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:
Last year, the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown virtually repealed California's "felony murder" law, but a judge has ruled that the repeal is unconstitutional.
Mon, Feb 18, 2019 12:01 amAutomakers must understand that if state and federal clean car standards are weakened, as a result of their lobbying, public health, climate emissions, the economy and job creation will suffer in California. We are calling on all automakers to view these standards from a moral perspective and halt any and all efforts to roll them back.
Sun, Feb 17, 2019 8:30 amGavin Newsom has a very ambitious agenda as governor, but ambitious governors haven't fared very well in the past.
Sun, Feb 17, 2019 12:01 amWhat have we learned from the decades of lynchings in this country? What have we learned from the roll call of the dead in the civil rights battles? What have we learned from the brutal slayings of nine people in an historic black Charleston, S.C.
Sat, Feb 16, 2019 8:30 amHighlighting all of CALmatters' work over the past week
Fri, Feb 15, 2019 8:48 pmA collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.
Fri, Feb 15, 2019 4:46 amThe fight for continues for police misconduct records, a pioneering state gun law is being challenged by red states, and a court ruling is creating tax chaos.
Fri, Feb 15, 2019 4:30 amBy moving the presidential primary election date to March 3, 2020, the Legislature sought to hit the moving target of relevance based on circumstances that can neither be controlled or known. If the past is any guide, hundreds of thousands of voters will waste their ballots on candidates who no longer will be running by primary election day.
Fri, Feb 15, 2019 4:29 amHoping to save California taxpayers some money after spending nearly $1 billion to fight wildfires last year, Napa Democratic Sen. Bill Dodd, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and Treasurer Fiona Ma say it’s time to look at purchasing disaster insurance for the state.
Thu, Feb 14, 2019 3:29 pmSan Francisco, Oakland, and Fresno are getting sued—all because the California Supreme Court has yet to answer a simple question: How many votes does it take for a new tax to become law?
Thu, Feb 14, 2019 2:40 pmHappy Valentine’s Day, California. “I’m not going this time. I’ve got 35 chickens and a daughter who won’t leave them behind. So we’re staying.”—Lake Elsinore real estate Tim Suber, as Riverside County sheriff’s deputies sought to evacuate wildfire burn areas prone to mudslides during Wednesday’s epic rain. Suber told the Associated Press that between last […]
Thu, Feb 14, 2019 4:30 amThe decades-long alliance between Democratic politicians and police unions has been eroded, as two legislative battles illustrate.
Thu, Feb 14, 2019 12:01 amIn a redesigned electricity system, people may choose where to get power—even cars will be able to charge up their homes. Fossil fuels will be gone.
Thu, Feb 14, 2019 12:01 amOnline lead generators and lenders provide innovative financial services that reach Californians who aren’t being served by banks and credit unions. Ensuring laws are modernized, embrace innovation and protect consumers should be the Legislature’s top priority.
Wed, Feb 13, 2019 1:40 pmAs inequality increases and encampments sprout in virtually every city statewide, some Californians are taking it upon themselves to address the pressing needs of homeless people in their neighborhoods—doing the work they think government should be doing, but isn’t.
Wed, Feb 13, 2019 12:46 pmCustomers will likely pay more and victims will get less should PG&E be liable for another major wildfire while the company is in bankruptcy.
Wed, Feb 13, 2019 10:02 amWe have a short period of time until the next fire season hits us. PG&E’s troubles have Californians demanding better solutions from their utilities, now. Sustainable business models and partnerships with solar leaders looking to protect fire-prone communities are a start.
Wed, Feb 13, 2019 8:30 amNewsom's State of the State throws the Central Valley a peace offering on the Delta tunnels, creates high speed rail confusion and offers a big social plan.
Wed, Feb 13, 2019 4:30 amGov. Gavin Newsom used his state of the state speech to make his strongest showing yet that Jerry Brown is no longer in charge.
Tue, Feb 12, 2019 7:06 pmGov. Gavin Newsom's 2019 State of the State address, annotated by CALmatters reporters.
Tue, Feb 12, 2019 2:02 pmGov. Gavin Newsom lays out ambitious agenda that sets a high mark for his political future.
Tue, Feb 12, 2019 1:02 pmFloodplain reforestation projects are biodiversity hotspots and climate-protection powerhouses that cost far less than old-fashioned gray infrastructure of levees, dams and reservoirs. They provide highly-effective flood safety by strategically spreading floodwater.
Tue, Feb 12, 2019 7:38 amNewsom pulls border troops, an 'un-American' transgender ban, the next big fire, a possible oil tax, Felicia Marcus may be out, and the State of the State.
Tue, Feb 12, 2019 4:30 amCan Gov. Gavin Newsom really do everything he’s setting out to do? Our team of state reporters break down his first State of the State address today—in a live YouTube panel discussion and our in-house Slack chat. You’ll find them both below. You can also read his speech, with our annotations, here. CALmatters Analysis of […]
Mon, Feb 11, 2019 4:45 pmAs political pressure mounts with every disaster, California is scrambling to prepare for the coming fire season, from firefighting to utilities to the law.
