CALMatters | Almanac Online |

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:

California’s war on plastic pollution targets tiny hotel toiletries

A California bill would force hotels to rid rooms of single-use, sample-sized plastic bottles of free shampoo, conditioner, lotion and other toiletries.

Mon, Apr 22, 2019 8:44 am

When oil industry supports legislators, air quality suffers

One would expect to see growing devotion by the Democratic-led California Legislature to do more to help Californians access electric cars and cut pollution from delivery trucks. Instead, the California Assembly, specifically its transportation committee, has been the graveyard for legislation designed to help advance zero-emission vehicles.

Mon, Apr 22, 2019 8:00 am

Student loans, Tesla sales, child labor, Oakland A’s, and syphilis

Legislature looks to protect student borrowers, electric vehicle sales continue to grow, California leads nation in syphilis cases

Mon, Apr 22, 2019 4:30 am

Can Newsom finally fix state’s tech woes?

Despite California's status as a technological innovator, its state government has seen failure after failure in implementing information technology. Gov. Gavin Newsom is promising to fix this chronic problem.

Mon, Apr 22, 2019 12:01 am

California faces a sexually transmitted disease crisis. Why aren’t we confronting it?

Failure to respond to California’s sexually transmitted disease crisis will have serious and direct health consequences for Californians, ranging from infertility and blindness at the individual level, to facilitating the development of multi-drug resistant and untreatable gonorrhea infections similar to cases already occurring outside the United States. If Californians don’t demand urgent action to stop this crisis in its tracks, we will doom the current generation of young adults to a legacy of ill health they did not deserve.

Sun, Apr 21, 2019 8:00 am

Why is our ‘achievement gap’ so stubborn?

California's "achievement gap" in its K-12 schools has persisted, despite spending many billions of dollars to close it. Two new proposals, a state audit and a system to track students' achievement, may tell us why the gap has been so stubbornly wide.

Sun, Apr 21, 2019 12:01 am

Weekly CALmatters 04/19/2019

Highlighting all of CALmatters' work over the past week

Fri, Apr 19, 2019 10:15 pm

Will rent control and other tenant bills get through the Capitol this time?

Please subscribe to the Gimme Shelter podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Google Play, Spotify or Overcast. Ready for another fight over rent control? Six months after a statewide initiative that could have expanded rent control across California was rejected overwhelmingly at the polls, a group of progressive state lawmakers are back with a suite of pro-tenant legislation […]

Fri, Apr 19, 2019 4:47 pm

Weekly Walters 04/19/2019

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

Fri, Apr 19, 2019 5:46 am

Cannabis, local control, education and Trump’s Becerra problem

Legislation seeks to expand cannabis permits and medical marijuana access, lawmakers dust off education bills, teachers struggle with housing costs

Fri, Apr 19, 2019 4:30 am

Later school bells, alternative testing: California lawmakers try again on quashed K-12 bills

From later school start times to lower thresholds for parcel taxes, California lawmakers see a second chance with Gov. Gavin Newsom to pass education bills quashed by former Gov. Jerry Brown.

Thu, Apr 18, 2019 7:45 pm

Fastest litigant in the west: California’s on verge of suing Trump more than Texas ever sued Obama

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has sued the Trump administration 47 times. For state versus federal litigation that's a record—and he's just getting started.

Thu, Apr 18, 2019 4:02 pm

Drug pricing, political fundraising and a step back in time

Gov. Gavin Newsom sets sights on high drug prices, California Democratic Party rakes in donations despite absence of a leader, Realtors invest in Democrats

Thu, Apr 18, 2019 4:30 am

Hard truths about school shootings 20 years after Columbine. Here’s legislation that can help

Despite crime being at historic lows, overall school shootings doubled between 2013 and 2018. Appallingly, in each of these attacks, information known to school officials, law enforcement, counselors, friends and neighbors reasonably should have been used to prevent the attack. Assemblyman Kevin Kiley's AB 1722 would require a common-sense approach to building best practices into our regional school safety plans to avert such shootings.

