California prisons are no longer withholding money they are supposed to give people at the time of their release, according to a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation memo obtained by CalMatters. The policy change is meant to ensure that thousands of people leaving California prisons will receive their full...
ICE Looks for a New Detention Center in California. State Probably Can’t Stop It.
Federal immigration authorities are looking for a potential new detention center in Northern California, an effort that alarms advocates and some Democratic state lawmakers as President-elect Donald Trump gears up to unleash his mass deportation plan. In August, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a request for information to...
Top Democrats Vow to Make California Affordable Again
The leaders of the state Legislature have a message for voters: We know you’re frustrated with how expensive California is — and we’re going to fix it. After a painful election that sparked recriminations and soul-searching among Democrats across the country, state Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly...
Busing People Out of Homelessness: How California’s Relocation Programs Really Work
Mayor London Breed, outgoing mayor of San Francisco, made waves recently with a major policy shift: Before providing a shelter bed or any other services, city workers must first offer every homeless person they encounter a bus or train ticket to somewhere else. But while San Francisco has gotten an...
CA’s Growing Republican Caucus Is More Diverse. Is This a Sign of Things to Come?
The Republican caucus in California's Legislature is growing more diverse as Latino and Asian American candidates apparently flipped three Democrat-held seats, including unseating an incumbent Democrat senator for the first time in a presidential election since 1980. When new legislators are sworn in next week, Democrats will still control a...
California AG Charges Construction Firm With Felony Wage Theft and Tax Evasion
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed 31 felony charges of wage theft and tax evasion against a construction company that he said cost the state and the company's workers $2.6 million. Bonta filed the criminal complaint on Aug. 26 alleging that US Framing West dodged more than $2.5 million...
The Best Way California Can Prepare for Trump? Fix Its State Government
For a great many Americans, the November election results elicited an intense reaction. These responses, played out in real time on election newscasts and social media timelines, included everyday working people, media celebrities, television and movie stars, and even past and present politicians, including our own Gov. Gavin Newsom, who...
As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023
Floodwaters devastated the small communities of Pajaro and Planada in early 2023. California gave each town $20 million to recover – but as residents face down another winter, much of the aid has yet to reach them. After flood waters from heavy rainstorms deluged two small farmworker towns in January...
Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court
In numerous lawsuits, conservative professors and students allege that California's community colleges are hindering their right to free speech under the First Amendment. At California's community colleges, conservative professors and students are making their voices heard — not just in the classroom but in court. Their lawsuits have already led...
Gavin Newsom Pledged to Release His Tax Returns Every Year. The Last One Was for 2020.
Despite pledging to be the first California governor to release his tax returns every year while in office, Gov. Gavin Newsom has yet to make any additional filings public during his second term. Newsom last disclosed a tax return nearly three years ago, in March 2022, as he was running...