CALmatters is a Sacramento-based nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. It works with more than 130 media partners throughout the state that have long, deep relationships with their local audiences, including Embarcadero Media (publisher of the Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice, Pleasanton Weekly and The Almanac in Menlo Park and their websites.)
Here are the most recent stories reported by CALmatters' team of journalists:
Workers are changing. California Legislature must face that reality
Allan Zaremberg, California Chamber of Commerce: The heart of the debate over the gig economy is how can we improve protections for workers, without losing the control and flexibility they value. You can’t have it both ways. Having job security means the employer will schedule your hours. Without that control, you couldn’t get morning coffee if one day all the baristas choose to sleep in.
Tue, Jun 25, 2019 12:00 pm
California’s new budget invests in overlooked piece of health care puzzle: workers
Gov. Gavin Newsom is poised to sign the largest, most comprehensive set of proposals in years to expand California’s health workforce pipeline—tapping $300 million in the 2019-20 budget to address an often overlooked threat to our health care system: a shortage of qualified health professionals.
Tue, Jun 25, 2019 8:00 am
Cannabis banking, horse racing deaths, college sports, and cigarette butts
Legislation would get cannabis out of cash-only business. Pot growers get a reprieve in Carpinteria. Bill takes aim at cigarette butts.
Tue, Jun 25, 2019 3:30 am
Why a California lawmaker wants to ban cigarette filters and disposable vapes
California Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson's bill to curb litter from cigarette butts and electronic cigarettes cleared the Senate but approaches its next hurdle in the Assembly. The bill aims to tackle hundreds of thousands of cigarette butts that litter the state's coasts and hold the tobacco and e-cigarette industry accountable for the mess that its products make.
Tue, Jun 25, 2019 1:00 am
Lawmakers—cutting big checks to combat the housing crisis—fight over who gets the money
California lawmakers have approved more than $2 billion in new state spending on housing and homelessness. But while lawmakers and the governor have agreed to cut big checks, they're still fighting over who will actually receive the money—and with what strings attached.
Mon, Jun 24, 2019 3:22 pm
In Gavin Newsom’s ‘California For All’ budget, undocumented immigrants are not included
Dani Carrillo, UC San Francisco: Undocumented workers comprise 9% of California labor force and contribute $3 billion in state and local taxes each year. They do some of the most arduous work, including landscaping, construction, restaurant work, and taking care of children and seniors. But if their health is compromised, they have few places to go.
Mon, Jun 24, 2019 8:00 am
Newsom’s fire plan, lack of mental health leadership, a transgender barrier to fall
Newsom eyes package to address wildfires crisis. Mental health services vary widely by county. Legislation focuses on school records for transgender alumi.
Mon, Jun 24, 2019 3:30 am
Any spike in repeat crimes after California sped prisoner release? New research says no
When the U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to disgorge tens of thousands of inmates from its overcrowded prison system in 2011, Justice Antonin Scalia warned in his dissent of "the terrible things sure to happen as a consequence" including the "inevitable murders, robberies, and rapes to be committed by the released inmates." But researchers who've looked at how how often those released from the state's prisons and jails in the ruling's aftermath say such fears have not come to pass.
Mon, Jun 24, 2019 1:00 am
Arbitrary tax policy spawns an offspring
California politicians dislike Donald Trump's federal; tax overhaul but are adopting portions of it to raise revenue.
Mon, Jun 24, 2019 12:01 am
Congress needs to start over on nuclear waste
Geoffrey Fettus, Natural Resources Defense Council: We need a solution for the waste stuck at San Onofre and the other California reactors. But in their desperation to move the threat away from the Golden State, some California lawmakers are making two grave errors.
Sun, Jun 23, 2019 8:00 am
Treatment for psychosis—and other mental illness—differs drastically by county
In California, geography creates significant barriers for people seeking early psychosis intervention and other treatment, because its 58 counties have 58 different public mental health programs, each with their own set of covered services. That's by design. Yet it creates troubling inequities.
Sun, Jun 23, 2019 1:00 am
Does spending more on schools pay off?
California's ongoing debate over K-12 education usually centers on money, but data indicate that spending more doesn't necessarily translate into better academic achievement.
Sun, Jun 23, 2019 12:01 am
Weekly CALmatters 06/21/2019
Highlighting all of CALmatters' work over the past week
Fri, Jun 21, 2019 6:30 pm
Newsom’s new proposals on wildfire costs walk a political tightrope
Officials had to slap utilities for starting blazes—but not inflict undue financial damage or bail them out—and avoid punishing fire victims or further burdening electricity customers.
