In the past few months, some Democratic state legislators have joined the reported exodus of users on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. These include Assemblymembers Tina McKinnor of Inglewood, Marc Berman of Palo Alto and Akilah Weber Pierson of San Diego. The most recent is Sen....
ACLU Sues Over Alleged Abuses in Kern County Immigration Raids
The American Civil Liberties Union says in a new federal lawsuit that Border Patrol agents in the Central Valley appeared to arrest people without reasonable suspicion, based on their appearance. Border Patrol agents slashed tires, yanked people out of trucks, threw people to the ground, and called farmworkers "Mexican bitches"...
Advice to CA Schools on Trump’s DEI Crackdown: Do Nothing for Now
California's K-12 schools are getting some clarity on how to handle the Trump administration's sweeping orders to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The answer is: Do nothing. Not yet, anyway. "Time to take a breath. Just because Trump ordered it, doesn't mean it's going to happen," Noelle Ellerson Ng,...
7 Takeaways From a Deep Dive Into California’s Homeless Shelters
All across California, temporary homeless shelters have become the foundation of taxpayer-funded efforts to get people off the street. Our new investigation found that shelters have instead become housing purgatory. They're often a mess — dangerous, chaotic and ultimately ineffective at finding people lasting housing. Shelters are usually off-limits to...
California Lawmakers Scramble Again to Fix ‘Lemon’ Vehicle Law
For more than half a century, California's "lemon" law was considered one of the best in the nation at giving consumers the legal right to demand car companies fix or replace defective vehicles still under warranty. Now, California lawmakers are scrambling to repair recent changes they made to the law...
Politicians Rise or Fall on Disaster Response. LA Fires Are Gavin Newsom’s Big Test.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has become a familiar sight around Los Angeles since the firestorm that swept through the region last month, leveling neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades and Altadena. In the first days of the disaster, he was spotted touring the wreckage. In the weeks after, he launched a recovery initiative...
CA Electricity Bills Could Soar Even Higher as Big Tech Builds More Data Centers
California residents now pay the highest price for electricity in the continental U.S., state analysts reported last month. Costs have been driven in part by levies to prevent and insure against wildfires, but the analysts anticipate a less conspicuous source of pressure on power bills going forward: growing electricity demand...
Small Businesses Drive the Economy. Yet Their Funding Is at Risk Under Trump.
California's small businesses — employers to more than half the state's workforce — are staring down what some owners, experts, and advocates say could be immense negative consequences from President Donald Trump's slew of executive orders. Trump's embattled federal funding freeze and anti-diversity push have seeded uncertainty about the economy,...
Should Builders Permit Their Own Projects? Post-fire LA Considers a Radical Idea
The speedy processing of building permit applications is not typically considered a popular political cause. The recent Los Angeles firestorm may have changed that. Thousands of Angelenos are now desperate to rebuild their homes as quickly as possible. They have the sympathy and focus of elected leaders at every level...
A Former Firefighter in the Legislature Has Ideas. Will Democrats Listen?
It's safe to say there's no legislator more familiar with battling fires against the Santa Ana winds than state Sen. Kelly Seyarto. He's one of just a few former firefighters in the Legislature's history, and the only former career firefighter currently in office, according to the California State Library (Current...