California Divide

The controversial idea of cash reparations divided even Black advocates in the legislature this year. Here’s what’s next.

The Equity in Infrastructure Project has helped companies like Global Electric as billions of federal dollars flow into California infrastructure projects.

Inland communities with big population booms will experience the most extreme heat days under climate change projections. The combination puts more people at risk — and many cities are unprepared.

Through conferences, grants, and other mechanisms, the SEMI Foundation has been trying to fill the increasing number of semiconductor jobs in California.

A last-minute protest failed to win the Senate-approved bills a chance to be voted on in the Assembly. The chair of the Black Caucus promised they would be re-introduced next year, and called reparations "a multi-year effort."

Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken to using state resources to fight crime on a local level. Not everyone in the cities he’s taken an interest in is thrilled with the results.

California child welfare agencies must investigate claims of Native American ancestry before separating a family, the California Supreme Court stressed in a new ruling that affects several contested cases.

Proposition 32 to increase the minimum wage from $16 to $18 isn’t as far-reaching as when it was first proposed. Fast food workers are already making more, and health care employees are on track. But worker groups are already pushing for more.

While California has rules to protect farmworkers from excessive heat, inspections and citations are significantly down. A bill before the Legislature would make it easier to file workers’ compensation claims for heat illnesses.

California community land trusts – which buy land and sell or rent the buildings on it to low-income residents— have tripled.