Fri, Jun 21, 2019 12:11 pm
Weekly Walters 06/21/2019
A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.
Fri, Jun 21, 2019 5:46 am
A vaccine showdown, a tax bill, wildfire costs and poverty
Newsom wins tax hike to fund tax credit. Bill to restrict vaccination exemptions advances. California braces for wildfires as summer begins.
Fri, Jun 21, 2019 3:30 am
Does California State University have a $1.5 billion slush fund?
A state audit found CSU failed to fully disclose the existence of a budget surplus to legislators and students even as it raised tuition and lobbied for more funding. CSU disputes the audit's conclusions.
Thu, Jun 20, 2019 9:59 pm
Who’s coming and who’s going: California in 5 interactive charts and maps
The California Dream is a global brand. For more than a century the state has been a magnet for migrants from around the world, and now has the largest foreign-born population of any state in the country. Here are five maps and charts illustrating the past and present of who's moving in and, lately, moving out.
Thu, Jun 20, 2019 8:23 pm
It’s been a mess for decades. Can Gov. Newsom fix the state’s technology?
Spending $40 million to create an Office of Digital Innovation, Gov. Gavin Newsom is betting the move will push state government into the 21st century.
Thu, Jun 20, 2019 5:56 pm
California wildfires threaten water supply. Here’s how
Marc Marcantonio: Public drinking water suppliers’ financial stability is threatened if they are saddled with the cost of damage caused by fires they don’t start. And that could put the safety of our drinking water at risk.
Thu, Jun 20, 2019 8:00 am
Taxes, the coal fight comes to California, voting, and student debt
Automakers oppose Newsom's tax bill. Newsom joins fight against coal. Legislators take step toward easing student debt, with assist from Steyer.
Thu, Jun 20, 2019 3:30 am
Democratic voters more centrist than their party
The recent state Democratic Party convention was dominated by the party's left-wing activists, but the broader array of Democratic voters doesn't lean as far to the port.
Thu, Jun 20, 2019 12:01 am
A million independent voters risk being irrelevant in California’s presidential primary
Presidential challengers hoping to glide to victory through California’s newly relevant primary, a heads-up: Your electoral fate may hinge on convincing enough left-leaning millennials to send postcards over the winter holiday season.
Wed, Jun 19, 2019 8:01 pm
Immigrant entrepreneurs continue to shape California’s economy
Immigrants tend to be bigger risk-takers than people born in California when it comes to starting a business. Here’s why that’s good for the economy.
Wed, Jun 19, 2019 12:00 pm
Wall Street salivates at the housing ‘solution’ offered by Senate Bill 50
John Mirisch: Scores of housing bills circulate in Sacramento, one worse than the next. Collectively, they threaten to destroy our unique and dynamic communities to various degrees, many in the service of Wall Street and other special interest groups. Wall Street is notorious for not caring about the path of destruction it leaves in its wake in search of ever-greater profits.
Wed, Jun 19, 2019 8:00 am
A PG&E settlement, a vaccine compromise, and an apology to Native Americans
PG&E agrees to pay $1 billion for wildfire damages. Newsom apologizes for state's mistreatment of Native Americans. Redding church comes under scrutiny.
Wed, Jun 19, 2019 3:30 am
Bill reduces ballot measure transparency
A new bill would water down the requirement that local governments be upfront on the taxation effects of their tax and bond ballot measures.
Wed, Jun 19, 2019 12:01 am
How Redding, California, became an unlikely epicenter of modern Christian culture
Some residents, saying Bethel Church's civic influence threatens the city's integrity, hand out "Don't drink the Kool-Aid" stickers.
Tue, Jun 18, 2019 1:12 pm
George Tyndall’s ‘patients’ turn to the Legislature for justice
Nicole Haynes and Mai Mizuno: AB 1510 would give Dr. George Tyndall's 'patients' a choice: Join the federal class action, or fight it out alone in state civil court, a venue that could more fully hold Tyndall and USC accountable. We are fighting to put the past and our shared secret behind us and move forward with our lives. We hope California legislators will understand, and not suppress our individual voices and rights.
Tue, Jun 18, 2019 11:00 am
California Legislature must act to protect environment from Trump’s assaults
Terry Tamminen: Federal agencies plan to ignore new state requirements in order to deliver more San Francisco Bay-Delta water to powerful San Joaquin Valley farmers in the Westlands Water District. This would do more than harm salmon fishermen and the West Coast’s largest estuary. An elegant solution lies in Senate Bill 1 by Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins.
