WhatMatters

Public frustrations about organized retail theft and drug crimes galvanized California voters to overwhelmingly pass Proposition 36 in November. But the measure may invite another consequence, writes CalMatters criminal justice reporter Nigel Duara: More deaths in California jails. Championed by law enforcement groups, Republican legislators and some Democrats, Prop. 36 increases penalties for certain crimes […]

The holidays may be coming up fast (have you finished all your gift shopping yet?) but one thing that took its time was California’s final election results. On Friday, 38 days after Election Day, Secretary of State Shirley Weber certified the results of the November election. Some key takeaways: More than 16.1 million Californians voted, […]

Jerry Brown, California’s longest-serving governor (1975-83, 2011-2019), had a lot to say Thursday. In an hour-long conversation hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California, Brown was typically blunt on a wide range of topics: The American Dream: In response to a PPIC poll that found most Californians do not believe that hard work will […]

California’s 2024 election will finally, officially be done by Friday, when the Secretary of State’s office certifies the results. Leading up to that, Secretary of State Shirley Weber on Wednesday acknowledged concerns about the slow vote count in California, but stressed the need to ensure an accurate and transparent ballot counting process, reports CalMatters’ Yue […]

For the first time in years, some California cities are seeing a decline in fatal drug overdoses. And some prosecutors are getting more aggressive charging drug dealers with murder if their buyers overdose.  But a rise in fatal drug overdoses at work has public health experts, union leaders and employers sounding the alarm, write CalMatters […]

Pledging to take on the affordable housing crisis and bring down health care costs, Adam Schiff was sworn in Monday by Vice President Kamala Harris as California’s junior U.S. senator. The Burbank Democrat will serve out the remaining term of the late Dianne Feinstein after winning a special election for the unexpired term. In January, […]

It has been eight years since California voters repealed a 1998 law directing public school districts to essentially eliminate their bilingual programs. But the fallout from the state’s vacillating history of bilingual education has led to California falling short of providing a quality education not only to non-English speakers but also to students who want […]

From CalMatters’ Wendy Fry at the U.S.-Mexico border: Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday, railing against President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats and the economic damage a 25% tax on goods coming from Mexico would likely have on the binational region and the state.  “Is the president-elect embarrassed by his own leadership as it […]

During Donald Trump’s first presidency, California tried and failed to ban new federal immigration detention centers from opening. As Trump returns to the Oval Office in January with pledges of mass deportations, the agency overseeing immigration enforcement has been scoping out locations for a new detention center — possibly near San Francisco. As CalMatters’ Wendy […]

From CalMatters investigative reporter Lauren Hepler: Money vanishing from EDD debit cards. Big-dollar bets on the technology that powers California’s job safety net. Billions in unemployment debt with no clear path forward. No, this isn’t a pandemic flashback.  It’s today’s unsettled reality for the California Employment Development Department and the workers and businesses who still […]