California Divide
California’s struggle to get food stamps to the hungry
California, which has the nation's highest poverty rate, ranks near the bottom for participation in its food stamp program, CalFresh.
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How bad is California hunger? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but is being reduced.
California Divide
California’s child poverty hits coastal Bay Area
More than 27 percent of children in Santa Cruz county live in poverty, the second-highest rate in California. Wages are lower than they are on the other "side of the hill" in the high-cost Bay Area.
California Divide
Newsom doubled down on a tax credit for the working poor. Why does he think it will work?
Gov. Gavin Newsom more than doubled the size of a four-year-old state program that puts cash back in the wallets of the working poor. Why is California’s Earned Income Tax Credit considered such an effective anti-poverty tool?
California Divide
Immigrant entrepreneurs continue to shape California’s economy
Immigrants tend to be bigger risk-takers than people born in California when it comes to starting a business. Here’s why that’s good for the economy.
California Divide
How Redding, California, became an unlikely epicenter of modern Christian culture
Some residents, saying Bethel Church's civic influence threatens the city's integrity, hand out "Don't drink the Kool-Aid" stickers.
California Divide
California housing costs push migrants away from areas providing the most help
Migrants who make it into California find support mixed with hardship. Across the border, there’s a cadre of pro bono attorneys eager to help them navigate the asylum application process. But the areas offering the most assistance also tend to have the highest cost of living.
California Divide
Judge rules Huntington Beach doesn’t need to obey ‘sanctuary law’
An Orange County Superior Court judge has ruled that California’s “sanctuary law” conflicts with Huntington Beach's rights as a charter city, throwing some protections for undocumented immigrants into question in 120 cities throughout the state.
California Divide
Becerra requests Trump administration emails, internal records about immigration crackdown
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a federal records request today for information about the impact of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy on immigrant children’s mental and physical wellbeing. The Freedom of Information Act request seeks all records related to the creation of the policy and the federal government’s determination of its ability to […]
California Divide
Trump can’t withhold federal money from ‘sanctuary’ cities, court rules
A panel of federal judges in California says Congress—not President Trump—controls the federal purse.
California Divide
What ice cream flavors can teach us about the changing California Dream
A scoop of horchata or matcha green tea would have been all but impossible to find in decades past. Now, they're part of the evolving dream for some California businesses — and the families they serve.