This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A couple of weeks ago, Kamala Harris got the full New York Times treatment — a lengthy article speculating whether she would run for governor of California next year or prepare for another shot at the White House...
Abundance Meets Resistance: Are CA Dems Finally Ready to Go All In on Building Housing?
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Amid a post-2024 wave of Democratic interest in the burgeoning pro-development “abundance” movement, this seemed to be an easy year for California’s yes-in-my-backyard housing development activists. Democratic leaders in the state Legislature declared their intention to tackle affordability...
How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs are putting many California businesses, jobs and the state budget at risk. They’re affecting not only long-term relationships with trading partners, but an intricate web of ecosystems and supply chains. The California...
How Do High Schoolers Really Fare After Graduation? A New California Tool Lets You Know
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Want to know how students at your child’s school district are performing five or even 10 years down the line? On Tuesday, California released a new tool that aims to make that question — and many others —...
Over a Century Later, California May Need Another Revolt Against Its Utility Companies
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Fed up with decades of powerful railroads corrupting the state board that was supposed to regulate them, California voters created the modern Public Utilities Commission in 1911. Now, some 114 years later, Californians have reached their limit with...
Fox News Host? A Sheriff? Is There a Republican Who Can Finally Win Statewide in CA Again?
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. After more than a decade being exiled from the governor’s office in California, Republicans are eyeing growing voter frustration with the dominant liberal politics of the state as a launching pad for a comeback next year. Though lacking...
Trump Is Dismantling the Education Dept. How That Might Harm Special Ed
By Carolyn Jones, CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. President Donald Trump has promised to keep special education intact, even as he dismantles the federal department that has overseen it for nearly a half century. But some experts and parents in California fear...
Special Interests Pour More Than Half a Billion Into CA Lobbying
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Lobbying groups spent more than half a billion dollars to influence the state government in 2024, the most ever, according to a CalMatters analysis of data recently filed with the secretary of state. Lobbying by Google, oil companies and...
Steeply Discounted OD-Reversal Medicine Now Available to Any Californian
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Any Californian can purchase naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medication, directly from the state at a discounted price, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Monday. The medication is available online for $24 for a two-pack of the nasal spray,...
What Happens After a Homeless Person Is Arrested for Camping? Often, Not Much
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Wickey Two Hands sat at the defense table on a recent Thursday morning, holding in his lap the red baseball cap he’d doffed out of respect for the judge. The 77-year-old homeless man was supposed to be the...