This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Trailing in the shade of a tractor-pulled harvester, a small huddle of people in broad hats trawl the ochre rows of a green field. Every six or so feet, someone squats down and pulls into the morning sunlight...
Trump’s Newest Fight With California? Immigrants Who Drive Trucks for a Living
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. New federal regulations could leave California with 61,000 fewer truck drivers as the Trump administration bans certain immigrants from operating large vehicles. With fewer truck drivers on the road, consumers may see higher shipping costs, too. Following an...
New ICE Leadership Brings More Violence, Little Accountability, and Zero Oversight
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. In late October, rumblings about a major reorganization within the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement agencies pointed to the U.S. Border Patrol usurping top command posts in the leadership of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Anonymous sources told...
Billionaire Activist Tom Steyer Joins Race to Succeed Newsom as California Governor
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Tom Steyer, the billionaire climate activist and businessman who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020, is the latest Democrat to jump into California’s crowded gubernatorial field. His two core promises — which could appear at odds — are...
CA’s Early Intervention for Youngsters With Special Needs Is a Lifeline — Hanging by a Thread
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. When my daughter’s development stalled and then regressed, her bright personality dimmed. Doctors said to wait. But as a clinician I suspected she needed urgent help — the kind that Early Start, California’s early intervention program, provides. What...
One California City’s Idea to Tackle the Housing Crisis: Take the Stairs
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. In late September, Culver City became the first municipality in California to legalize the construction of mid-rise apartment buildings with a single staircase. Unless you’re a member of the niche but fervent subculture of architects, urbanists and pro-housing...
Has Student Improvement Plateaued in California? New Dashboard Shows Modest Gains
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California’s K-12 students showed moderate progress academically last year, with some bright spots but otherwise plateauing after years of post-pandemic improvements, according to the new California School Dashboard released today. Chronic absenteeism, discipline rates and progress among English...
Turning Point Tour Ends With Fights and Arrests at UC Berkeley. Our Student Reporters Were There
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A few hundred feet apart, yet worlds away politically, furious students at UC Berkeley protested the final stop of the conservative organization Turning Point USA’s “American Comeback Tour,” hosted Monday night on what is known as the nation’s...
California Democrats Secretly Steer Hundreds of Millions Into Pet Projects
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Despite facing a $12 billion deficit this year, California’s Legislature still managed to spend at least $415 million for local projects to help lawmakers win their next elections. CalMatters found close to 100 earmarks inserted into just one...
LA Fire Survivors Call for California’s Insurance Commissioner to Resign
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Survivors of the deadly Los Angeles County wildfires, some of whom have been unable to rebuild because their insurance claims have been delayed or denied, are calling for California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to resign. Lara, a former...