Thu, Apr 18, 2019 4:29 am

Battles over local tax measures heat up

As Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators consider state tax increases, local government ballots are being loaded up with tax proposals and the jousting over them is becoming heated.

Thu, Apr 18, 2019 12:01 am

Regulating the cannabis market is preferable to prohibition

Because marijuana use may pose potential hazards to both the individual consumer and to public safety that advocacy groups such as mine, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, believe that lawmakers should regulate it accordingly.

Wed, Apr 17, 2019 9:00 am

Kamala Harris’ money, PG&E’s $6 million man and a $7 billion tax proposal

Kamala Harris dominates CA money race, legislator takes aim at $7 billion in tax breaks, new PG&E CEO to earn $6 million a year

Wed, Apr 17, 2019 4:30 am

To help people with mental illness, keep them in school

Early diagnosis and intervention is essential to attaining better outcomes for mental illness. But in the struggle to help people with mental illness cope, a powerful long term tool has been overlooked: school. Education has an outsized impact on the prospects for people with serious mental disorders.

Wed, Apr 17, 2019 4:20 am

How budget ‘trailer bills’ are misused

Senate Bill 861 is a prime example of how budget "trailer bills" are misused to bypass the usual legislative process.

Wed, Apr 17, 2019 12:01 am

Gavin Newsom reflects on the substance and splash of his first 100 days

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has acted on the death penalty, high-speed rail and wildfires. But he says resisting President Donald Trump has mainly influenced his first 100 days.

Tue, Apr 16, 2019 8:00 pm

Lawmakers and landlords: More than a quarter of California legislators are both

A CALmatters analysis reveals that at least 30 lawmakers—more than a quarter of the California Legislature— own at least one property that generates rental income.

Tue, Apr 16, 2019 4:21 pm

#ThisIsOurLane, public records and a new cancer warning perhaps

Legislation seeks to empower doctors on gun safety, painkiller acetaminophen may get a cancer warning, bill would limit use of Public Records Act requests

Tue, Apr 16, 2019 4:30 am

Paying women less than men for substantially similar work is wage theft

In California, paying women less is a form of wage theft. The law also prohibits paying someone less for substantially similar work on the basis of race or ethnicity. What makes California’s pay equity law particularly significant is that it does not require proof of discrimination or intent.

Tue, Apr 16, 2019 4:29 am

Politics won over good policy, and now Californians face even more taxes

Raising property taxes on businesses means they will pass on the costs to every Californian by increasing prices on just about everything we buy and use, from diapers and day care to gasoline and groceries. That’s the last thing hardworking families need.

Mon, Apr 15, 2019 12:00 pm

Newsom faces first test, board-and-care crisis, a downward spiral ends

Newsom faces test over wildfire proposals, board-and-care homes for the mentally ill are disappearing, conservative politician Mike Spence's downward spiral ends

Mon, Apr 15, 2019 4:30 am

Why April 15 isn’t California’s most important tax day

Death and taxes are all but certain. But the bright side is that the power to tax ultimately lies with the people, as Californians have the constitutional right to vote on local taxes, and the right to elect state officials with taxing power.

Mon, Apr 15, 2019 4:29 am

Overlooked mental health “catastrophe:” Vanishing board-and-care-homes leave residents with few options

This summer, Tom Gray will lose his home. A slim man with hunched shoulders and a halting voice, Gray, 72, has schizophrenia. Before he landed in Carmen Palarca’s board-and-care home 11 years ago, he spent 20 years living on the streets, many of them huddled in a doorway across from a San Francisco Whole Foods. […]

Mon, Apr 15, 2019 4:00 am

DMV crisis could make or break Newsom

While Gov. Gavin Newsom claims a global role in the immigration crisis, how he handles a more prosaic crisis in the Department of Motor Vehicles could have a greater effect on his political career.

