Explainers - CalMatters

The Los Angeles Aqueduct Cascades in Sylmar, California in 2015. The aqueducts bring water 223 miles from the Owens River in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, and 137 miles from the Haiwee Reservoir, and are a major source of water for Los Angeles. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Danger in Droughtsville: California’s urban water at risk

by Erica Yee December 21, 2021December 16, 2021

California cities face an array of crippling threats to water supplies: rising seas, extreme weather, drought, contamination, quakes, fires.

Gov. Gavin Newsom prepares to speak at a press conference to announce a new requirement for all school teachers and employees to show proof of vaccination or to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing, at Carl B. Munck Elementary School in Oakland on Aug. 11, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Gavin Newsom report card: What he has done, and what he hasn’t

by Ben Christopher and Sameea Kamal July 21, 2021July 21, 2021

A recall Newsom volunteer carries a sign during a petition signing event at SaveMart in Sacramento on Jan. 5, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Who’s running in Newsom recall? Politicians, activists, Californians of all stripes

by Laurel Rosenhall and Sameea Kamal July 17, 2021September 3, 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has changed Californians in hundreds of ways in the past year. Many of those changes left data trails. Illustration by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters; iStock

Fewer jobs, more wine: California’s deadly COVID year in 9 charts

by Jeremia Kimelman and Ben Christopher March 17, 2021April 20, 2021

California’s unemployment crisis, explained

by Lauren Hepler February 24, 2021April 10, 2021

Recall Newsom volunteer Pat Miller holds up a sign during petition-signing event at SaveMart in Sacramento on Jan. 5, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Recalling a California governor, explained

by Laurel Rosenhall January 27, 2021October 1, 2021

A brown pelican — a species that recovered from near-extinction after being protected by the Endangered Species Act — flies above Malibu Lagoon on Jan. 12, 21. Photo by Shae Hammond for CalMatters

What Biden’s presidency means for California’s environment

by Julie Cart and Rachel Becker January 25, 2021February 9, 2021

California fought for Obamacare and won. What’s at stake?

by Ana B. Ibarra November 10, 2020September 28, 2021

California has fewer children, but they face greater challenges — from poverty to COVID. Image via iStock

Children and Youth

The hurdles facing California kids, explained

by Elizabeth Aguilera September 21, 2020January 22, 2021

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

The final say: Gov. Newsom has decided which of these 2020 bills will be California law

by CalMatters August 31, 2020October 2, 2020