Explainers

On March 19, 2020 Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide shelter-in-place order. In response to an unprecedented public health threat, it was an equally unprecedented shuttering of day-to-day life. “This is not a permanent state,” Newsom assured us at the time. “This is a moment in time. And we will meet this moment together.” On […]

Thousands of out-of-work Californians are struggling through the most severe job crisis on record as the state tries to account for up to $31 billion in benefits lost to fraud. Here’s what went wrong — and what might come next.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is fighting for his political life. He’s working to fend off a recall that began as a far-fetched effort by Republican activists — but has turned into a credible campaign that could throw the Democrat out of office. It’s hard to fathom in this deep blue state where Newsom clobbered his 2018 […]

Erasing dozens of Trump’s climate rollbacks is Biden’s priority, and he issued directives on his first day in office. California’s air quality, wildlife, water, forests, farms — and even its light bulbs and washing machines — could be affected by new executive orders, policies and rules. But how likely are they, and when?

Lea este artículo en español. California has wholeheartedly embraced the Affordable Care Act — it advertises it, it invests in it, it protects it. It even went to court for it. And won. Today, in a 7-2 decision in California et al. v. Texas, the Supreme Court voted to reject the latest challenge to the Affordable Care […]

Lea este artículo en español. California is home to more than 9 million children, many of them hungry, poor and struggling to access health care and quality education. Child advocates were hoping for change with Gov. Gavin Newsom and his attention to early childhood development and education, plans for universal preschool and desire to give extra […]

In a year when the coronavirus pandemic upended every aspect of normal life, the impact in the California Capitol was also dramatic. Lawmakers took an unprecedented two-month pause in the spring, when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide order for people to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus. They returned to the […]

More than 7.6 million Californians have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic triggered a recession. Navigating the assistance program has been filled with frustration.

California's pandemic safety net programs are straining under overwhelming demand. So did Gov. Gavin Newsom overpromise or underdeliver?

Now that the coronavirus has turned Election Day into a latent superspreader event, the state’s Democratic lawmakers are making the 2020 general election an (almost) all-mail affair. Here's what that might look like.