Mon, Apr 15, 2019 12:01 am

Mental illness implications of cannabis use must not be ignored

Backers of cannabis legalization–and their supporters in the media–have successfully cast marijuana legalization as a racial and social justice issue, although almost no one is in prison for cannabis possession. And they have vastly oversold the potential medical benefits of the drug, while understating its risks.

Sun, Apr 14, 2019 8:00 am

Bond issue transparency still under assault

Local officials still don't like having to tell voters how proposed bond issues will affect their property taxes and may seek relief from the Legislature.

Sun, Apr 14, 2019 12:01 am

Weekly CALmatters 04/12/2019

Highlighting all of CALmatters' work over the past week

Fri, Apr 12, 2019 8:50 pm

Newsom team calls for less utility liability on wildfire—and ignites ‘a hornet’s nest’

Gov. Gavin Newsom's strike team offered a provocative–and politically challenging–idea for easing utility wildfire liability that has already prompted PG&E to file for bankruptcy.

Fri, Apr 12, 2019 2:17 pm

Weekly Walters 04/12/2019

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

Fri, Apr 12, 2019 5:46 am

Newsom’s wildfire plan, fracking fight and a forced resignation

Newsom to unveil wildfire plan, state's relationship with oil and gas industries could be headed for a breakup, South Coast Air Quality board member resigns

Fri, Apr 12, 2019 4:30 am

Why Cal Grant must be expanded: Hard realities of juggling community college, work and family

Here's why Cal Grant program must be expanded: I am a father to two daughters, and, like many other community college students, I juggle work, school and family responsibilities every day. I also happen to be one of the 84 percent of black students who did not receive a Cal Grant award to support my education due to California’s inadequate financial aid system.

Fri, Apr 12, 2019 4:29 am

Activists want California to ban fracking. What does Gov. Newsom want?

Dozens of California counties and cities ban fracking, even where there is no oil drilling. About 20% of California oil comes from fracked wells.

Thu, Apr 11, 2019 4:05 pm

Schools, pesticide, taxes, wildfires and Planned Parenthood

Unions win Round One of charter schools battle, legislation to ban a crop pesticide clears first hurdle, Planned Parenthood sees California as a safe haven

Thu, Apr 11, 2019 4:30 am

We must let more California students into public universities’ front door

Unethical and even criminal tactics used to slide students into prestigious universities cannot be tolerated. But there’s something else we should not tolerate: the insufficient higher education capacity to meet student demand in California.

Thu, Apr 11, 2019 4:29 am

Community colleges wracked by data dispute

California community colleges are under pressure to improve outcomes for their students but college officials complain that the data being used to measure progress are faulty.

Thu, Apr 11, 2019 12:01 am

Charter-mageddon: Lawmakers advance a raft of union-backed charter school curbs

As charter school advocates rallied en masse and California’s teachers’ unions flexed their political muscle, a cluster of bills that would dramatically curb the growth of charters in the state cleared the Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday. The votes were the first in what figures to be a lengthy, high-stakes battle this session between two […]

Wed, Apr 10, 2019 7:52 pm

‘The federal government really jacked us’: How Trump’s tax cuts are working out for Californians

As the first Tax Day without unlimited state and local tax deduction approaches, an estimated 1 million California families will pay $12 billion more to Uncle Sam. In a progressive state with high taxes, many are discovering the bite the $10,000 SALT cap is taking out of their wallets.

Wed, Apr 10, 2019 4:30 pm

From books to 3D printers, the many reasons to thank librarians

In this National Library Week, thank a librarian. Libraries are safe, accessible, non-stigmatized places that welcome everyone, even our most disenfranchised. Libraries aren’t the cure for California’s most vexing challenges, but investing more in them makes those challenges less vexing.

