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Just 98 days after walking picket lines for five days, Kaiser Permanente nurses and other health professionals in California and Hawaii plan to walk off their jobs for a second time on Jan. 26, this time keeping the pressure on their employer for an open-ended strike.

The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals announced Thursday that it has served Kaiser with a strike notice on grounds that the collective bargaining process has not produced a new contract that its 31,000 members find acceptable. The union says that its members are still handling “escalating workloads that are contributing to dangerous delays in care,” and that “stagnant” wages do not “keep up with the skyrocketing cost of housing, food and health care.” Kaiser nurses continue to request pensions rather than savings-based retirement plans.

During the strike in October, Kaiser rejected workers’ claims about understaffing, insisting that wages are the main reason why workers walked picket lines. Kaiser said its nurses rejected a proffered 21.5% wage increase spread over four years, which also included increases to benefits.

UNAC/UHCP also represents about 5,700 registered nurses at Sharp HealthCare. The union announced late last week that it reached a tentative contract agreement with Sharp, but neither side has yet shared details of the deal.

While the specific wages that Kaiser nurses earn can vary widely, open positions currently advertised on Kaiser’s jobs website give some idea of the range. For example, an open nighttime nursing position working in the emergency department of Kaiser’s Zion Medical Center in Grantville lists a salary range of $54.73 to 74.72 per hour. Full experience requirements did not appear to be listed.

A previous version of this story indicated that the strike was to be for 10 days. We apologize.

California is home to more billionaires than any other state, and they already shoulder a disproportionate share of the state tax burden. Yet California is considering a ballot initiative based on the familiar fantasy that the state’s fiscal problems and policy ambitions can be solved by further taxing the rich. The proposed 2026 ballot initiative would go further than anything previously attempted, imposing a one-time wealth tax on California residents that would confiscate 5% of their net worth above $1 billion to fund health care programs. But the plan would be counterproductive, even from a revenue-raising perspective.

Billionaires and other high-net-worth residents already pay exceptionally high taxes. California has one of the most progressive tax systems in the country. The top 1% of earners account for roughly half of the state’s personal income tax revenue and pay the highest total tax rate. This makes California’s tax revenues heavily dependent on a small number of taxpayers, including the 200 or so billionaires.

If enacted, the billionaire tax would retroactively apply to anyone who lived in California as of Jan. 1, 2026. As a result, despite still needing enough signatures to appear on the ballot and then be approved in the November election, the measure may already be driving away some of California’s most valuable taxpayers. Some billionaires, such as Google co-founder Larry Page, have already left California for more business-friendly states, citing the proposed wealth tax as a contributing factor. Others, such as Peter Thiel, publicly indicated they are considering doing the same.

As these billionaires leave, California loses future tax revenue it was counting on to fund day-to-day government operations, along with the billionaires’ investments, future business ventures and general spending in the state. Since the mere consideration of this tax scares away billionaires, it raises the question of whether, if enacted, it would generate enough revenue to offset potential massive losses.

Proponents of the wealth tax want the revenue dedicated to health care spending. But a one-time confiscation of wealth is not a sustainable funding model for a permanent, growing program, especially one like health care, which would become politically entrenched as residents come to rely on it. Even under optimistic assumptions, the revenue raised from the willing billionaires would be short-lived. New health care programs, on the other hand, would not be short-lived and would require much more than a one-time infusion of funding.

Health care costs are expected to rise far faster than inflation over the coming decades. As the population ages, birth rates fall and the ratio of workers to beneficiaries shrinks, demand for medical services is projected to grow, while the tax base becomes constrained. A temporary infusion of revenue does nothing to address these structural dynamics.

California’s state and local governments already rank seventh nationally in per-capita long-term debt, with about $20,300 per state resident, Reason Foundation finds. California has more than $800 billion in long-term obligations, the largest total of any state. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office says the state “faces an almost $18 billion budget problem in 2026‑27” alone. A one-time confiscation of private wealth fixes none of this.

