Economy

We are excited to launch a new project about California’s pension debt crisis that is a collaboration between CALmatters, the Los Angeles Times and Capital Public Radio.    In print, online and over the airwaves, this series will explore the consequences of a historic expansion of retirement benefits for California public employees. A series of […]

In civil liberties circles, she is known by the pseudonym of Elizabeth James—a retiree from the phone company who was contemplating a cross-country trip with her machinist husband. The two had worked for decades, raising two children and caring for her developmentally disabled sister, who lived in a home the couple had bought and remodeled […]

Review state measures granting rights, opportunities and protections to undocumented immigrants.   Highlights of state measures granting unauthorized immigrants rights, protections and opportunities. 1996 Prenatal care available for all low-income residents, regardless of legal status. 2001 In-state tuition at public universities approved for undocumented students who attend high school in California for three or more […]

In Sacramento, right outside California’s gleaming state Capitol, dozens of homeless people live on the streets. Here is Debbie Bartley, a grandmother who was one of them until last year. She now ekes by selling a street publication, helping others who still live on the edge. Read more about Debbie’s story here. At the corner […]

The Capitol dome looms over downtown Sacramento, a magnet for money and power. Shiny-shoed politicians and well-dressed lobbyists hustle toward the building where billion-dollar decisions are made. Nearby shops sell fine cigars and custom suits. A bar serves $16 martinis. But the streets that surround this regal building also are home to some of Sacramento’s […]

Students speak on how their lives have changed since an executive order by President Obama and policies by California lawmakers. Efrain Carrillo

As the presidential election generates a heated national debate about immigration, California is ploughing ahead with policies to integrate undocumented immigrants, most recently, by expanding healthcare access. “It’s one of the most dramatic turnarounds in California political history,” said Daniel Zingale, senior vice president of the California Endowment, a nonprofit health foundation, about undocumented kids […]

A month after taking over as the California Assembly’s Republican leader, Chad Mayes brought his caucus to a shelter for homeless mothers. The lawmakers listened as women shared stories of drug abuse and recovery. They poked their heads into rooms crowded with bunk beds. They greeted children bouncing balls on the playground. “It’s important to […]

With wages stagnant, inequality growing, and Washington, D.C., gridlocked, states and cities are taking matters into their own hands by raising the minimum wage.  Before 2012, only five local governments in the United States had their own minimum wage laws; now about 30 do.  At the forefront are 15 California cities and counties, the largest […]

Surrounded by city and union officials at a Labor Day rally in South Los Angeles last year, Mayor Eric Garcetti proposed raising the city’s minimum wage to $13.25 per hour by the end of the decade — a plan he said would significantly help low-income workers in Los Angeles while placing minimal burden on employers. […]