Southern California could reassert itself as the political epicenter of California after Senator Dianne Feinstein retires next year. The congressional candidates vying to succeed her, and the vacancies their campaigns have created, provide opportunities for officeholders who are younger, more liberal and more rooted in Southern California.
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Posted inWhatMatters
How much should California spend to build up public transit?
To get more riders on public transit, you need more service. But to fund additional service, you need more riders. That’s the conundrum transit agencies have long encountered. The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the state’s workforce and the end of federal funds put some agencies in an even more difficult financial position — and the […]
Posted inCommentary
Is ending homelessness just a matter of money?
The political debate over California’s highest-in-the-nation homelessness has boiled down to money with Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials at odds.
Posted inWhatMatters
What is California getting for all its billions on homelessness?
From CalMatters politics reporter Ben Christopher: In 2021, state lawmakers made a request: The newly convened California Interagency Council on Homelessness should put together a “comprehensive view of the homelessness response system.” In short, the legislators said: We’d like to know how much the state is spending to address its homelessness crisis, where the money […]
Posted inCommentary
U.S. Senate race starts games of musical chairs
Three members of California’s congressional delegation are running for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Dianne Feinstein, which touches off political scrambles for their congressional seats.
Posted inNewsletters
Can California go any stronger on gun laws?
Has California reached an upper limit on what it can do to regulate guns? Following a pattern as old as gun control itself, state lawmakers are responding to the back-to-back mass shootings that killed 18 people this week with more legislation: Democratic Sens. Catherine Blakespear of Encinitas and Nancy Skinner of Oakland announced Thursday they’re […]
Posted inWhatMatters
Will California keep up its climate momentum?
California has climate action on the mind. This week state lawmakers, senior officials in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and prominent environmental leaders are representing California at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, Canada — an appearance that could make a splash on the world stage as Newsom continues to tout his climate […]
Posted inWhatMatters
Inside lawmakers’ climate trips to Egypt, Japan
Get ready for another raft of ambitious climate bills when California lawmakers return to Sacramento next month. A few days after the Nov. 8 election, bipartisan groups of more than a dozen state legislators — including some who have hit term limits and won’t be returning to the Legislature — embarked on international trips with a […]
Posted inHousing
Gimme Shelter: How California’s new parking law could lower housing costs
A new state law unravels decades of parking rules in California cities. On this episode of “Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast” CalMatters’ Manuela Tobias and The Los Angeles’ Times’ Liam Dillon explain how that could trim housing costs.
Posted inWhatMatters
California’s newest housing law: Abolishing some parking mandates
This is CalMatters political reporter Ben Christopher, filling in one last time for Emily, who is scheduled to be back in your inboxes on Monday. Thanks for reading! Gov. Gavin Newsom has some catching up to do. On Thursday, the governor returned to California after three days in New York City spent touting his administration’s […]