Wed, Apr 10, 2019 10:51 am

Police shootings, USC scandal, ‘Trump insurance’ and Newsom returns

Hearing on police shootings turns emotional, USC sex-abuse scandal comes to Capitol, legislators propose 'Trump insurance' bills

Wed, Apr 10, 2019 4:30 am

‘Job killer’ bills may be more difficult to kill

The California Chamber of Commerce has been remarkably successful for two decades in defeating or neutralizing bills it places on its annual list of "job killers," but the Capitol's ambiance is changing and continuing that record may be more difficult.

Wed, Apr 10, 2019 12:01 am

Mission accomplished? Scoring Newsom’s trip to El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR—Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife joke that they’ll return to El Salvador not on any state fact-finding mission, but instead to check out the legendary surfing. The governor and Salvadoran President-elect Nayib Bukele share a keen appreciation for a venerable California tradition: the money-making potential of surf culture. Salvadoran officials and entrepreneurs hope […]

Tue, Apr 9, 2019 11:00 pm

Factions take shape as California advances nationally watched police shooting bill

First-in-the-nation standards for deadly force in policing advanced Tuesday in California, but fault lines emerged in the Assembly, where past efforts have stalled.

Tue, Apr 9, 2019 6:11 pm

Yes, we need clean water. But it must remain tax-free

Taxing water, food and other essential needs would limit their affordability and betray our collective resolve that no one should be denied the essentials for health, sanitation and freedom from hunger and thirst.

Tue, Apr 9, 2019 12:00 pm

Fewer schools, more accountability: How for-profit college bills could affect California

Jeanny Morris had a 1-year-old baby and a resume of dead-end retail jobs when she enrolled in the Marinello Schools of Beauty cosmetology program in 2012. She used her welfare benefits to pay for transportation to and from school where, she says, staff pressured her to take out student loans to pay for supplies they […]

Tue, Apr 9, 2019 11:36 am

Newsom’s new mission, a corporate tax hike, health care and charter schools

In El Salvador, Gavin Newsom sees immigration policy as a mission, while in Sacramento legislators propose bills to hike corporate taxes, curb charter schools and make health care more affordable

Tue, Apr 9, 2019 4:30 am

How federal ‘opportunity zone’ tax incentive can help California build an inclusive economy

The federal opportunity zone program created by the 2017 tax overhaul, enables investors to defer capital gains taxes on funds invested in designated communities. Opportunity zones offer one path forward that relies on private capital to bear the cost.

Tue, Apr 9, 2019 4:29 am

A California bill would force hotels to rid rooms of single-use, sample-sized plastic bottles of free shampoo, conditioner, lotion and other toiletries.

Legislature looks to protect student borrowers, electric vehicle sales continue to grow, California leads nation in syphilis cases

Despite California's status as a technological innovator, its state government has seen failure after failure in implementing information technology. Gov. Gavin Newsom is promising to fix this chronic problem.

California's "achievement gap" in its K-12 schools has persisted, despite spending many billions of dollars to close it. Two new proposals, a state audit and a system to track students' achievement, may tell us why the gap has been so stubbornly wide.

Highlighting all of CALmatters' work over the past week

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

Legislation seeks to expand cannabis permits and medical marijuana access, lawmakers dust off education bills, teachers struggle with housing costs

From later school start times to lower thresholds for parcel taxes, California lawmakers see a second chance with Gov. Gavin Newsom to pass education bills quashed by former Gov. Jerry Brown.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has sued the Trump administration 47 times. For state versus federal litigation that's a record—and he's just getting started.

Gov. Gavin Newsom sets sights on high drug prices, California Democratic Party rakes in donations despite absence of a leader, Realtors invest in Democrats

As Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators consider state tax increases, local government ballots are being loaded up with tax proposals and the jousting over them is becoming heated.

Because marijuana use may pose potential hazards to both the individual consumer and to public safety that advocacy groups such as mine, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, believe that lawmakers should regulate it accordingly.

