California Divide

Guest worker outbreaks in California have sickened hundreds and killed at least one domestic worker, according to an investigation by CalMatters and The Salinas Californian. Meanwhile, harvesting companies haven’t always notified local public health departments.

A “CEO tax” targeting San Francisco’s most unequal salaries. A signature-gathering campaign to tax Palo Alto’s millionaires. And now, a new statewide bill that would levy a yearly 0.4 percent tax on every Californian worth more than $30 million. California is suddenly reckoning with an unusually heated debate over taxing the rich as the coronavirus’ economic impact […]

As the Valley’s surging infection rate has drawn national attention, Gov. Gavin Newsom is dispatching three of his coronavirus “strike teams” to the region to help local officials track COVID clusters, inspect workplaces, quarantine the sick and ramp up testing.

A loophole in the state eviction moratorium forces hundreds from their homes after shelter-in-place orders. Without clear state orders, sheriff departments decide whether to evict.

While Republicans and Democrats disagree whether President Trump's executive order for $400-a-week enhanced unemployment benefits will work, pressure mounts for both parties to act. Without an expired federal $600 weekly boost, unemployed Californians are living on the brink by making candy and emptying out their 401(k)s.

For generations, order and cleanliness had been Christina Lastra’s family’s way of fighting off poverty. But the day in July 1991 when her mother’s mysterious death was ruled an accident marked the end of the orderly life Lastra had been leading in Humboldt County. “We didn’t get peace. No one ever even thought of looking […]

Virus hot spot Imperial County went forward with eviction proceedings barred by the state judicial system.

The company “disregarded inescapable evidence of rising infection levels among its workers,” the lawsuit says.

Dozens of young adults about to age out of Santa Clara County’s foster care system were given $1,000 cash payments on Monday as part of the county’s new basic income program — the first of its kind in the nation.

Mayors for a Guaranteed Income is the brainchild of Michael Tubbs, the 29-year-old mayor of Stockton, California.