California wildfires threaten water supply. Here’s how
CALmatters is a Sacramento-based nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. It works with more than 130 media partners throughout the state that have long, deep relationships with their local audiences, including Embarcadero Media (publisher of the Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice, Pleasanton Weekly and The Almanac in Menlo Park and their websites.)
Here are the most recent stories reported by CALmatters' team of journalists:
Taxes, the coal fight comes to California, voting, and student debt
Automakers oppose Newsom's tax bill. Newsom joins fight against coal. Legislators take step toward easing student debt, with assist from Steyer.
Thu, Jun 20, 2019 3:30 am
Democratic voters more centrist than their party
The recent state Democratic Party convention was dominated by the party's left-wing activists, but the broader array of Democratic voters doesn't lean as far to the port.
Thu, Jun 20, 2019 12:01 am
A million independent voters risk being irrelevant in California’s presidential primary
Presidential challengers hoping to glide to victory through California’s newly relevant primary, a heads-up: Your electoral fate may hinge on convincing enough left-leaning millennials to send postcards over the winter holiday season.
Wed, Jun 19, 2019 8:01 pm
Immigrant entrepreneurs continue to shape California’s economy
Immigrants tend to be bigger risk-takers than people born in California when it comes to starting a business. Here’s why that’s good for the economy.
Wed, Jun 19, 2019 12:00 pm
Wall Street salivates at the housing ‘solution’ offered by Senate Bill 50
John Mirisch: Scores of housing bills circulate in Sacramento, one worse than the next. Collectively, they threaten to destroy our unique and dynamic communities to various degrees, many in the service of Wall Street and other special interest groups. Wall Street is notorious for not caring about the path of destruction it leaves in its wake in search of ever-greater profits.
Wed, Jun 19, 2019 8:00 am
A PG&E settlement, a vaccine compromise, and an apology to Native Americans
PG&E agrees to pay $1 billion for wildfire damages. Newsom apologizes for state's mistreatment of Native Americans. Redding church comes under scrutiny.
Wed, Jun 19, 2019 3:30 am
Bill reduces ballot measure transparency
A new bill would water down the requirement that local governments be upfront on the taxation effects of their tax and bond ballot measures.
Wed, Jun 19, 2019 12:01 am
How Redding, California, became an unlikely epicenter of modern Christian culture
Some residents, saying Bethel Church's civic influence threatens the city's integrity, hand out "Don't drink the Kool-Aid" stickers.
Tue, Jun 18, 2019 1:12 pm
George Tyndall’s ‘patients’ turn to the Legislature for justice
Nicole Haynes and Mai Mizuno: AB 1510 would give Dr. George Tyndall's 'patients' a choice: Join the federal class action, or fight it out alone in state civil court, a venue that could more fully hold Tyndall and USC accountable. We are fighting to put the past and our shared secret behind us and move forward with our lives. We hope California legislators will understand, and not suppress our individual voices and rights.
Tue, Jun 18, 2019 11:00 am
California Legislature must act to protect environment from Trump’s assaults
Terry Tamminen: Federal agencies plan to ignore new state requirements in order to deliver more San Francisco Bay-Delta water to powerful San Joaquin Valley farmers in the Westlands Water District. This would do more than harm salmon fishermen and the West Coast’s largest estuary. An elegant solution lies in Senate Bill 1 by Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins.
Tue, Jun 18, 2019 8:00 am
Clean water, gas taxes, contraceptives and gay pride
Cap-and-trade revenue to be used to treat drinking water. Republicans lament gas tax hike. Gig work becomes a campaign issue.
