For more stories on inequality in California, sign up for Inequality Insights, a weekly must-read on one of California's most pressing issues. California put aside $7.2 billion to address homelessness in the 2021-22 state budget. Last year, there were an estimated 172,000 homeless statewide, which equates to spending nearly $42,000 per homeless...
CA Bill Would Cut Red Tape for Night Markets, Farmers Markets
Have you ever enjoyed a night market in East Asia? Or hoped to experience the delicious food and lively atmosphere of one? Good news: There may be many more night markets coming soon to California. A new bill unveiled Monday is trying to pave the way for night markets and...
New Report Gives CSU System a Failing Grade on Handling Sexual Harrasment
California State University must hire many more employees and overhaul huge portions of its bureaucracy to keep students and staff safe from sexual harassment and discrimination, according to a sweeping set of reports from an outside law group published today. The reports, a month late according to Cal State’s own timeline,...
CA Republican Tells Democrats to Pick a Side: ‘Pedophiles or Children’
There’s policy, and there’s politics. That played out Thursday in some high drama at the Legislature — during its last day before a month-long summer vacation — as lawmakers resuscitated a contentious criminal justice bill. Assembly Republicans tried to force a floor vote on the bill — which won unanimous...
Special Report: California Spent $600M to House, Rehab Former Prisoners, but Can’t Say If It Helped
As Gov. Gavin Newsom retools the state’s prison system to emphasize rehabilitation, his administration has little evidence that a privately run program for parolees costing taxpayers $100 million a year works to prevent future crime. The state does not collect data on whether parolees who participate in the program have...
Berkeley Student With College Loans Doesn’t Want Her Debt Forgiven. Here’s Why
I have $7,248 in student loans but I’m not disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Biden’s attempt to forgive student debt. I understand that student loan debt is a problem and that I’ll work to repay mine. But given the opportunity again, I’d gladly take it. Lifting a portion of...
There’s a New CSU Chancellor. She Faces Challenges on Every Front.
A $1.5 billion budget shortfall, student outrage over planned annual 6% tuition hikes for at least five years, stubborn racial gaps in graduation rates, and widespread distrust over how the university handles sexual assault claims. This is the job that awaits Mildred García, who was named chancellor of the California State...
CA’s Summer Dangers: Unpredictable Wildfires and Extreme Heat
The winter’s deadly and devastating floods are a distant memory for many Californians. Now, summer dangers, fueled by climate change, are top of mind. Across the U.S., wildfires have grown larger and more frequent since 2000. But California fires can quickly escalate to megafires or gigifires (fires that cover more...
Hate Crimes Are Increasing in California. The State Is Hoping a Hotline Can Help
Five years ago, Robin Toma, executive director of Los Angeles County’s Commission on Human Relations, was alarmed after reading the county’s annual hate crime report. Hate crimes had been steadily rising since 2013, and it was proof, he said, that the commission had more work to do to stop the...
Trailblazing Sen. Toni Atkins Makes California History (Once Again)
It wasn’t Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins’ first turn standing in for the governor of California while he was out of the state. (That came in 2014 when she was Assembly speaker and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel tried to get her to invade Oregon during her 10 hours in...