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Good morning, Inequality Insights readers. I’m Wendy Fry. A Sonoma County wine grape and vegetable grower will have to pay $31,102 in back wages and $18,154 in civil penalties for violating several requirements of the federal H-2A visa program, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The H-2A program allows U.S. employers to hire temporary […]

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to combat gasoline price spikes appears headed to a long-awaited Assembly floor vote next week after passing out of committee on Thursday. But the politics of oil industry regulation are never that simple in California. To pass Assembly Bill X2-1, which would require refineries to […]

It’s crunch time on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s special session: This morning, an Assembly committee will hear — and possibly vote on — his bill that would authorize the California Energy Commission to require oil refineries to keep a minimum stock of fuel as a way to curb gasoline price spikes. That’s an argument Republican legislators […]

Many California farmworkers have long lacked safe and affordable places to sleep — an issue thrown into sharp relief after last year’s mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, which left seven agricultural workers dead.  To improve farmworker housing, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills on Tuesday at the Fresno headquarters of the nonprofit Central Valley […]

I’m back from holiday and am remaining decidedly happy to fight off any post-vacation blues. But most Californians, apparently, aren’t feeling too happy — a stark reality that the Legislature just tried to dig into. In the latest survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, most California adults (55%) said that the state is […]

I’m CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn, filling in for Lynn, who will return to your inboxes on Tuesday: Student advocacy was no match against institutional forces: The University of California Board of Regents approved the purchase of less-lethal weapons, and Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have let undocumented students work on […]

Good morning, Inequality Insights readers. I’m Wendy Fry. On the heels of a crushing loss for California’s reparations advocates, I got to speak last week with author and professor Joel Edward Goza about his latest book “Rebirth of a Nation: Reparations and Remaking America,” which is out on Sept. 24.  During our conversation, Goza and […]

I’m CalMatters Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal, and I’m in for Lynn today. From CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall: Whose fault is the California homelessness crisis?  According to Gov. Gavin Newsom, cities and counties are to blame for failing to get people off the street — despite all the money he’s given them to do so. […]

I’m CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff, and I’m subbing for Lynn today. The state Capitol would normally be fairly empty this time of year, as lawmakers scatter to their districts across California to work on constituent services or run for re-election. It is not, however, a normal year. Gov. Gavin Newsom has summoned the Legislature […]

I’m CalMatters politics intern Jenna Peterson, pinch-hitting for Lynn today.  A few weeks ago, I wrote about a bill that would let California teachers decide when to call the police on a student. When the state Senate voted against sending the bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom in the legislative session’s final days, I wondered what […]