Mon, Feb 11, 2019 10:57 amCalifornia's green chemistry program can protect families and the environment from hazardous chemicals, and stimulate economic innovation. But after 10 years of progress, California legislators must expand this important effort with a stronger Safer Consumer Products Program.
Mon, Feb 11, 2019 8:30 amA new governor in town, and at the the border. Why free community college isn't so free. Don't underestimate Kamala Harris. And the State of the State.
Mon, Feb 11, 2019 4:30 amAs Gavin Newsom delivers his first State of the State speech, how do his plans prepare California for that dream—not just next year, but 5, 20, 30 years from now?
Mon, Feb 11, 2019 12:01 amJerry Brown's unwillingness to monitor how local school districts are educating their students is giving way to successor Gavin Newsom's pledge to increase accountability.
Mon, Feb 11, 2019 12:01 amAs President Trump works to undermine access to health care, we’re counting on the Legislature to join Gov. Newsom in making a new $100 million investment in reproductive health care a reality. Lives are depending on it.
Sun, Feb 10, 2019 8:30 amCalifornia school districts set poor example for their students when they overspend revenues and then seek bailouts from Sacramento and/or voters.
Sun, Feb 10, 2019 12:01 amHighlighting all of CALmatters' work over the past week
Sat, Feb 9, 2019 11:42 amA conservative Huntington Beach legislator called a state lawsuit aimed at compelling the Orange County city to build more housing a "literal cannonball" from Gov. Gavin Newsom and said it "seemed like selective prosecution" when dozens of other California cities could be blamed for not doing their fair share to alleviate California's housing shortage.
Fri, Feb 8, 2019 11:20 amA collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.
Fri, Feb 8, 2019 4:46 amCalifornia needs health workers—stat. Medical exemptions to vaccination laws are spiking. And Stormy Daniels wants a stripper exemption to Dynamex.
Fri, Feb 8, 2019 4:30 amTragedy strikes, California responds. Tragedy strikes, California responds. But how did a state once the epitome of the gun-slinging wild, wild west wind up with more gun control laws than another state in the country? This video explains:
Thu, Feb 7, 2019 11:30 pmThree years after California stopped allowing families to easily opt out of childhood vaccines, the number of kids getting medical waivers has tripled—the result, critics say, of some doctors loosely issuing exemptions to help families get around the law. Legislators and health experts are debating what to do next. One proposal would be modeled on an existing state requirement that any veterinarian seeking to exempt a sick dog from rabies vaccination must obtain approval from a health official.
Thu, Feb 7, 2019 7:04 pmTuition-free community college programs are springing up around the country, including in California. But to many struggling students, “free” doesn’t really mean free.
Thu, Feb 7, 2019 6:58 pmThu, Feb 7, 2019 5:02 pm
California faces a serious gap in health care workers. Seven million Californians, the majority of them Latino, African American, and Native American, live in Health Professional Shortage Areas — a federal designation for counties experiencing shortfalls of primary care, dental care, or mental health care providers. The California Future Health Workforce Commission offers solutions.
Thu, Feb 7, 2019 3:12 pmSelf-driving vehicle technology could exacerbate entrenched social and environmental problems, if we don’t make deliberate policy choices, especially for marginalized groups. We can easily imagine a dystopian scenario in which people with money purchase personal self-driving cars, while the rest of us are mired in congested streets, with reduced mobility as public transit gets short-changed due to ridership loss.
Thu, Feb 7, 2019 1:48 pmA new California poll shows the Golden State loves Pelosi. Newsom settles a bet and spotlights housing. CA's new online college gets a tech CEO.
Thu, Feb 7, 2019 4:30 amNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blames a shortfall in state income tax revenues on the flight of rich taxpayers to Florida because federal tax laws no longer allow them to write off state and local taxes. What about California?
Thu, Feb 7, 2019 12:01 amCalifornians rejected Proposition 6 in November, and voted to continue spending billions of dollars each year to rebuild our transportation infrastructure. Not a penny of that money or any other broad-based transportation funding should be diverted to finance risky privatization schemes. When it comes to “public-private partnerships,” those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.
Wed, Feb 6, 2019 2:34 pmHeather Hiles, founder of Pathbrite and a Newsom appointee when he was San Francisco mayor, will run the controversial new online college signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Wed, Feb 6, 2019 2:20 pmA new poll released finds Californians feeling positive about Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's priorities and the new Legislature. And a second poll issued the same day indicates that the state's junior U.S. senator, Kamala Harris, has an early home state advantage—just as long as more high-profile Democrats don’t jump into the race.
Wed, Feb 6, 2019 5:00 amTurns out the nonbinary gender law impacts everyone who's a teen driver. A deal on a police shooting bill dissolves. A 2020 poll. And CA's privacy law.
Wed, Feb 6, 2019 4:30 amDarrell Steinberg has an ambitious agenda as mayor of Sacramento, but as he works on it, he must deal with the fact that he has little executive authority.
Wed, Feb 6, 2019 12:01 am
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