Newsletters

California used to be a leader in the anti-drunk driving movement.  A Sacramento mother started MADD, helping create some of the nation’s toughest DUI laws in the 1980s. They worked: California cut alcohol-related roadway fatalities by more than half. A new CalMatters investigation shows that things have changed, dramatically. California now has some of the […]

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang: California is one of 23 states suing President Donald Trump’s administration trying to force it to use emergency money to cover food benefits for millions of poor families during the federal government shutdown, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta said Tuesday.  More than five million Californians rely […]

With one week to Election Day, the Yes on Proposition 50 campaign has far outraised its opponent, and support for the redistricting measure is slightly ahead in the latest polls. Early in-person voting has also opened up in some counties, though President Donald Trump is discouraging voters from early and mail-in voting — putting California Republicans […]

At a planned rally today at UCLA, the faculty associations of UCLA and the wider University of California are taking a victory lap and urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to join their fight against President Donald Trump’s demands for a $1.2-billion settlement with the renowned public university. The federal administration’s 27-page settlement proposal was made public […]

San Francisco has avoided an aggressive immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump — for now.  As CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones explains, Bay Area officials and residents remain on alert after Trump called off his plans on Thursday for a “surge” of federal immigration enforcement in San Francisco. The move comes a day after the president sent […]

The possibility that President Donald Trump will deploy National Guard troops in San Francisco as part of a nationwide crackdown on crime is intensifying — but recent crime data doesn’t support his claim. During an interview on a Fox News show earlier this week, Trump said he was eyeing San Francisco next to send the […]

Now in its third week, the ongoing federal government shutdown will likely delay food benefits for millions of Californians — prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to set aside $80 million in state support and deploy the California National Guard to assist food banks. The governor unveiled the move today, days after the California Department of Social […]

The fundraising battle over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50 isn’t close, but the race is.  Since July, the Yes on Prop. 50 campaign has raised nearly $97 million — which does not include the nearly $13 million that billionaire investor Tom Steyer has spent separately to run his own pro-Prop. 50 ads.  The No campaign, […]

The Trump resistance ignited again in the U.S. and California Saturday, underscoring a country that’s on multiple tracks to push back against the president as state lawyers prepare for two marquee court hearings against his administration this week and next. Nationwide, some protesters held colorful signs, chanted in unison and wore inflatable costumes. It was […]

From CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall: California cities cannot punish outreach workers for helping people who sleep on the street — even if those people live in an illegal encampment — under the terms of a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this month.  Senate Bill 634, by Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, says cities […]