Tue, Jun 18, 2019 8:00 am
Clean water, gas taxes, contraceptives and gay pride
Cap-and-trade revenue to be used to treat drinking water. Republicans lament gas tax hike. Gig work becomes a campaign issue.
Tue, Jun 18, 2019 3:30 am
Beneath their rival efforts to reduce police shootings, two lawmakers share one common experience as mothers
Two California Democrats took rival approaches to reduce police shootings. Yet as mothers—one African American, the other Latina—both lawmakers have had remarkably similar experiences in one respect: They instructed their teenage sons to cautiously navigate encounters with police, and they ultimately felt the police did not treat their sons fairly.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 5:40 pm
Why fighting for clean water with climate change money worries some California lawmakers
Combat climate change, or clean up the water? Legislators chose to dip into a greenhouse gas fund to fight California’s drinking water problem. The move alarmed environmentalists and legislators on both sides of the aisle — but it could soon become the norm.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 12:20 pm
Cities pledge to find solutions to California’s homeless crisis
Carolyn Coleman: There is no single or easy solution to address homelessness, but building more affordable housing is a major part of the answer. That is why the League of California Cities strongly supports Gov. Newsom’s budget proposals which provide more resources, and Senate Bill 5 to help support the construction of more housing for low- and very-low income Californians.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 8:00 am
Newsom’s tax bill, vaccinations, and new additions to lobby fights
Newsom, legislators have unfinished business on taxes. Vaccination bill faces tough questions. USC sex abuse scandal returns to Capitol.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 3:30 am
New workers’ compensation battle on horizon
Once a decade, powerful interests do battle over the system compensating workers for job-related disabilities and a new clash may be on the horizon.
Mon, Jun 17, 2019 12:01 am
Lessons from the Old Courthouse in El Centro
Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar: My responsibility goes beyond deciding cases. We must help the public understand what we do and share our collective knowledge. Nowhere is that mission more urgent than when it comes to improving the lives of our state’s children.
Sun, Jun 16, 2019 8:20 am
Big caveats in new state budget
While politicians tout the state's new budget, there are some very large caveats attached to it.
Sun, Jun 16, 2019 12:01 am
Weekly CALmatters 06/14/2019
Highlighting all of CALmatters' work over the past week
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 10:12 pm
Who could bring cops and critics together to change California’s use-of-force standard?
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 1:50 pm
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 1:50 pm
Episode Three: The Deciders
For more than a year, Assemblywoman Shirley Weber has been working on a bill meant to curb police shootings by limiting when police can use deadly force. She persevered through political setbacks and failed attempts at compromise before landing on a version that now appears likely to become law.
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 9:34 am
Helping to define what it means to be ‘Made in California’
Lenny Mendonca: Government officials don't do a good job of engaging the public as we grapple with big, complex challenges. Today, my team at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development is launching a new podcast called Made in California to change that dynamic.
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 7:37 am
Weekly Walters 06/14/2019
A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 5:46 am
A big budget, slices of pork, and a win for correctional officers
Lawmakers pass $215 billion budget, but more work remains. Budget includes Placerville pork. Progressives suffer some setbacks.
Fri, Jun 14, 2019 3:30 am
In California, a blue wave and progressive governor: So why are so many leftist plans going under?
As the Capitol passes the halfway point for making new laws this year, the progressive policies that are advancing amount to less of a torrent than a trickle.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019 3:04 pm
As Newsom rethinks juvenile justice, California reconsiders prison for kids
Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking California's shrinking juvenile detention system away from the adult corrections bureaucracy and shifting it into the system for social services.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019 1:09 pm
California just passed a $215 billion budget. Here’s what’s between the lines.
Less tax-and-spendy than expected, California's $215 billion budget delivers more for working and poor families, but avoids most new taxes and stops short of health care for all.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019 1:04 pm
How Trump administration undermines reproductive and LGBTQ rights in California
Lori Freedman and Rebecca Griffin: We’re facing an unprecedented sweep of abortion bans across the country, a frontal attack that we must fight back. A new Trump administration regulation puts the full force of the government behind individuals and institutions that refuse to provide care in the name of religious beliefs. This unnecessary overreach emboldens people to discriminate and has dangerous implications for people’s health. California is not immune.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019 8:00 am
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