Economy

California’s dancers, musicians and other performers have lost their audience to a pandemic. Some may never return to the stage even when the patrons are back. Marica Kumayama Petrey had put eight months of pre-production work into the live debut for her first album with a new pop/rock band, Girl Swallows Nightingale, planned for March. […]

Amtrak has lost a staggering $800 million, with California’s three routes losing 65-85% of passengers. Service has been cut back substantially.

New research finds the pandemic has likely stripped away most of the wage gains made after the Great Recession by California’s lowest earners. State Democrats and Republicans are proposing various solutions, but experts warn jobs alone will not bridge growing inequality.

California’s attorney general sued to get Amazon to comply with investigative subpoenas into the e-commerce giant’s coronavirus prevention efforts.

Imposing the strictest restrictions in months, Gov. Gavin Newsom announces a regional stay-at-home order tied to an alarmingly low number of hospital beds amid a statewide coronavirus surge.

Could jobless Californians soon receive benefits by direct deposit? State legislators are considering reforms and asking Bank of America for answers following a CalMatters investigation into payment problems impacting more than 350,000 unemployment debit cards.

An estimated 750,000 Californians are set to lose federal unemployment benefits the day after Christmas, and 2.1 million could lose their homes weeks later when a statewide eviction moratorium lifts.

After the Great Recession, California signed an exclusive contract with Bank of America to distribute unemployment benefits through prepaid debit cards. A CalMatters investigation reveals that to this day, no one knows how much the bank has made off the deal. Lawmakers are examining the bank’s role in mass account freezes and untold amounts of missing money for thousands of struggling jobless Californians — as well as where the bank may have failed to keep unemployment money safe from fraud.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a new round of curfews from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to slow the spread of the coronavirus in California. Businesses say they have already altered hours to comply with health restrictions and some county sheriff's offices plan not to enforce.

Though the pandemic-induced recession hasn’t been as bad as expected, it is hitting the most vulnerable Californians hardest.