wilkes, age 15, will help give away toys and encourage young people to stay in school and out of trouble. Wilkes wants to go to college and become a specialist in financial aid. Sports agent Aaron Goodwin has committed to giving all eight young people from Lu Lu’s House a fully paid free ride to college, provided they keep a 3.0 grade point average and continue the program. Lu Lu’s House is not toying around.

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Tania Fuller Bryant, Zirl Wilson, Dremont Wilkes, Tracy Lambert and Dr. Geoffrey Watson. Courtesy Oakland Private Industry

Special to the Post

Lu Lu’s House is a 501c3 organization based in Oakland, founded by Mr. Zirl Wilson and Mr. Tracy Lambert, both previously incarcerated. After their release from jail, they wanted to change things for the better in the community — and wow, have they done that!

The duo developed housing for previously incarcerated people, calling it “Lu Lu’s House,” after Wilson’s wonderful wife. At a time when many young people were robbing, looting, and involved in shootings, Wilson and Lambert took it upon themselves to risk their lives to engage young gang members and teach them about nonviolence, safety, cleanliness, business, education, and the importance of health and longevity.

Lambert sold hats and T-shirts at the Eastmont Mall and was visited by his friend Wilson. At the mall, they witnessed gangs of young people running into the stores, stealing whatever they could get their hands on and then rushing out. Wilson tried to stop them after numerous robberies and finally called the police, who Wilson said, “did not respond.” Having been incarcerated previously, they realized that if the young people were allowed to continue to rob the stores, they could receive multiple criminal counts, which would take their case from misdemeanors to felonies, resulting in incarceration.

Lu Lu’s House traveled to Los Angeles and obtained more than 500 toys
for a Dec. 20 giveaway in partnership with Oakland Mayor Barbara
Lee. Courtesy Oakland Private Industry,

Wilson took it upon himself to follow the young people home and when he arrived at their subsidized homes, he realized the importance of trying to save the young people from violence, drug addiction, lack of self-worth, and incarceration — as well as their families from losing subsidized housing. Lambert and Wilson explained to the young men and women, ages 13-17, that there were positive options which might allow them to make money legally and stay out of jail. Wilson and Lambert decided to teach them how to wash cars and they opened a car wash in East Oakland. Oakland’s Initiative, “Keep the town clean,” involved the young people from Lu Lu’s House participating in more than eight cleanup sessions throughout Oakland. To assist with their infrastructure, Lu Lu’s House has partnered with Oakland’s Private Industry Council.

For the Christmas season, Lu Lu’s House and reformed young people (who were previously robbed) will continue to give back.

Lu Lu’s House traveled to Los Angeles and obtained more than 500 toys.