Gavin Newsom inducts history-making politician into California Hall of Fame

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FORMER SPEAKER HEADLINES NEW CALIFORNIA HALL OF FAME CLASS

Former longtime Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown Jr. is set to join several other prestigious Californians in entering the California Hall of Fame.

Brown, who served as speaker from 1980 to 1995 — a whopping 15 years — was the first Black man to hold that position. And he wasn’t done making history when he left the Legislature. He went on to become the first Black mayor of San Francisco, serving from 1996 to 2004, when he was succeeded by a certain Gavin Newsom, the man who would go on to induct Brown into the Hall of Fame.

“The contributions of this newest class of the Hall of Fame will have an impact on California – and the nation – for generations to come. Through their boundless qualities and trailblazing achievements, these visionaries embody the spirit of California and will continue to inspire millions more,” Newsom said of the latest class of inductees.

Joining Brown in immortality is master chef and “Mother of Fusion Cuisine” Helene An, computer scientist and “Father of the Internet” Vinton Cerf, award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay, all-female pop punk band The Go-Go’s, former federal judge and civil rights leader Thelton Henderson, Chicano rock band Los Lobos, former basketball player and sports broadcaster Cheryl Miller, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and artistic director and choreographer Brenda Way.

The California Hall of Fame was established in 2006.

UNEMPLOYMENT WILL LIKELY REMAIN HIGHER IN CALIFORNIA

Via David Lightman...

California’s unemployment rate is expected to remain higher than the nation’s for the next four years, Newsom’s budget says.

The budget released last week includes the administration’s California economic outlook. The state’s economy, like the nation’s, is expected to continue growing, though at a slow, steady pace.

But the state’s labor force is projected to grow at a “slowing pace,” the report said. The California unemployment rate this year is forecast to average 5.1%, while the nation’s is seen as 3.8%.

In 2025, state unemployment is expected to peak at 5.2% while the country’s rate averages 4.4%. California’s rate is likely to then come down to 5% in 2026 and 4.8% in 2027.

The state’s jobless rate in November, the latest data available, was 4.9%. The U.S. rate was 3.7%

The governor’s report also warns of “immediate risks” to the budget forecast, notably inflation and interest rates.

Increases in the cost of living have slowed since 2022, and are projected to reach 3% in California this year, down from 2023’s 3.8%.

If the inflation rate slows nationally, the Federal Reserve is expected to lower its target interest rate this year.

But if prices don’t fall significantly and the Fed balks, that “could result in additional drag on interest-sensitive spending,” such as homes or motor vehicles, the forecast said.

“There is also a specific risk that Iran could be drawn into the current Israel-Hamas conflict and disrupt oil shipping through the Persian Gulf, driving oil prices up and causing other supply chain issues,” the report said.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Every MLK Day, I watch this. We miss you Dr. King.”

Assemblyman Isaac G. Bryan, D-Los Angeles, sharing a video about the late civil rights leader via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Best of The Bee:

• A Sacramento manufacturing plant could stand to benefit from the $3.1 billion federal grant awarded last month to revive an over-budget and overdue high-speed rail project between Merced and Bakersfield, via Randy Diamond.

• When Newsom railed during his budget presentation last week against “shameful” suggestions from the Wall Street Journal editorial page that he would support a tax on wealthy Californians, he also could have been speaking to the national audience he’s been wooing for months, via Lindsey Holden.