Tue, Jun 18, 2019 3:30 am
Beneath their rival efforts to reduce police shootings, two lawmakers share one common experience as mothers
Two California Democrats took rival approaches to reduce police shootings. Yet as mothers—one African American, the other Latina—both lawmakers have had remarkably similar experiences in one respect: They instructed their teenage sons to cautiously navigate encounters with police, and they ultimately felt the police did not treat their sons fairly.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 5:40 pm
Why fighting for clean water with climate change money worries some California lawmakers
Combat climate change, or clean up the water? Legislators chose to dip into a greenhouse gas fund to fight California’s drinking water problem. The move alarmed environmentalists and legislators on both sides of the aisle — but it could soon become the norm.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 12:20 pm
Cities pledge to find solutions to California’s homeless crisis
Carolyn Coleman: There is no single or easy solution to address homelessness, but building more affordable housing is a major part of the answer. That is why the League of California Cities strongly supports Gov. Newsom’s budget proposals which provide more resources, and Senate Bill 5 to help support the construction of more housing for low- and very-low income Californians.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 8:00 am
Newsom’s tax bill, vaccinations, and new additions to lobby fights
Newsom, legislators have unfinished business on taxes. Vaccination bill faces tough questions. USC sex abuse scandal returns to Capitol.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 3:30 am
New workers’ compensation battle on horizon
Once a decade, powerful interests do battle over the system compensating workers for job-related disabilities and a new clash may be on the horizon.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 12:01 am
Lessons from the Old Courthouse in El Centro
Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar: My responsibility goes beyond deciding cases. We must help the public understand what we do and share our collective knowledge. Nowhere is that mission more urgent than when it comes to improving the lives of our state’s children.
Sun, Jun 16, 2019 8:20 am
Big caveats in new state budget
While politicians tout the state's new budget, there are some very large caveats attached to it.
Sun, Jun 16, 2019 12:01 am
Weekly CALmatters 06/14/2019
Highlighting all of CALmatters' work over the past week
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 10:12 pm
Who could bring cops and critics together to change California’s use-of-force standard?
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 1:50 pm
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 1:50 pm
Episode Three: The Deciders
For more than a year, Assemblywoman Shirley Weber has been working on a bill meant to curb police shootings by limiting when police can use deadly force. She persevered through political setbacks and failed attempts at compromise before landing on a version that now appears likely to become law.
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 9:34 am
Helping to define what it means to be ‘Made in California’
Lenny Mendonca: Government officials don't do a good job of engaging the public as we grapple with big, complex challenges. Today, my team at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development is launching a new podcast called Made in California to change that dynamic.
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 7:37 am
Weekly Walters 06/14/2019
A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 5:46 am
A big budget, slices of pork, and a win for correctional officers
Lawmakers pass $215 billion budget, but more work remains. Budget includes Placerville pork. Progressives suffer some setbacks.
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 3:30 am
In California, a blue wave and progressive governor: So why are so many leftist plans going under?
As the Capitol passes the halfway point for making new laws this year, the progressive policies that are advancing amount to less of a torrent than a trickle.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019 3:04 pm
As Newsom rethinks juvenile justice, California reconsiders prison for kids
Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking California's shrinking juvenile detention system away from the adult corrections bureaucracy and shifting it into the system for social services.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019 1:09 pm
California just passed a $215 billion budget. Here’s what’s between the lines.
Less tax-and-spendy than expected, California's $215 billion budget delivers more for working and poor families, but avoids most new taxes and stops short of health care for all.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019 1:04 pm
How Trump administration undermines reproductive and LGBTQ rights in California
Lori Freedman and Rebecca Griffin: We’re facing an unprecedented sweep of abortion bans across the country, a frontal attack that we must fight back. A new Trump administration regulation puts the full force of the government behind individuals and institutions that refuse to provide care in the name of religious beliefs. This unnecessary overreach emboldens people to discriminate and has dangerous implications for people’s health. California is not immune.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019 8:00 am
Gig economy, the budget, and the weed wars of Santa Barbara
Uber, Lyft join forces to fight Assembly bill. Ink is nearly dry on state budget. Inmates allowed to use marijuana behind bars, sort of.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019 3:30 am
Budget expediency overwhelms logic
Two expedient state budget deals undermine their rational legitimacy.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019 12:01 am
AT&T got a tax windfall and gave me a lay-off notice
Darren Kelly: AT&T told 368 technicians throughout California, including me and many of my coworkers in Sacramento, that we need to move to the San Francisco Bay Area or lose our jobs. AT&T knows it wasn’t giving us any real choice at all: the company laid us off, even though it receive a tax windfall when Congress passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
Wed, Jun 12, 2019 8:00 am
After-school programs, measles, Fox’s take on the budget, and castration
After-school programs go wanting in budget. Medical detectives track measles cases. Laura Ingraham goes after California's income.