Wealth taxes have been tried repeatedly across Europe and largely abandoned after producing less revenue than promised while imposing high administrative and compliance costs. France, Germany and Sweden are among those who approved wealth taxes and, years later, repealed them in hopes of recouping the investments and capital that fled with their owners. By further taxing its billionaires, California would be falling into the same tempting but failed policy.

Rather than driving away billionaires, entrepreneurs and innovative companies, California should implement structural reforms that right-size state government and position the state for long-term financial sustainability. The state needs to stop the growth in spending that is driving debt and deficits. It can do this by using performance-based budgeting to identify and eliminate unnecessary spending and redundant programs, sell unused property and underutilized assets, pay down public pension debt that is increasingly siphoning funding from other priorities and reduce the runaway costs of Medi-Cal.

California’s current and long-term fiscal problems were not created by billionaires. While taxing them may feel cathartic to some, it’s neither a smart nor a sustainable solution to California’s debt and deficits.

Trujillo is managing director of government finance research at Reason Foundation.

After leading Cathedral Catholic High School to a state championship football appearance last fall and being named the CIF San Diego Section Offensive Player of the Year, Honor Fa’alave-Johnson became a wanted young man.

By, it turns out, not only colleges but other high schools.

The junior running back/defensive back said he was been recruited by high schools from Florida to Orange County. It prompted him to take to social media.

“I appreciate all the different programs reaching out to my family and I,” Fa’alave-Johnson posted on X (formerly Twitter). “However, I’ll be staying in San Diego and playing my final season at Cathedral Catholic. Excited to run it back with my brothers, coaches, and represent the City one more time.”

Reached by phone, Fa’alave-Johnson said the schools recruiting him included IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., plus “almost the whole Trinity League.”

There are six schools in the Trinity League. Mater Dei Catholic, Santa Margarita, Servite, Orange Lutheran and JSerra are all located in Orange County. The sixth school, St. John Bosco, is in Bellflower.

“This has been real heavy on mind,” Fa’alave-Johnson said. “For my senior year, I was debating going to the Trinity League and getting experience facing the best talent to get me ready for college.

“The more I prayed about it and talked to my family, I was born and raised in San Diego. I love Coach (Sean) Doyle, coach (John) Montali (the Dons’ defensive coordinator) and the entire coaching staff.

“I feel schools in the Trinity League try to win, but not develop the kids as much. They try to throw money at you and do crazy stuff. I feel the people you start with, you should finish with. That’s the ultimate conclusion I came to.”

Fa-alave-Johnson said the Trinity League schools offered him free tuition. He said some offered travel expenses and housing.

Like the Trinity League programs, Cathedral Catholic is a private school. Annual tuition is $21,972. The school offers financial aid based on need.

Doyle said he wasn’t surprised that the Trinity League schools tried to poach his star player.

“They’ve been doing that for a lot of years,” Doyle said. “And Honor’s pretty dang good, obviously. I knew he would be on the radar of, if you want to say, national teams.”

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Fa’alave-Johnson lines up at running back and the slot on offense and at safety and cornerback on defense. He rushed for 1,265 yards, averaged 9.9 yards per carry and scored 21 rushing touchdowns. He caught 35 passes for 564 yards and seven touchdowns.

On defense, he recorded 38 tackles and intercepted two passes.

Because Cathedral routed many opponents this year, Fa’alave-Johnson sat out the second half of many games and missed one game with an injury. As a result, his total rushing yards were modest compared to some players. Four running backs in the state rushed for more than 4,000 yards.

A better measure of Fa’alave-Johnson’s skill is that he scored a touchdown once every 5.8 times he touched the football. His touchdowns included runs of 80, 36, 72, 32, 55, 37, 33, 57, 47, 57, 43 and 74 yards.

