Newsletters

I’m CalMatters Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal, in for Lynn. You can call it advocacy, or influence peddling or the more neutral lobbying. But whatever the name, it can help determine the fate of key legislation — and it’s a big business at the state Capitol. How big? Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, more than […]

I’m CalMatters politics reporter Yue Stella Yu subbing for Lynn. Most of us can now insert, swipe or tap our bank-issued credit or debit card.  But for Electronic Benefits Transfer card users — in California and across the nation — they can only swipe the cards to access benefits. Without a security chip, experts say […]

From CalMatters investigative reporter Lauren Hepler: You think you know the story: As pandemic shutdowns rocked California, the state’s unemployment system came unglued, delaying millions of payments and allowing massive fraud. But now, as the California Employment Development Department begins an unprecedented five-year, $1.2 billion overhaul, a year-long CalMatters investigation uses internal documents to tell […]

I’m CalMatters politics reporter Yue Stella Yu subbing for Lynn. A key part of CalMatters’ mission of explaining California policy and politics is to be a forum for reasoned and diverse voices on the biggest issues facing the state.  Today, we elevate that priority with the launch of California Voices, an expanded and reimagined commentary […]

I’m CalMatters Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal subbing for Lynn. Remember when California’s transit agencies were barreling towards a “fiscal cliff’?  In June, the Legislature and governor agreed to a $5 billion lifeline in the budget as transit agencies’ ridership slowly recovered from the COVID shutdowns. You might also recall that the deal took some convincing […]

Yes, the headline race in California’s 2024 election is the first open U.S. Senate seat in 30 years.  But voters should also pay attention to the U.S. House: California helped flip control to Republicans in 2022 (and the speakership went from Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco to Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, until he was deposed […]

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff:  As he toured a wind turbine factory in China’s Jiangsu province last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the owner showed him a video of the famous wind farm in Livermore’s Altamont Pass. It was what had inspired the man to get into the turbine business, according to the governor […]

From CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn:  The faculty union of California State University overwhelmingly approved a strike authorization, giving its leadership the green light to pull as many as 29,000 instructors from educating the more than 400,000 students in the nation’s largest public four-year university system.  The California Faculty Association said Monday that 95% […]

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal:   Normally an election to set up a fire district and fill one school board seat in a county with just 112,000 registered voters wouldn’t get statewide attention.  But the Nov. 7 election in Shasta County is far from normal and will be closely watched — including by the Secretary […]

From CalMatters state Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff: Coming soon to California: a diversity reporting mandate for venture capital firms. Not coming soon to California: a diversity reporting mandate for Gov. Gavin Newsom. As the bill signing period wrapped up earlier this month, Newsom approved a measure that will force venture capital firms operating in California […]