In Summary As four aging hydroelectric dams are demolished, tribes and communities along the Klamath River wait anxiously to see what the future holds. “Once a river is dammed, is it damned forever?” experts ask. Oshun O’Rourke waded into the dark green water, splashing toward a net that her colleagues...
Psychedelic Therapies Could Help Heal CA’s Ailing First Responders
On September 11, 2001, I was off-duty helping organize a fundraiser when we got the news about the attack. The world watched as New York firefighters worked around the clock, putting out fires and searching for survivors while breathing in toxic fumes. I lost 26 friends that day and spent...
High Price of CA State Worker Contracts About to Increase $5 Billion More
Despite warnings from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office and concerns from some labor-friendly Democrats, the Senate budget committee on Wednesday approved two bills to fund new contracts for three-fourths of the state’s rank-and-file workers. The misgivings? Extra goodies in the tentative deal for prison guards, the lack of time to...
Adding Speed Cameras to CA Cities Won’t Target People of Color. It’ll Protect Them.
In Summary A proposed pilot program to reduce pedestrian accidents in six California cities is receiving pushback because critics believe installing speed cameras would unfairly target low-income communities. A proponent of the bill argues that the disparities in traffic safety is the more urgent issue. If drivers seem more aggressive...
After Farmworker’s Death in Fresno Heat, UFW and Sen. Padilla Call for Stronger Protections
In Summary U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and the United Farm Workers union say a recent death in a tomatillo field was due to heat, but a coroner’s report doesn’t back that up. For more stories on inequality in California, sign up for Inequality Insights, a weekly must-read on one of...
Which Bills Are California ‘Housing Killers’?
The California Chamber of Commerce has its annual “job killer” list, with a track record of spiking bills that is the envy of other industry groups. By its count, only 58 of the 824 bills labeled “job killers” between 1997 and 2022 made it into law without at least significant...
Hardly Anyone Owns a Hydrogen Car. CA May Pay $300 Million for Fuel Stations Anyway
Electric cars are rolling off production lines, and one in five new cars sold in California this year is battery-powered. “California is showing the world what’s possible,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose plan to phase out fossil fuels and gasoline-powered cars is key to his ambitions of tackling climate change....
Local Food Bank Serves 300,000 People Monthly as ‘Catastrophic Hunger Crisis’ Looms
The lines at California’s food banks keep getting longer. In March, when CalFresh benefits plummeted for 5.3 million Californians, the statewide food banks association warned of a “catastrophic hunger crisis.” That crisis is now in full force, and high inflation, which has driven food prices up 4.5% in the last...
Gray Challenges Duarte in Another Valley Congressional Rematch
Tight congressional races in the Central Valley played a big part in flipping control of the U.S. House to Republicans last year. In 2024, those districts could prove pivotal again — and rematches from 2022 could determine the outcome. Wednesday, Democrat Adam Gray announced that he’ll again take on Republican...
Is California Providing Enough Food Aid for the Hungry?
“A catastrophic hunger crisis.” That’s the dire warning from the California Association of Food Banks after federal pandemic food aid ended earlier this spring. But why does a state with so much food — California produces nearly half the country’s fruits and vegetables — and that spends so much on food...