WhatMatters

Rural hospitals across the state — and country — are in trouble, urgently. Labor and supplies are getting more expensive. Federal Medicaid cuts are projected to cut into their revenues.  And places like Inyo County, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, face the prospect of having to close key medical facilities. Southern Inyo […]

Modoc County, meet Marin County. It might be your new political boss.  A ranching region along the Oregon border with just 8,500 residents, Modoc flies flags advocating secession from California. Now, if Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new redistricting plan goes through, Modoc would instead get pulled into the heart of liberal California.  CalMatters political reporter Jeanne […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom has a lot of decisions to make over the next month.  His desk is stacked high with hundreds of bills recently passed by the state Legislature in the session that just ended this weekend. With the stroke of his pen, those bills would become law.  Our reporting team has created this tracker […]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vocally pushed a fight against chronic health issues like obesity and heart disease. Yet, because of federal cuts, most county health departments will shut down nutrition programs focused on teaching low-income families how to stretch their food stamp dollars and cook healthier food. As Kristen Hwang reports, Kern County eliminated […]

The California Legislature’s long, busy and contentious session drew to a close this weekend. Here’s what you need to know:  The Legislature is now out of session until January.  For a review of the entire session, read Yue Stella Yu and Jeanne Kuang’s rundown of how lawmakers delivered major wins on climate, housing and labor […]

After a summer characterized by masked federal agents detaining immigrants in Los Angeles, the California Legislature passed two measures Thursday that seek to force law enforcement officers to identify themselves. Senate Bills 627 and 805 were among the most controversial to pass in the final days of this year’s legislative session. They would ban local, […]

California Democrats and Republicans alike offered their condolences following the news that Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and supporter of President Donald Trump, died Wednesday after being shot at a university event in Utah. Gov. Gavin Newsom — who spoke with Kirk in March on the first episode of his “This is Gavin Newsom” […]

In the town that saw California’s deadliest wildfire seven years ago, a state-of-the-art elementary school is rising. It’ll have a STEM lab, soccer field and outdoor stage — manifestations of Paradise’s hopes for its future. But while breaking ground and constructing a new 46,000-square-foot campus is one achievement, the road to recovery for the students […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to “continue fighting” after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted restrictions on immigration raids in Los Angeles, but the state might not have many options.  California Attorney General Rob Bonta acknowledged as much during a press conference Monday where he said he was disappointed in the decision but added that he respects […]

Nearly 100 special interest groups spent more than $820,000 last year to send California legislators to far-off places such as Hawaii, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and Israel, writes CalMatters’ Jeremia Kimelman.  About three-quarters of the Legislature, or 92 Democratic and Republican lawmakers, were recipients of free trips, according to financial disclosure reports. Similar to years […]