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Beginning Monday, 150 households in Fresno County are expected to receive a $500 prepaid card to spend on anything they’d like — no strings attached. It will be the first of 12 monthly recurring payments those Southwest Fresno and Huron residents will receive as part of a guaranteed basic income program for low-income families.  For […]

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff: After abandoning plans to place a competing measure on the November ballot, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that he would campaign against an initiative to increase penalties for some drug and theft crimes in California. Newsom accused supporters of the initiative — which would roll back provisions of Proposition […]

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, California’s Democratic leaders moved fast to shore up reproductive rights: They persuaded voters to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution, approved a dozen bills strengthening abortion protections and passed a law in May to enable Arizona doctors to temporarily provide […]

With temperatures rising and the state Legislature on break, summer is officially underway. That also means the state is seeing an influx in tourism, as folks from within and outside California pump money into the state’s restaurants, hotels and attractions. That’s something of a return to form. In May, Gov. Gavin Newsom touted California’s tourism […]

Amid a sweltering heat wave that began last week, several regions across the state shattered temperature records over the weekend. Palm Springs broke its all-time record high on Friday as temperatures climbed to 124 degrees. And on Saturday, cities in the San Joaquin Valley, as well as Death Valley where temperatures reached 128 degrees, broke […]

Scheduling note: WhatMatters is celebrating the Fourth of July and will return to your inboxes on Monday, July 8.  California lawmakers met into Wednesday night to finish the November ballot before heading off on summer vacation until Aug. 5. They sent voters two bond issues: $10 billion for climate programs (60-5 in the Assembly, 33-6 […]

Tuesday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom made a shocking U-turn: He withdrew the proposed ballot measure he and Democratic legislative leaders just announced as a smarter way to tackle retail theft and fentanyl trafficking.  Their measure was supposed to win voters’ favor over a November ballot measure backed by Republican lawmakers, law enforcement groups and prosecutors […]

California Democrats control most of the levers of power — if they stick together.  But Democratic leaders aren’t taking any chances with their ballot measure to tackle retail theft and fentanyl, which proposes less sweeping changes to Proposition 47 than a measure already on the November ballot backed by Republicans and many prosecutors.  Democrats are […]

There was no rest for the weary over the weekend, as lawmakers advanced two bonds that will likely appear on the November ballot. In five months, voters could decide whether the state can borrow $20 billion to fight climate change and repair schools. Climate change bond: Democratic leaders on Sunday said they reached an agreement […]

Good morning, Inequality Insights readers.  I’m CalMatters reporter Wendy Fry. Tuesday was one of those perfect Southern California summer days. While the beaches near La Jolla and Del Mar were packed, the coastline in San Diego’s South County was nearly empty.  That’s because more than 100 billion gallons of raw sewage had washed up from […]