By Luis A. Alejo and Richard G. Polanco, Special to CalMatters Over the past 25 years, California has made great strides to be more inclusive and to better ensure more equitable political representation at all levels of government. However, as former and current chairs of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, we were...
From Internet Rights to ‘Streeteries,’ How Pandemic Is Changing Working From Home
Coronavirus has reshaped how Californians live, learn and work in uneven ways. The pandemic has exposed the state’s long-standing digital divide with a significant share of low-income and rural households lacking reliable internet access. And even though employers have quickly adapted to remote work, the opportunity to work from home...
How COVID Is Deepening California’s Income Inequality in 5 Charts
The decade dawned on a California that was both “the richest and poorest” state in the nation, in the words of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Wages for the top 10% of California’s earners had grown three times as fast as those of the bottom 10% of earners since 1980 — all as the...
The Hidden Toll of California’s Black Exodus
In a quiet corner of Elk Grove, where the maze of subdivisions and shopping centers gives way to open fields, Sharie Wilson has spent the last three years building her dream home. It’s nothing like the neighborhood where she grew up in South Central L.A. But in this Sacramento suburb,...
Without a Trace: This California County Has Stopped Contact Tracing as Coronavirus Surges
A month ago, everyone in Merced County infected with the coronavirus got a call from county officials, asking questions about whom they’d come in contact with. It’s a tracing process that experts say is critical to stopping the spread of the highly infectious disease. Now, facing a five-fold increase in...
What’s Left of Confederate Monuments in California
As the U.S. reckons once again with racial inequities, it’s triggered a new round of calls to remove statues and monuments idolizing Confederate leaders and those who enslaved people. While Mississippi is retiring its Confederate battle flag and Alabama and Georgia join the movement to topple bronze statues, California is not without...
Recognize the Progress of High-Speed Rail Project and Drop the Term ‘Boondoggle’
By Jim Beal and Scott Wiener, Special to CalMatters California’s High-Speed Rail project is under fire again, but history shows us that major infrastructure projects are almost always controversial. Before it was built, the Golden Gate Bridge was derided as financially unsound, legally dubious and an aesthetic blight. BART was...
I Faced a Challenge One of Every Three People in America Has: Depression and Anxiety
On Friday, April 10, at 5 p.m., Californians learned I had resigned as chief economic and business advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The press release stated I was leaving “to focus on family and personal business.” In corporate speak, this usually means...
Props to You, Californians: A Preview of What’s on Your November Ballot
After a bit of last-minute legislative maneuvering, the list of propositions that California voters will be asked to weigh in on has been — more or less — finalized. This past week marked the deadline for citizens and special interests to snag their spot on the Nov.3 ballot. Eight measures...
Here Are Systemic Actions CSU Plans in Promoting Social Justice and Addressing Racial Injustices
In the wake of the heartless killing of George Floyd, and as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exact a devastating and disproportionate toll on communities of color, never before have I sensed a feeling of helplessness so profound, held by so many. Outrage is justified and protest imperative, but nothing...