WhatMatters

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 […]

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang: President Donald Trump has endorsed Republican Steve Hilton in the California governor’s race, a move that could consolidate the conservative vote and, ironically, tank the GOP’s best chances of winning the seat. With California’s top-two primary system, the eight Democratic candidates could split the vote such that the two […]

A former Republican stronghold in California has been redrawn to favor Democratic candidates — pitting Democrats against each other in a high-profile race to be the district’s next representative in Congress, report CalMatters’ Nadia Lathan and Deborah Brennan. After President Donald Trump pushed Texas Republicans to create five additional GOP seats in the U.S. House […]

Though schools are required to check children’s vision starting in kindergarten, more California kids aren’t getting the continuing vision care they need compared to years past — raising concern among health experts. As CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang reports, nationwide data suggests that at least one in four kids need glasses. But only a fraction of children […]

A lack of snowfall this past winter has California fire officials bracing for a potentially intense fire season, reports CalMatters’ Rachel Becker. State engineers conducted the annual April 1 snowpack measurement Wednesday, at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe. They reported that California’s snowpack at the end of the season was just 18% of average […]

Scheduling note: WhatMatters is honoring Farmworkers Day and will be back in your inboxes Thursday. Of all the states, California is home to the most small businesses, and has the largest immigrant population. But a recent rule change from the Small Business Administration could mean that the number of would-be owners of California restaurants, child […]

Big Tech spent $39 million to influence state politics last year, making 2025 a blockbuster year of spending for Meta, Google and other technology companies that want to push their agenda to California officials. As CalMatters’ Jeremia Kimelman explains, the upcoming election, disputes over artificial intelligence regulation and the growth of the cryptocurrency industry have […]

Last year, Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco successfully pushed two pieces of legislation limiting state transparency. Now the Downey Democrat has another bill that would make obtaining government records harder for the public. As CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu explains, Pacheco’s latest proposal would allow public agencies to charge an unspecified, uncapped fee to fulfill a public records […]

A California jury directed Google and Meta to cough up a total of $3 million Wednesday in a landmark verdict in favor of a young plaintiff whose family claimed that the companies knowingly made their social media platforms addictive to teens. As CalMatters’ Colin Lecher explains, the case is one of a spate of lawsuits that […]

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang: Ten weeks before the primary election, California Democrats still haven’t narrowed down the field of candidates enough to reduce the chances of splitting the vote so much that two Republicans make it to the ballot in November.  That’s what polling released by the Democratic Party on Tuesday showed, with […]