■California has spent $370 million on High Road job training programs. ■High Road programs aim to prepare workers for jobs that offer a living wage and benefits. ■Results of the program are mixed, with some trainees finding work in other fields. At 47, Ibrahim Mohamed doesn’t fit the typical image...
How to Make Sure Your Ballot Gets Counted First in California’s Primary
■California's slow vote count due to mail-in ballots. ■Early return of mail-in ballots ensures quicker count. ■New bill allows in-person return of completed mail-in ballots. The slow vote count has become a staple of California elections — and a national frustration — as the state has shifted to overwhelmingly voting...
It’s the Only Store for Dozens of Miles. PG&E’s Latest Rate Hikes Could Put It Out of Business
■High electric bills consumed 65% of a rural grocery store’s profit last year. ■PG&E rate hikes are pushing struggling businesses towards closure. ■California utilities are seeking higher energy rates to pay for upgrades and safety improvements. Twelve years ago, when Tammy and Tim Babcock saw businesses closing in rural northeast...
California’s Mental Health Ballot Measure Is Best Chance in Decades to Change the System
■Proposition 1 aims to reform mental health funding in California. ■Current system fails to adequately support those with serious mental illness. ■Opponents argue the measure will lead to major cuts and privatization. Editor's Note: California voters are deciding the fate of Proposition 1, a mental health funding reform and bond...
Los Angeles’ One Weird Trick to Build Affordable Housing at No Public Cost
■LA is approving thousands of unsubsidized 100% affordable housing projects. ■ More than 16,150 affordable units have been planned since December 2022. ■Private developers are being drawn into affordable housing due to new policies. The seven-story apartment building planned for West Court Street on the south side of Los Angeles’s...
Why California Might Mandate the ‘Science of Reading’ in All Schools
A new Assembly bill introduced Wednesday would require all California schools to teach students to read using the “science of reading,” a phonics-based approach that research shows is a more effective way to teach literacy. The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, a Democrat from West Covina, is backed by...
Should State Government Jobs Require a College Degree? Why CA Is Rethinking Its Rules
Many California government jobs don’t require a college degree. That list may grow longer as agencies face a rise in job vacancies. Over the past decade, California cities, counties, and the state government have been changing the job descriptions for thousands of employees — either by removing the requirement for a...
Approaching Bay Area Deadline a ‘Test Case’ for CA Housing Crisis
In Summary It’s put up or shut up time for dozens of cities across the San Francisco Bay Area. Last January, local governments across the region were required to submit “housing elements” to state regulators — future development blueprints that spell out how each jurisdiction intends to make room...
California Made It Legal for DACA Immigrants to Work as Police. Which Departments Are Hiring Them?
Dressed in a pristine dark blue uniform, Ernesto Moron raised his right hand and swore to defend the constitution of a state he wasn’t born in but that he has called home for more than two decades. That December afternoon, the 26-year-old Mexican-born man became the first officer hired by...
California Groundwater Depletion Rates Rank With the World’s Worst
In a sign of the ongoing threats to its precious groundwater stores, half a dozen regions in California rank among the world’s most rapidly declining aquifers, according to research published this week. Globally, lack of local water drives migration, poverty, starvation and violence — while in California, it drives...