This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The new federal budget signed into law by President Donald Trump is expected to raise some health care insurance premiums and force millions off coverage, reverberating the most in lower-income families and communities that are already struggling. Trump’s...
CA’s Population Shrank in Trump’s First Immigration Crackdown. It Could Happen Again
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. It hasn’t happened yet, but California is bracing for a demographic and economic hit under President Donald Trump’s multi-pronged effort to limit the entry of people born abroad and deport those already in the U.S. In fact, during...
Controversial Climate Rule That Could Raise Gas Prices About to Take Effect
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California’s revamped Low Carbon Fuel Standard takes effect on Tuesday, despite fierce Republican criticism and increasing Democratic trepidation over its potential to raise gas prices. The new rules — which expand a program to reduce climate-warming gases and...
Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. In immigrant-rich Westlake in Los Angeles, stores were empty Friday morning. The computer repair place was closed. Gates were down in front of a check-cashing operation. One of the area health clinics, where residents often line up for...
Newsom and Legislature Tangle With Construction Unions Over Minimum Wage
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California lawmakers are on the cusp of striking a last-minute deal to tie one of the year’s most ambitious and controversial housing bills to a new set of minimum wages for housing construction workers — a proposal that...
4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The Trump administration’s plan to repeal a rule prohibiting logging and road construction in undeveloped parts of national forests would strip protection from more than 4 million acres within California’s borders. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced...
Dying Honey Bees Threaten CA Economy. Can Central Valley Lawmakers Save Them?
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Honey bees across the country are under attack from tiny, eight-legged parasitic mites. These mites burrow between the segments of the bees’ adult bodies or invade their larvae and infect them with viruses — deforming their wings and...
PG&E Is Hiring an Executive Bodyguard. Combat Shooting Experience Required
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. For the second time in three months, a little-known team within Pacific Gas & Electric has hired someone to watch the CEO’s back. Responsibilities include proactively monitoring for threats, helping executives map out business and personal travel, coordinating with...
Police, DA Refuse to Release Records on Latina Senator’s DUI Arrest Near Capitol
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A Democratic California senator is now considering suing Sacramento police for what she alleges was a "politically motivated" false DUI arrest intended to "silence" an LGBTQ Latina lawmaker, her attorney tells CalMatters. Officers have insisted that they acted...
Hunger Strike Begins as California Prisons Hand Down Biggest Restrictions Since COVID
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Nearly two dozen state prisons last week imposed sweeping restrictions on their incarcerated population — including shutting off all outside communication. Now, hundreds of prisoners are reported to be on a hunger strike to protest the system's largest...