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California hospitals buckle under patient surge, sick staff
California hospitals are struggling to keep up with increasing COVID cases at the same time they're facing staffing shortages.
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California teeters on edge of more COVID shutdowns
How long will California be able to avoid shutdowns of schools, health care facilities and businesses if the omicron wave doesn't peak soon?
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Newsom stops short of single-payer health care — but lawmakers forge ahead
CalMatters is dedicated to explaining how state government impacts our lives. Your support helps us produce journalism that makes a difference. Donate now. Don’t ask Gov. Gavin Newsom about Democratic lawmakers’ proposal to create a state-funded single-payer health care system — he hasn’t read it. “I have not had the opportunity to review that plan, and no […]
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Newsom proposes $2.7 billion for COVID response
Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a $2.7 billion COVID relief package, including $1.4 billion in emergency spending, largely for testing.
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Tax hikes for universal health care in California?
A group of Democratic legislators on Thursday unveiled a package of bills to create a universal health care program funded by new taxes.
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California admits to COVID blind spot
State health officials extend indoor mask mandate through Feb. 15, but say the size of California COVID hospitalization increase is unclear.
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Prop. 47 targeted by Dem, GOP lawmakers
A Democratic bill would reverse a key aspect of Proposition 47 by reducing the felony threshold for petty theft and shoplifting, while a Republican one would overturn Prop. 47 altogether.
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Labor’s top ally resigns from Legislature
Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, a key union backer in the California Legislature, will step down to take over the California Labor Federation.
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Amid omicron, California braces for a big year in 2022
CalMatters is dedicated to explaining how state government impacts our lives. Your support helps us produce journalism that makes a difference. Donate now. New year, same challenges. That more or less sums up the landscape state lawmakers will face when they return to Sacramento today for the start of the 2022 legislative session. Once again, a highly […]
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Fearing a big COVID surge, California reinstates rules for private workplaces — and the vaccinated
Give to CalMatters today and your gift will be doubled! Your support helps keep our nonprofit journalism free and accessible to all Californians. Donate now. The more things change, the more things stay the same. A little more than a year after the first COVID-19 vaccines arrived in California, the state is bracing for yet […]