WhatMatters

John Muir once wrote “everything is refreshed” by a summer storm in the Sierra Nevada. But then, as now, the lightning strikes that come with them pose a perennial wildfire risk. Fires raging in the Sierra foothills have burned nearly 14,000 acres, prompted evacuations and destroyed the historic Gold Rush town of Chinese Camp. Lightning […]

If you don’t want to take your medical advice from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., you’ll soon be able to consult with an alternate public health resource backed by the blue states on the West Coast.  Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Wednesday that California is joining a West Coast Health Alliance with Oregon […]

Seven years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom told Californians he wanted to be known for “audacious stretch goals” rather than being too timid.  His mental health overhaul counts as one of those, from changes that expanded coverage for mental health conditions to last year’s Proposition 1, the ballot measure that poured $6.4 billion into new mental […]

Largely out of public view and with little to no debate, lawmakers on Friday sped through hundreds of bills that had new spending attached, rejecting or stalling more than a quarter of the 686 proposals that were held in the appropriations committees’ suspense files, report CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu and Jeanne Kuang. Some notable ones […]

Scheduling note: WhatMatters will be resting for Labor Day weekend and will return to your inboxes on Tuesday. Concern over the reliability of federal job information has been growing among California economists and policy experts, after President Donald Trump fired the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner earlier this month, writes CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay. Every […]

From CalMatters politics reporter Maya C. Miller: The California Supreme Court has for the second time refused Republican lawmakers’ pleas to intervene and halt Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan, which opponents have characterized as “unconstitutional” since it undermines the state’s independent redistricting commission.  The Republican plaintiffs include Sens. Suzette Martinez Valladardes of Lancaster and Tony […]

From CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall: As California cities increasingly crack down on homeless encampments, most still lack enough shelter beds. So, in order to give people a place to go that isn’t a city street, some places are creating sanctioned camps, where people sleep on a designated lot in tents purchased by the city. […]

As President Donald Trump’s administration continues its crackdown on immigration, concerns about how medical facilities should deal with immigration enforcement agents are growing among attorneys, advocates and health workers, write CalMatters’ Ana B. Ibarra and Kristen Hwang. Immigration agents and law enforcement officers typically roll up to hospitals because someone they were detaining is suffering […]

I’m CalMatters reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn, and I’m subbing for Lynn La today. Bills to regulate artificial intelligence tools in the workplace must clear a legislative hurdle that frequently fells expensive or politically dicey legislation. As Khari Johnson reports for CalMatters, more than a half-dozen AI-themed bills are on the suspense file in the Legislature. For […]

California will hold a special election on Nov. 4 after the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom passed a legislation package Thursday greenlighting a mid-cycle redistricting effort ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, report CalMatters’ Maya C. Miller and Jeanne Kuang. What started as a terse warning in July — Newsom floated the idea of retaliating […]