And he was at his best in some of Cathedral’s biggest games. In a 42-33 win over Lincoln, he rushed 24 times for 186 yards and scored five touchdowns. In a 42-35 San Diego Section Open Division semifinals win against Mission Hills, he carried 18 times for 255 yards and scored five TDs.

While Fa’alave-Johnson earned the most attention for his play at running back, he said this week that he’s leaning toward playing in the defensive secondary in college. He said the physical beating a running back absorbs is the main factor in his thinking.

“I want as long of a career as possible,” he said. “Honestly, this year opened my eyes on the offensive side. I want a package or some plays (in college) I could go in on offense. But I primarily want to play defense (in college).”

Fa’alave-Johnson said he has narrowed his college choices to 10 schools: USC, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Penn State, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma. New Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp visited Fa’alave-Johnson at Cathedral recently.

This pilot program will support up to 500 households each month across the county.

SAN DIEGO, CA — Two local nonprofits have partnered to help homebound seniors in San Diego County.

Meals on Wheels San Diego County and the San Diego Food Bank have launched a grocery delivery program for homebound seniors.

Currently, Meals on Wheels San Diego County delivers up to two meals per day. The new "Groceries on the Go" program supplements the meals already delivered by Meals on Wheels volunteers, bringing perishable and shelf-stable groceries directly to seniors' doors.

This pilot program will support up to 500 households each month across the East County, North County, South County, and San Diego metro areas.

"It's no secret that this past year brought funding uncertainties for nonprofits across the country, especially those addressing food and nutrition insecurity," said Brent Wakefield, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels San Diego County. "We faced challenges but remained resilient. This year, it's all about collaboration, not competition, to help the most vulnerable in our community: homebound seniors."

The program is available to new and existing Meals on Wheels San Diego County clients who already receive home-delivered meals and demonstrate a need for additional grocery support. The new program goes beyond food delivery, providing daily human connection, support and stability for seniors who might otherwise be isolated, according to Meals on Wheels San Diego County.

"Through the 'Groceries on the Go' program, we'll go beyond our traditional model of delivering prepared meals to provide perishable and shelf-stable groceries that will supplement other meals, giving our seniors more opportunities to live a nutritious and independent lifestyle, even if they can't leave home to shop for the groceries they need," Wakefield said.

Sharp HealthCare announced in a short statement Friday that it has reached a tentative agreement with the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, the union that represents about 5,800 registered nurses who work for the region’s largest medical provider.

A union spokesperson confirmed that the deal, which was preceded by a three-day strike in late November, has been reached but provided no additional details on specific terms. Sharp’s statement indicates that “key elements of the four-year agreement include pay increases for all bargaining unit registered nurses, enhanced extended sick leave benefits and improved retiree medical benefits.

“This milestone reflects our shared commitment to our nurses,” said Susan Stone, Sharp’s senior vice president of health system operations and chief nursing executive. “We are especially grateful to all those who worked so hard to ensure a strong and fair contract for Sharp nurses.”

Andrea Muir, a Sharp resource nurse and local union president, said in an email: “This was a big win not just for Sharp registered nurses but for Sharp’s patients and the San Diego community. We addressed outstanding sick leave, wage, and retirement issues in a manner that benefits both patients and nurses. We would never have gotten this far without the solidarity and hard work of Sharp RNs, who stood strong together and would not give up.”

In November, Stone said that Sharp’s proposal included guaranteed pay increases totaling more than 16% over four years with nearly 10% of that amount paid in the first two years. Union members on the picket line did not state exactly what number they were looking for, though they said that they sought an increase similar to the one received by nurses at UC San Diego Health. That raise was reported to reach 18.5% over four years.

Sharp nurses also demanded that annual sick leave allotments be granted at the beginning of each calendar year, rather than accruing time with each hour worked. Sharp, which was forced to bring in more than 950 workers during the strike, appeared to have already conceded to the sick leave demand as the strike entered its first day.