Homelessness is one of the most prominent, hardest to solve — and most polarizing — problems California faces today. It's an intensely emotional issue, as images of squalid encampments are enough to bring many to tears. But it's also an intensely political one, with state and local leaders squabbling over...
How California’s Bureaucracy Prevents Working-Class Transplants from Resuming Their Careers
Uprooting your life to a new state is never an easy experience. In my case, it was due to tragic circumstances. A few years ago, I lost my youngest son Adrian in a motorcycle accident. I was devastated and ended up in a very dark place. My family and friends...
Gavin Newsom for President? These Are His Assets and Liabilities
In the nearly two weeks since President Joe Biden’s catastrophic performance in a televised debate, the Democratic freakout over whether he can continue as their presumptive presidential nominee has not abated. Even as Biden insists that he is committed to finishing out the race, speculation continues among the party faithful...
Supreme Court Stripped Federal Regulators of Power. Do California Rules Offer a Backstop?
Tucked between headline-grabbing opinions on presidential immunity, Jan. 6 rioters and homeless encampments, the U.S. Supreme Court closed out a momentous session late last month with a series of body blows to the federal bureaucracy. Under three back-to-back rulings, regulations that touch nearly every aspect of the American economy and...
California Boosts Spending to Help Students Earn Math and Science Degrees
Alina Kralya tinkers with a microcontroller for one of her computer science projects at American River College. Nearby, a group of other first-generation college students sit in green and blue chairs, chatting about their math homework. It’s a typical scene at this community college space for students in the Math,...
California’s ‘Weak’ Job Market Propped Up by Public Money as Private Sector Sheds Jobs
Gains in public-sector and other jobs largely supported by public money have cloaked a dismal California labor market, which has seen a big decline of private-industry jobs since their post-pandemic peak, a new analysis shows. The state Legislative Analyst’s Office looked at employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor...
Hundreds of Deaths, Thousands of Injuries, Billions of Dollars: The Cost of Extreme Heat in California
A blistering California heat wave over the past week and through the Fourth of July holiday could be topped off by the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth. That kind of extreme heat has led to more deaths than wildfires and costs billions of dollars over a decade, according to...
A UC Merced Medical Program Is Slowly Taking Shape. Why California Wants More Doctors There
A hospital closure in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley a year and a half ago underscored something that people in the region have long known: They don’t have enough doctors or access to medical care. Madera County’s lone acute care hospital is expected to reopen later this year....
Why Many Illegal Fireworks Could Be Gone in California Next July Fourth
For eight years, Mike Salazar has spent Fourth of July week selling fireworks in an empty parking lot in Vernon. His truck is covered floor to ceiling with boxes of small snappers, sky rockets and $500 pre-built show packages. “By the Fourth, there’s been times where we’ve been able to...
Does a Proposed $10 Billion Bond Favor Richer California School Districts?
As lawmakers finalize a school facilities bond for the November ballot, some superintendents from low-income and small districts say the proposal leaves them with an all-too-familiar feeling: underfunded and overlooked. “Am I mad? Yeah, I am very mad,” said Gudiel Crosthwaite, superintendent of Lynwood Unified, in a low-income area in...