WhatMatters - CalMatters

The state Capitol in Sacrament on July 6, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

The California bills on a business ‘kill list’

by Lynn La March 31, 2023March 31, 2023

From CalMatters economy reporter Grace Gedye: The California Legislature, with its Democratic supermajority, is known for passing first-in-the-nation laws that ramp up labor and consumer protections — often in the face of intense opposition from business groups. At the same time, the California Chamber of Commerce, a powerful business lobbying group, has honed a specific […]

Theresa Griffin helps students with their class work on Feb. 6, 2023. Photo by Shelby Knowles for CalMatters

Should teachers in high-poverty California schools get more pay?

by Lynn La March 30, 2023March 30, 2023

Tents line up near a fence in the Chinatown neighborhood of Fresno on Feb. 10, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela for CalMatters

Democrats stall crackdown on California homeless encampments

by Lynn La March 29, 2023March 29, 2023

Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi argues in favor of Gov. Newsom's oil profit penalty plan at the Capitol on March 27, 2023. If passed, the bill would impose a penalty on oil companies for high gas prices. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

California lawmakers OK Newsom plan that could someday cap oil industry profits

by Lynn La March 28, 2023March 28, 2023

Supporters of transgender rights gathered at the Capitol during a press conference on March 17, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

California celebrates diversity, but also confronts hate

by Lynn La March 27, 2023March 27, 2023

From left, Kathleen Navales and Delphina Garcia Penrod comfort each other while honoring their ancestors inside the cemetery at the Carmel Mission in Carmel in 2015. Photo by Michael Fiala, Reuters

Can a suicide hotline help California’s Native Americans?

by Lynn La March 24, 2023March 24, 2023

State senators discuss petroleum windfall profits penalties and whether Californians will get relief at the gas pump, at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Feb. 22, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Newsom’s oil profit penalty passes first test

by Lynn La March 23, 2023March 23, 2023

Stacy Cordova holds a framed photo of her aunt Mary Franco in Azusa on July 5, 2021. Franco was a victim of California's forced sterilization program and was sterilized when she was 13 in 1934. Photo by Jae C. Hong, AP Photo

More pain for California’s forced sterilization patients

by Lynn La March 22, 2023March 22, 2023

Voters cast their ballot at a polling station at the Sacramento County voter registration and elections office in Sacramento on Nov. 8, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Labor hits back on business-led California ballot measures

by Lynn La March 21, 2023March 21, 2023

Garbage piles at Stockton Park Village in Stockton on Nov. 22, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters.

Who’s watching out for residents of California mobile home parks?

by Lynn La March 20, 2023March 20, 2023