In his inaugural address one year ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom said of California, “This is where America’s future is made. This is our charge. That is our calling.” Gov. Newsom has had a full year, and a supermajority of Democrats in the Legislature. And yet with this power and ability...
Nearly Half of California Students Can’t Read at Grade Level. Here’s What We Must Do About It.
The number of California students who cannot read is shocking. Results from the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress show that only 32% of fourth-graders are reading proficiently. These results put California below the national average and behind 25 other states. While the ranking is cause for concern, the difference in absolute...
‘Not the Golden State Anymore’: Middle- and Low-Income People Leave California
In 2017, Susanna Cardenas-Lopez left her home in Salinas to visit her brother in Idaho. Three days into her trip, she called her husband and told him they needed to move there. Back in Salinas, Cardenas-Lopez and her husband were left out in the cold after their landlord decided to...
Last Year’s Hottest Housing Fight Just Got Resurrected — Here’s What to Know
For the third year in a row, California lawmakers will consider a controversial housing proposal that would force neighborhoods to allow taller, denser housing near public transportation and job centers. San Francisco Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener — whose Senate Bill 50 has twice been beaten back, in different forms, by an assortment of...
California Housing Crisis Mystery: Rents Way up, Eviction Filings Way Down
Shirley Gibson isn’t quite sure how to feel about these numbers. As directing attorney of the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County — which offers legal services to low-income tenants caught between the preposterously priced southern suburbs of San Francisco and the preposterously priced suburbs of Silicon Valley —...
California’s Homelessness Crisis — and Possible Solutions — Explained
By Matt Levin and Jackie Botts, CalMatters California’s most vexing issue is also its most shameful: the large and rising number of residents who lack a safe place to call home. In a state with vast amounts of wealth, more than 150,000 of its residents sleep in shelters, cars, or...
Risks, Rewards, and Robots: The Future of Work in California
Are robots coming for California’s jobs? In today’s increasingly automated economy, that’s certainly the fear. Technology has always generated economic churn, destroying some jobs and creating others. Already advances have generated a whole new sector of “gig” employment, and deeply disrupted other workplaces, from brick-and-mortar bookstores to newspapers to travel...
Watch New 2020 Law #7: Health Insurance About to Be Mandatory in California
By Byrhonda Lyons, CalMatters In 2020, California will make health insurance mandatory — and charge a tax people to people without. For people who lack it now, there’s an upside: The state also will began giving subsidies to those who don’t qualify for assistance through the federal Obamacare program. In 2018,...
CA’s Gun Sentencing Laws Aren’t Tough Enough, so Feds Are Stepping In
On paper, William Carl Adkins is a perfect candidate for prosecution under California’s tough gun control laws. At 34, he has a rap sheet that dates to 2007 and includes possession of drugs with intent to sell, vehicle theft, burglary, drugs again, and, in 2014, being a felon in possession...
Battle Lines Are Drawn Over Oil Drilling in California
Two announcements with implications for California’s oil industry whizzed past each other in recent weeks, revealing starkly conflicting visions for energy development. After a five-year hiatus on auctions for oil-drilling rights on federal land, Washington finalized a plan to allow them on more than 700,000 acres in 11 Central California counties. A more...