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The California Legislature is in its (sometimes) frantic final week, racing to pass bills by the Saturday deadline.  Monday, lawmakers pulled some last-minute maneuvering to extend the time allowed for floor amendments (the deadline was last Friday) to five bills, including ones on paid family leave, mental competency of defendants and environmental reviews of hydrogen […]

The March closure of California’s first licensed and accredited birth center underscores not only the state’s “de facto ban” on licensing birth centers (as one lobbyist put it), but also the uphill battle expectant mothers in California face when seeking the health care they need. In the past decade, nearly 50 maternity wards have closed […]

Dear Inequality Insights readers, San Diego port officials hired a contractor to clear out a waterfront homeless encampment last week where about a dozen asylum seekers were living. For months, asylum seekers had been camping in the César Chávez Park in Barrio Logan, but the port’s Harbor Police told them they had to leave or […]

In the biggest speech of her political career so far, Vice President Kamala Harris told Americans Thursday night that she will bring the country together, build the middle class and govern with common sense.  “With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the […]

Speaker after speaker at the Democratic National Convention has praised Kamala Harris’ record in California. And when the vice president delivers the biggest speech of her life tonight, she’ll likely lean into her home state accomplishments, even though some voters may still be skittish about her California-ness. CalMatters has been looking at that record — […]

From CalMatters community college reporter Adam Echelman:  Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to train more Californians for “good-paying, long-lasting, and fulfilling careers,” he said last year, announcing his intent to create a Master Plan for Career Education.  But many students in one of the largest job training programs in the state end up in low-paying industries, […]

Day one of the Democratic National Convention focused on President Joe Biden’s legacy and smoothly passing the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, who made a surprise appearance Monday night on stage to rapturous applause. But that script isn’t being followed by everyone.  As CalMatters’ Sameea Kamal reports from Chicago, protesters outside the convention hall […]

Now that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a spate of retail theft bills pushed by Democratic leaders, some Democrats are primed to champion the legislation and oppose a separate crime ballot measure, Proposition 36. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas plans to promote the 10 new laws today in Salinas, alongside police officers, business leaders and […]

Happy Friday, Inequality Insights readers, thanks for reading. In case you missed it, California Divide’s Felicia Mello wrote earlier this month about California community land trusts. These organizations buy land and then sell or rent the buildings on it to low-income residents. According to the California Community Land Trust Network, their numbers have tripled in […]

With 830 bills in the dreaded Senate and Assembly suspense files, legislators were busy Thursday killing about a third of them, write CalMatters Capitol reporters Sameea Kamal and Jeanne Kuang. Bills that got the ax included a handful of high-profile crime measures: After the appropriations committees finished, more than 500 bills are still alive. But […]