WhatMatters

Using years of internal emails, reporters Anat Rubin and Jessica Pishko have traced the development of the 4-year-old case that ultimately led to Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s unprecedented seizure of 650,000 ballots in March. The emails show that: The emails “reveal that his sprawling investigation was based on the thinnest of evidence, and raise […]

Smaller California school districts — especially ones in isolated, rural areas — cost taxpayers way more money per student. But as school enrollment declines across the state, closing these small districts could risk upending entire communities, writes CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones. California has over 1,000 school districts and spends an average of $23,000 per K-12 student. […]

A bill to protect people on online dating apps from violence has critics arguing that the measure would put a “scarlet letter” on certain users. But that’s a feature, not a bug in the proposal.  The Senate’s public safety committee this week passed a bill that would require online dating services to run criminal background […]

A bill intended to protect the identities of patients who have had abortions or received gender-affirming care in California may wind up getting hospitals in hot water for violating federal law if passed. As CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow and Kristen Hwang explain, the proposal would require medical providers or businesses to contact the California attorney general […]

For years, some Central Valley residents have been terrorized by a transnational crime network with threats of violence and extortion. But for those outside the Indian and Punjabi Sikh communities, this campaign of fear has remained largely invisible, writes Gagandeep Singh for CalMatters. In May 2024 the FBI Sacramento field office began urging members of […]

The idea of taxing the rich has gained steam among California progressives and health care advocates as the cost of living continues to rise and federal funding cuts are projected to render health care more inaccessible to the poor. But while taxing the rich to cover missing federal health funding might be popular messaging, backfilling […]

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell — a Bay Area congressmember and one of the leading candidates for California governor — suspended his campaign Sunday, after allegations that he sexually assaulted a former congressional staffer arose last week, reports CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang.  His decision to end his bid came days after reports from CNN and the San […]

A Riverside County Judge this week unsealed the search warrants the county’s sheriff, Chad Bianco, used to seize voting ballots from last year’s special election — enabling the public to see what evidence Bianco cited to justify what he described as a “fact-finding mission” on election accuracy. So what do the warrants reveal? As CalMatters […]

Last month, CalMatters exposed how a fiduciary in Ventura County directed $2.7 million from her elderly clients to her husband’s health care company. A judge has already begun unwinding the conflicts.  Now, investigative reporter Byrhonda Lyons is back with her second story in the series, this time digging deep into the state agency that’s supposed […]

In a rare showing of bipartisanship, Republicans in the Assembly’s public safety committee are backing a tough-on-crime bill authored by a Democrat. On Tuesday the committee advanced a measure by Elk Grove Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen that would raise the parole eligibility requirements for some elderly prisoners. Currently, incarcerated people ages 50 and up who have […]