Housing

Anti-poverty advocates say there is no consistent California transportation safety net to help struggling residents afford reliable transit. Photo via Metro-Los Angeles/Flickr.

Economy

How a transportation safety net could keep more people off the streets

Discounted transit fares and subsidies for new shared mobility tech, like scooters and ride-share, could help low-income people stay on their feet.

By Meghan McCarty Carino, KPCC • September 10, 2018

Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan speaks with property owner Francisco Acosta in front of a vacant lot in West Oakland on Aug. 20, 2018. Kaplan authored a proposed tax on vacant properties to help ease homelessness in the city. Photo by Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED

Homelessness

Could this tax on vacant properties help end homelessness?

Oakland voters could approve the state’s first tax on privately owned vacant properties in November.

By Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED • September 6, 2018

Economy

Californians still really like Prop. 13—except for the big parts they don’t like

Voters will soon have a chance to touch the third rail of California politics. Here’s a breakdown of how broadly and deeply Californians love their cheap property taxes.

By Matt Levin • September 5, 2018

Sean Kayode, outside the Next Door homeless shelter in San Francisco, is suing the city—saying he lost his means of food-delivery employment and his home when his car was impounded in March for having too many parking tickets. Photo by David Gorn for CALmatters

Economy

With thousands of Californians living in vehicles, lawsuit aims to stop cities from towing their homes

A half-million vehicles a year in California are impounded and sold, many belonging to poor people living in them. A new suit aims to stop cities from towing cars with several overdue parking tickets—saying that puts people on the streets.

By David Gorn • September 3, 2018

The State Capitol in Sacramento, California, September 10, 2015. California Bills.

Explainers

Last stop: On these 2018 California bills, it’s the governor’s call

In the final days of California's 2018 legislative session, hundreds of bills landed on the governor's desk. We're tracking the fate of the most consequential here.

By CalMatters • September 1, 2018

Nereida locks up after finishing a Wednesday shift at the Los Angeles optometry shop where she works full time, Aug. 22, 2018.

Economy

Thousands of Californians are working while homeless, and many don’t want their bosses to know

California doesn't define homelessness as a protected class in the workplace.

By David Wagner, KPCC • September 1, 2018

Terry Williams, 71, lives in South Central Los Angeles and says his stomach dropped when he first got an eviction notice in July. Photo by David Gorn for CALmatters

Economy

Californians try to avoid homelessness by short-circuiting eviction

For the more than one-third of Californians living under or near the federal poverty level, eviction may be the first step toward homelessness. These projects aim to short-circuit the cycle.

By David Gorn • August 28, 2018

By some estimates, California is short more than a million rental units that are affordable and available to extremely low-income residents, and this reality is exacerbating homelessness and affecting people's ability to achieve their California Dream. | Photo by Adriene Hill

Homelessness

The shrunken California Dream: Just keeping a place to live

The California Dream media collaboration is rolling out an exploration of why people fall into homelessness—and the innovative ways governments try to help people keep their own place.

By Adriene Hill • August 24, 2018

Jenny Nguyen, with her parents Khanh Nguyen and Tammy Vo, sitting in their home in Sacramento built by Habitat for Humanity. Photo Credit: Robbie Short

Economy

A deeper dive into California homelessness

How many people in California are living on the edge of homelessness? A data dive into housing burden and housing insecurity in the state.

By Victoria Cabales • August 24, 2018

The actor Jeff Bridges. Photo by Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons.

Economy

The Lebowski property tax break

On this week's Gimme Shelter, CALmatters' podcast on California's housing crisis, data reporter Matt Levin and the Los Angeles Times' Liam Dillon talk about Liam's investigation into the unintended consequences of that 1986 initiative.

By Matt Levin • August 23, 2018