California Divide

Covering income inequality across the state

Families carry boxes full of fresh produce during a food bank event at El Verano elementary on Nov. 1, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

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.

Rya Jetha

Jeanne Kuang

and

Jeremia Kimelman

A person with pants, but no shirt, fills their water bottle during a hot day at a water station at a tennis court.

Climate Change

More extreme heat + more people = danger in these California cities. ‘Will it get as hot as Death Valley?’

Inland communities with big population booms will experience the most extreme heat days under climate change projections. The combination puts more people at risk — and many cities are unprepared.

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

and

Arfa Momin

• September 5, 2024

A person in grey slacks, black boots and a black shirt stands in the corridor between two buildings. Dramatic light causes and interesting contrast of light and shadows.

Technology

Semiconductor industry seeks apprentices to meet the rising need for workers

Through conferences, grants, and other mechanisms, the SEMI Foundation has been trying to fill the increasing number of semiconductor jobs in California.

Alisha Green

• September 4, 2024

State Sen. Steven Bradford speaks during a Q-and-A session at the State of Black California Tour at Crawford High School in San Diego on June 15, 2024. Photo by Kristian Carreon for CalMatters

California Divide

Two historic California reparations bills stall out — sparing Newsom a tough political call

A last-minute protest failed to win the Senate-approved bills a chance to be voted on in the Assembly. The chair of the Black Caucus promised they would be re-introduced next year, and called reparations "a multi-year effort."

Wendy Fry

Alexei Koseff

and

Sameea Kamal

• August 31, 2024

A black and white patrol vehicle pulls into the California Highway Patrol office on its right.

Justice

Newsom’s hands-on approach to crime in California cities gains critics in Oakland

Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken to using state resources to fight crime on a local level. Not everyone in the cities he’s taken an interest in is thrilled with the results.

Felicia Mello

• August 26, 2024

The California Supreme Court during a court session at the Ronald Reagan State Office Building in Los Angeles on April. 3, 2024. Photo by Damian Dovarganes, AP Photo

Justice

California law helps tribes keep kids out of foster care. A new court ruling strengthens their hand

California child welfare agencies must investigate claims of Native American ancestry before separating a family, the California Supreme Court stressed in a new ruling that affects several contested cases.

Shaanth Nanguneri

• August 21, 2024

Maria Maldonado, CFFWU Statewide Field Director, leads a panel at the California Fast Food Workers Union SEIU Membership Launch Event in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, 2024. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters

Politics

Californians will vote on a $18 minimum wage. Workers already want $25 and more

Proposition 32 to increase the minimum wage from $16 to $18 isn’t as far-reaching as when it was first proposed. Fast food workers are already making more, and health care employees are on track. But worker groups are already pushing for more.

Jeanne Kuang

• August 14, 2024

A farmworker, wearing a cowboy hat, blue plaid shirt and blue jean, stands near a fence at City Park in Winters on June 10, 2024. Photo by Laure Andrillon for CalMatters

California Divide

Californians say they were fired for leaving their jobs in sweltering heat. Is the state on their side?

While California has rules to protect farmworkers from excessive heat, inspections and citations are significantly down. A bill before the Legislature would make it easier to file workers’ compensation claims for heat illnesses.

Jeanne Kuang

• August 7, 2024

A house is surrounded in a construction tarp.

California Divide

‘Affordable housing for another generation’: California trusts pull properties off the market

California community land trusts – which buy land and sell or rent the buildings on it to low-income residents— have tripled.

Felicia Mello

• August 2, 2024

Dust particles fill the air with low sunlight filling the sky. A desert landscape with mountains in the background.

Environment

Danger in the dust: Coachella Valley residents struggle to breathe

A hazardous haze, made up of small, inhalable particles, casts a pall over the desert. This year has been severe, triggering asthma attacks — so what is being done to clean it up?

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

• August 1, 2024

An unaccompanied migrant child seeking asylum, is registered by a border patrol agent after she crossed the Rio Grande river from Mexico into Roma, Texas on May 14, 2022. Photo by Adrees Latif, Reuters

California Divide

California helped this teen fight deportation. Now the program is on the chopping block

State funds to legally advocate for unaccompanied immigrant children could soon dry up.

Wendy Fry

• July 30, 2024