WhatMatters

Last week the Northern California beach town of Santa Cruz enacted a tax on sodas, ice teas and other beverages with added sugar. Voters approved the 2-cent-per-ounce tax in November, despite the beverage industry pouring at least $1.2 million in opposition. Besides generating an estimated $1.3 million for the city, the tax aims to curb […]

As nonprofits, programs and advocates across the country brace for deep cuts from President Donald Trump and his administration during this year’s budget process, one popular early childhood program appears to be safe, writes CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones. The 60-year-old Head Start program provides low-income families early childhood education, meals and parenting support. Last year it […]

After striking for nearly half a year, the union representing Kaiser Permanente mental health workers in Southern California said earlier this week that it has reached a tentative agreement with the company, and expects to vote on the new labor contract Thursday.  But the possible conclusion of a record-breaking work stoppage is not the only […]

State lawmakers pushing their bills through committee hearings often invite people to testify how their lives have been affected by the issue at hand. Christine Matlock Dougherty made an impression on lawmakers and witnesses recently as she advocated for two health care bills related to insurance coverage.  As CalMatters’ Jocelyn Wiener explains, Dougherty’s 23-year-old son, […]

Five months after Democratic legislative leaders urged their colleagues to focus on bills that would make California more affordable, lawmakers don’t have much to show for it. As CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu explains, last week Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas of Salinas unveiled four new select committees — which are essentially working groups tasked with addressing […]

California is home to roughly 187,000 unhoused people. But for every homeless resident, there may be a concerned parent, sibling or offspring wondering where their loved one is, whether they’re in danger and how they’re getting along living on the streets. Two concerned relatives saw their loved ones quoted in an October CalMatters article and […]

Let’s dive into some immigration news: Join CalMatters and Evident in San Francisco today for a screening of Operation: Return to Sender, a short documentary uncovering what really happened during a three-day Border Patrol raid in Bakersfield. After the film, CalMatters’ Sergio Olmos and others will discuss what the team uncovered and what it means […]

About 4 million Californians live in what Cal Fire categorizes as “high” or “very high” fire danger zones. With the state’s ongoing housing crunch, our penchant to build and rebuild homes in high-risk areas also won’t stop anytime soon. Following the deadly Los Angeles County wildfires, home hardening — or the process of making homes […]

In California and across the country there’s a growing push to minimize the role police play when someone is in the throes of a mental health crisis. Too often, those incidents can result in the person being injured by police — and a federal court ruling has inspired fresh police concerns about their liability. Sacramento […]

In the aftermath of the deadly January Los Angeles County wildfires, Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to L.A. and Washington, D.C. to lobby President Donald Trump and members of Congress for federal aid.  But three months later, Congress has yet to move on Newsom’s $40 billion request, reports CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff. Meanwhile, frustrations from Democratic voters […]