Wed, Jun 12, 2019 3:30 am
Most ‘job killer’ bills already dead
All but five of the 31 bills given the "job killer" epithet by California Chamber of Commerce have already died.
Wed, Jun 12, 2019 12:01 am
California could finally regulate high-interest lenders. It’s up to the Senate
By setting a 36% annual rate cap on such loans, Assembly Bill 539 by Assembly Banking and Finance Committee Chairwoman Monique Limon, a Santa Barbara Democrat, would provide Californians with protections against high-cost loans similar to safeguards now enjoyed by an estimated 232 million Americans. AB 539's fate is in the state Senate's hands.
Tue, Jun 11, 2019 8:00 am
Trump’s take on California’s budget, Republican prospects and broccoli donuts
Trump campaign strategist weighs in on California health care plans. Presidential candidates duck homeless issue. Charter schools report released.
Tue, Jun 11, 2019 3:30 am
In California, people help guarantee fair elections. The process begins today
Elaine M. Howle: California voters took the job of redistricting out of the hands of politicians and gave it to a first-ever citizens commission. The result is a process that ensures fairness and equity in campaigns. And we’re about to take our second walk down that very important road.
Mon, Jun 10, 2019 8:00 am
Should community colleges build housing?
Matthew Polamalu was spending 1.5 hours each day commuting back and forth to community college along Southern California’s congested freeways when he decided he’d had enough. He sat down at his computer and Googled “community colleges with dorms.” “I was just looking for the full college experience,” said the psychology major. He found it in […]
Mon, Jun 10, 2019 4:00 am
Wildfire liability, a budget deal, electric trucks and dead cows
Legislature feels heat on wildfire plan. CPUC, utilities prepare to square off at U.S. Supreme Court. Democrats leery of tax hikes.
Mon, Jun 10, 2019 3:30 am
Los Angeles school tax flunks out
L.A. voters rejected a new tax for schools in a test of sentiment for a similar statewide measure.
Mon, Jun 10, 2019 12:01 am
Implicit bias legislation
Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove and David A. Lehrer, in a point-counter point: Assembly Bills 241, 242 and 243 would mandate that lawyers and judges physicians, nurses, and physicians’ assistants, and virtually all peace officers in California undergo periodic training regarding “implicit bias.”
Sun, Jun 9, 2019 8:00 am
‘Clean’ freight traffic is elusive as California rolls toward zero emissions
For carbon-free transportation, California must cover a lot more ground soon. But by some estimates, electric truck fleets could still be a decade away.
Sun, Jun 9, 2019 5:00 am
Slavery in 21st century California? Yes
California is a 21st century slave state. Hundreds, if not thousands, of human beings are being kept in slavery.
Sun, Jun 9, 2019 12:01 am
How to reduce the risk of wildfire and other climate change-related disasters
Karen Baker: California’s emergency planning in the traditional sense is held up as a model. But we face many barriers, given our size and diversity. We must change our approach by investing in people power to complement traditional emergency services which is why a new grassroots strategy has been adopted to connect people to each other and build inclusive resiliency.
Sat, Jun 8, 2019 8:00 am
Weekly CALmatters 06/07/2019
Highlighting all of CALmatters' work over the past week
Fri, Jun 7, 2019 6:34 pm
Charter school task force echoes calls for tighter charter school regs, more local control
A closely watched report commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom calls for more local discretion and tighter regulation of charter schools.
Fri, Jun 7, 2019 5:32 pm
Trump administration says no new talks with California on car rules
Automakers backed Obama-era rules on car emissions and gas mileage, then asked President Trump to change them. Now the companies fear a long Washington-California court fight.
Fri, Jun 7, 2019 4:58 pm
Weekly Walters 06/07/2019
A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.
Fri, Jun 7, 2019 5:46 am
Finding a friend in Oregon, Newsom’s lawsuit pays off and the Nazi next door
Oregon may join California's cap-and-trade market. Why CSU students pay more for parking. Tom Steyer wades into a new political fight.
Fri, Jun 7, 2019 3:30 am
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