WhatMatters

In the town that saw California’s deadliest wildfire seven years ago, a state-of-the-art elementary school is rising. It’ll have a STEM lab, soccer field and outdoor stage — manifestations of Paradise’s hopes for its future. But while breaking ground and constructing a new 46,000-square-foot campus is one achievement, the road to recovery for the students […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to “continue fighting” after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted restrictions on immigration raids in Los Angeles, but the state might not have many options.  California Attorney General Rob Bonta acknowledged as much during a press conference Monday where he said he was disappointed in the decision but added that he respects […]

Nearly 100 special interest groups spent more than $820,000 last year to send California legislators to far-off places such as Hawaii, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and Israel, writes CalMatters’ Jeremia Kimelman.  About three-quarters of the Legislature, or 92 Democratic and Republican lawmakers, were recipients of free trips, according to financial disclosure reports. Similar to years […]

John Muir once wrote “everything is refreshed” by a summer storm in the Sierra Nevada. But then, as now, the lightning strikes that come with them pose a perennial wildfire risk. Fires raging in the Sierra foothills have burned nearly 14,000 acres, prompted evacuations and destroyed the historic Gold Rush town of Chinese Camp. Lightning […]

If you don’t want to take your medical advice from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., you’ll soon be able to consult with an alternate public health resource backed by the blue states on the West Coast.  Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Wednesday that California is joining a West Coast Health Alliance with Oregon […]

Seven years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom told Californians he wanted to be known for “audacious stretch goals” rather than being too timid.  His mental health overhaul counts as one of those, from changes that expanded coverage for mental health conditions to last year’s Proposition 1, the ballot measure that poured $6.4 billion into new mental […]

Largely out of public view and with little to no debate, lawmakers on Friday sped through hundreds of bills that had new spending attached, rejecting or stalling more than a quarter of the 686 proposals that were held in the appropriations committees’ suspense files, report CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu and Jeanne Kuang. Some notable ones […]

Scheduling note: WhatMatters will be resting for Labor Day weekend and will return to your inboxes on Tuesday. Concern over the reliability of federal job information has been growing among California economists and policy experts, after President Donald Trump fired the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner earlier this month, writes CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay. Every […]

From CalMatters politics reporter Maya C. Miller: The California Supreme Court has for the second time refused Republican lawmakers’ pleas to intervene and halt Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan, which opponents have characterized as “unconstitutional” since it undermines the state’s independent redistricting commission.  The Republican plaintiffs include Sens. Suzette Martinez Valladardes of Lancaster and Tony […]

From CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall: As California cities increasingly crack down on homeless encampments, most still lack enough shelter beds. So, in order to give people a place to go that isn’t a city street, some places are creating sanctioned camps, where people sleep on a designated lot in tents purchased by the city. […]