Many Californians are still grappling with the hit to their wallets from the costs of, well, everything. That includes shockingly high natural gas bills, which have spiked to double the usual or more due to a cascade of issues: increased demand brought on by cold weather, tightened supply, pipeline and storage problems. Gov. Gavin Newsom […]
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Posted inWhatMatters
Will controversial California housing law become permanent?
From CalMatters political reporter Ben Christopher: In 2017, California lawmakers passed one of the state’s most controversial and consequential housing laws, but they included an expiration date — 2025 — to see how things panned out. Sen. Scott Wiener, the San Francisco Democrat who authored the bill, is pleased with the results so far. Monday, […]
Posted inCalifornia Divide
California reparations task force aims at more than dollars, seeks policies to prevent harm
The task force members are discussing monetary and nonmonetary reparations ideas to compensate for slavery and racism. Some say they want policies to prevent future harms against Black Californians.
Posted inCalifornia Divide
‘When they took the foundation, everything started crumbling’: California group fights eminent domain, racism
Where is My Land aims to help Black families regain property, sometimes decades after a government takes it. Though hundreds seek this help, founder Kavon Ward says her group focuses on a few cases at a time.
Posted inCalifornia Divide
Reparations task force: State could owe Black Californians hundreds of thousands of dollars
Black Californians could be due hundreds of thousands of dollars for housing discrimination, incarceration, and health disparities alone, consultants said at reparations task force hearings.
Posted inWhatMatters
California Legislature: Slouching towards end of session
California lawmakers have less than two weeks to wrap up their work before the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31. And so begins the final legislative traffic jam, as bills line up for final votes. A piece of legislation’s particular place in that line is the complex product of political horse-trading, the competing […]
Posted inWhatMatters
School board races emerge as GOP election focus
“Red state governors, they talk a big game, don’t they, about providing parents with education choice,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Monday video post on Truth Social, the social media company founded by former President Donald Trump. “But when it comes time to walk the walk, they’re absent.” The governor’s post — in which […]
Posted inWhatMatters
California’s next Assembly speaker. Maybe.
Et tu, Rivas? Late Friday, just as legislators — and everyone else in the state — were preparing to check out for the long holiday weekend, an earthquake rocked the California political world: Assemblymember Robert Rivas, a Salinas Democrat, announced that he had “secured enough votes” to become the next speaker of the California Assembly. […]
Posted inWhatMatters
California on track for worst COVID surge yet
State public health officials project that in this California COVID surge, more than 70,000 will be hospitalized at the end of January.
Posted inPolitics
How will diverse voters be represented in California’s new election districts?
Across the state, organizers are banding together to make sure new congressional, legislative and local districts lead to diverse representation. The track record of the Citizens Redistricting Commission is mixed, according to two recent studies.