Kamala Harris dominates CA money race, legislator takes aim at $7 billion in tax breaks, new PG&E CEO to earn $6 million a year

Senate Bill 861 is a prime example of how budget "trailer bills" are misused to bypass the usual legislative process.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has acted on the death penalty, high-speed rail and wildfires. But he says resisting President Donald Trump has mainly influenced his first 100 days.

A CALmatters analysis reveals that at least 30 lawmakers—more than a quarter of the California Legislature— own at least one property that generates rental income.

Legislation seeks to empower doctors on gun safety, painkiller acetaminophen may get a cancer warning, bill would limit use of Public Records Act requests

In California, paying women less is a form of wage theft. The law also prohibits paying someone less for substantially similar work on the basis of race or ethnicity. What makes California’s pay equity law particularly significant is that it does not require proof of discrimination or intent.

Raising property taxes on businesses means they will pass on the costs to every Californian by increasing prices on just about everything we buy and use, from diapers and day care to gasoline and groceries. That’s the last thing hardworking families need.

Newsom faces test over wildfire proposals, board-and-care homes for the mentally ill are disappearing, conservative politician Mike Spence's downward spiral ends

Death and taxes are all but certain. But the bright side is that the power to tax ultimately lies with the people, as Californians have the constitutional right to vote on local taxes, and the right to elect state officials with taxing power.

While Gov. Gavin Newsom claims a global role in the immigration crisis, how he handles a more prosaic crisis in the Department of Motor Vehicles could have a greater effect on his political career.

Local officials still don't like having to tell voters how proposed bond issues will affect their property taxes and may seek relief from the Legislature.

Highlighting all of CALmatters' work over the past week

Gov. Gavin Newsom's strike team offered a provocative–and politically challenging–idea for easing utility wildfire liability that has already prompted PG&E to file for bankruptcy.

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

Newsom to unveil wildfire plan, state's relationship with oil and gas industries could be headed for a breakup, South Coast Air Quality board member resigns

Dozens of California counties and cities ban fracking, even where there is no oil drilling. About 20% of California oil comes from fracked wells.

Unions win Round One of charter schools battle, legislation to ban a crop pesticide clears first hurdle, Planned Parenthood sees California as a safe haven

Unethical and even criminal tactics used to slide students into prestigious universities cannot be tolerated. But there’s something else we should not tolerate: the insufficient higher education capacity to meet student demand in California.

California community colleges are under pressure to improve outcomes for their students but college officials complain that the data being used to measure progress are faulty.

As the first Tax Day without unlimited state and local tax deduction approaches, an estimated 1 million California families will pay $12 billion more to Uncle Sam. In a progressive state with high taxes, many are discovering the bite the $10,000 SALT cap is taking out of their wallets.

In this National Library Week, thank a librarian. Libraries are safe, accessible, non-stigmatized places that welcome everyone, even our most disenfranchised. Libraries aren’t the cure for California’s most vexing challenges, but investing more in them makes those challenges less vexing.

Hearing on police shootings turns emotional, USC sex-abuse scandal comes to Capitol, legislators propose 'Trump insurance' bills

The California Chamber of Commerce has been remarkably successful for two decades in defeating or neutralizing bills it places on its annual list of "job killers," but the Capitol's ambiance is changing and continuing that record may be more difficult.

First-in-the-nation standards for deadly force in policing advanced Tuesday in California, but fault lines emerged in the Assembly, where past efforts have stalled.

Taxing water, food and other essential needs would limit their affordability and betray our collective resolve that no one should be denied the essentials for health, sanitation and freedom from hunger and thirst.

In El Salvador, Gavin Newsom sees immigration policy as a mission, while in Sacramento legislators propose bills to hike corporate taxes, curb charter schools and make health care more affordable

The federal opportunity zone program created by the 2017 tax overhaul, enables investors to defer capital gains taxes on funds invested in designated communities. Opportunity zones offer one path forward that relies on private capital to bear the cost.

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