Lea este artículo en español. In Atherton, one of the nation’s richest towns, giant oaks and well-manicured hedges surround gated mansions owned by some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent billionaires, basketball stars, tech executives, and venture capitalists. Each set on an acre of land, six-bedroom estates, brick-paved pathways, neoclassical statues, and...
A Boom for Concealed Carry Classes, but Long Waits for Permits
Business has been booming for Ziyad “Zip” Showket, a firearms instructor in liberal Marin County — thanks to six justices on the nation’s highest court. For two decades across four Bay Area counties, Showket has been schooling retired law enforcement officers, mall cops, and the rare civilian allowed under local...
It’s Raining Now, but How Can California Boost Its Water Supply Later?
Lea este artículo en español. Over and over again, drought launches California into a familiar scramble to provide enough water. Cities and towns call for conservation and brace for shortages. Growers fallow fields and ranchers sell cows. And thousands of people discover that they can’t squeeze another drop from their wells. So where can California get enough water...
Amid Housing Crisis, Is State Sticking up for Mobile Home Park Residents?
It’s no surprise that California has an affordable housing crisis. It has squeezed 500,000 people out of the state and forced tens of thousands onto its streets. But there’s an oft-overlooked group of Californians — 1.6 million of them — who live in mobile home parks. They tend to be...
California Storms Create Paradox: Too Much Water in Reservoirs, Too Soon
Two winters’ worth of snow has already fallen in the Sierra Nevada since Christmas, pulling California from the depths of extreme drought into one of its wettest winters in memory. But as a series of tropical storms slams the state, that bounty has become a flood risk as warm rains fall on...
New Cost Estimate for High-Speed Rail Puts California Bullet Train $100 Billion in the Red
When Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his scaled-down blueprint for the California bullet train four years ago, he proposed building a 171-mile starter segment in the Central Valley that would begin operating in 2030 and cost $22.8 billion. Today, the blueprint is fraying — costs now exceed future funding, an official...
With California Oil Production at Risk, Referendum Gives Voters a Say
Next year, California voters will have a chance to decide whether new oil drilling regulations should take effect. Oil industry officials warn that, if enacted, it could hinder production and force California to look elsewhere for its supply. In 2024, Californians will vote on whether the state should continue producing...
California Lawmakers Aim to Reconnect Neighborhoods Torn Apart by Highways
Lea este artículo en español. A new select committee in the California Legislature will explore ways the state can reconnect neighborhoods that decades ago were torn apart by interstates and highways. During the nation’s interstate highway construction boom in the 1950s and ’60s, numerous urban neighborhoods were sliced through, often isolating...
More Californians Now Getting Cash From Guaranteed Income Programs. Do They Work?
Four years after Stockton conducted a nationally-watched experiment, giving 125 households $500 a month with no strings attached, dozens of programs throughout California are testing the idea of a guaranteed income. CalMatters identified more than 40 similar pilot programs that have run, are operating or are planning to launch around the...
Newsom Gives Order to Store More Water, Suspend Fish Protection Laws
Facing an onslaught of criticism that water was “wasted” during January storms, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday suspended environmental laws to give the go-ahead to state officials to hold more water in reservoirs. The governor’s executive order authorized the State Water Resources Control Board to “consider modifying” state requirements that dictate how...