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Back in July, when criticism over the Assembly public safety committee’s decision to stall a bill to increase penalties for child sex trafficking was at an all-time high, Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer told reporters that he was used to pushback: “I’ve been chair of public safety for quite some time. I leave the Assembly pretty soon, […]

Scheduling note: WhatMatters will be away for Thanksgiving and will return to your inboxes on Monday, Nov. 27. The frustrations of those calling for a ceasefire in Gaza boiled over in protests that shut down the California Democratic Party convention over the weekend. But the activism has been building since Israel started retaliating for the […]

Silicon Valley tech companies have been rocked with some boardroom drama these past few days, not long after top tech executives descended upon San Francisco during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last week. Sam Altman, who participated in a panel discussion at APEC alongside execs from Google and Meta, was ousted as OpenAI CEO by […]

With California Democratic Party Chairperson Rusty Hicks characterizing the split vote as “a benefit of riches,” the party failed to endorse a candidate in the March 5 primary for the state’s next U.S. senator, reports CalMatters politics reporter Yue Stella Yu. None of the leading candidates won the 60% share of delegate votes needed to […]

From CalMatters politics reporter Yue Stella Yu: Voters have to wait until early February to pick their candidates in the March 5 primary.  But for California Democratic Party delegates, decision time is now.  Welcome to the endorsement convention this weekend in Sacramento for the nation’s biggest statewide party.  The party will set its agenda for […]

With emotions running high over the Gaza war, University of California regents met Wednesday with a crucial item on the agenda: How to respond to the antisemitism and Islamophobia that have rocked college campuses since Oct. 7, the day Hamas attacked Israel, followed by Israel’s military operations in response. The result of the debate: A […]

From CalMatters’ health reporter Ana B. Ibarra: Maternity wards across the country are closing at an alarming rate, including in the Golden State. This year alone, 11 California hospitals closed or indefinitely suspended their labor and delivery departments.  These hospitals include: El Centro Regional Medical Center in Imperial County, Doctors Hospital in Manteca in San […]

As the Israel-Hamas war rages on and more Palestinian civilians die in Gaza, the response is getting louder, especially on California’s college campuses.  CalMatters’ higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn takes a deep dive into the tensions, fears and free speech debates surrounding the students who are vocal supporters of Israel and Palestine. Last week at […]

In the legislative session’s waning days, California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom approved deals for two major pay increases for healthcare and fast food employees. But the cost to employers and the impact on the broader economy is only now starting to become clearer. The minimum wage hike for healthcare workers won passage without a […]

From CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn:  The faculty union of the California State University plans to hold one-day strikes at four campuses in early December, significantly ratcheting up their pressure on the nation’s largest four-year public university to secure 12% raises and other key concessions. The planned dates and campuses are: Those schools, which […]