Dave Congalton always turns right at the beach. The local radio host, who has lived near Oceano Dunes for 33 years, leads an informal group of hikers and beach walkers. His pack usually heads north, away from the tumult of off-road vehicles that descend on the state park. One morning...
Change in Food Bank Distribution Service Sets off Alarm Bells
COVID-19 has meant many Californians are struggling to stay healthy, keep their jobs and put food on the table. In this moment, organizations that provide food to the needy are serving more Californians than ever before. So why has the state chosen now to dramatically change the way commodities are distributed to...
A 40-Year Conflict Over Oceano Dunes: Has It Finally Reached a Breaking Point?
At the end of an arcing sweep of shoreline tracing the pocket coves and steep cliffs of the Central Coast lies Oceano Dunes and its rippling sea of sand. The park south of San Luis Obispo is the last state beach where visitors can legally race their 4X4s, dirt bikes...
How Bank of America Helped Fuel California’s Unemployment Meltdown
For a brief moment this summer, Stephanie Moore thought she might finally see a glimmer of hope at the end of the coronavirus recession. Unemployment benefits provided a lifeline for the 38-year-old Los Angeles housekeeper to leave a bad relationship and rent an Airbnb while she looked for a job....
How Risky Was That Napa Party Gavin Newsom Attended?
Just how risky was the birthday party that Gov. Gavin Newsom attended at a ritzy Napa Valley restaurant? According to a modeling tool, if held today, there’s an 11 to 12% chance — odds of about one in nine — that one of the dinner guests was infected with the coronavirus....
The Trumpiest and Most Anti-Trump Counties in California Revealed
November’s election results showed that most of California’s Democratic counties moved further away from President Donald Trump — and the bulk of its Republican counties did too. With less than 1 million ballots left to count, the 2020 election here was an unsurprisingly blowout for President-elect Joe Biden. In 2016, Democrat...
After California’s ‘Blue Wave’ to Congress in 2018? A GOP Red Riptide in 2020.
Two years ago, Democratic newcomers across the state were swept into Congress atop a frothing “blue wave” of anti-Trump fervor — a result that only became apparent late in the vote count. This year’s election has been playing out a little like 2018 in reverse. This time the Democrats led early...
Expired Unemployment Boost, EDD Debacles Sink Jobless Californians
As coronavirus resurges 10 months into a devastating pandemic, many jobless Californians have exhausted their options and are hanging on to what little government support remains. Once padded by an extra $600 a week from the federal coronavirus relief bill, many of the state’s unemployed say their benefits are just enough to...
Opinion: Votes Show We’re Deeply Divided; Where Do We Go From Here?
Joe Biden has won the presidency of the United States but will lead a country both deeply divided and disappointed: Republicans upset that President Donald Trump lost while many Democrats are upset that the race was far too close. Nearly 50% of American voters cast a ballot for Trump –...
Newsom’s Pick? Here’s Who Might Fill Kamala Harris’ Senate Seat
Updated November 7, 2020 The victory of Joe Biden and California’s junior senator, Kamala Harris in the 2020 presidential race brings to a close one of the most protracted post-Election Day waiting games in modern political history. It also opens up a relatively rare thing in the Golden State: the prospect of...