WhatMatters

California’s primary election is here at last — and with it a jumble of contradictions and confusing communication. First up: Erratic emails. Californians searching for information on how to cast their ballots (which you can find in CalMatters’ Voter Guide) may have been baffled by a series of Monday emails from the secretary of state’s […]

I’m back from a vacation made all the more sweet by CalMatters’ showing at the California Journalism Awards! Many thanks to Ben Christopher for his incredible job guest-hosting the newsletter. ‘Twas the night before California’s primary election, when all through the state / Barely a creature was stirring, even with the high stakes. My adaptation […]

On Thursday morning, Democratic lawmakers gathered at the western steps of the state Capitol to commemorate victims of gun violence and orate on the need for tougher gun laws — both in California and nationally.  Whatever fissures erupted into public view earlier this week in an Assembly leadership fight, almost all California Democrats seem to […]

So it begins. More than 6 million water users (that is, humans) across Southern California woke up on Wednesday to find themselves under new drought restrictions.  If you’ve been following the numbers, none of this should be surprising: As CalMatters’ tracker shows, California has been in a drought for 843 days In March, the State […]

After a weekend of lobbying, jockeying and speculating, then a flurry of parliamentary maneuvers and a six-hour closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday, California Assembly Democrats finally came to a decision about who ought to serve as speaker. The answer: The current speaker, Anthony Rendon. The announcement came not with a bang but a whimper: At […]

Et tu, Rivas? Late Friday, just as legislators — and everyone else in the state — were preparing to check out for the long holiday weekend, an earthquake rocked the California political world: Assemblymember Robert Rivas, a Salinas Democrat, announced that he had “secured enough votes” to become the next speaker of the California Assembly. […]

On Thursday, the country was still reeling from the mass murder of 19 elementary school children in Texas. In San Jose, survivors and their families commemorated the first anniversary of the San Jose railyard massacre that left nine shot dead. And in Sacramento, the California Legislature pushed forward what may be the most far-reaching pieces […]

Note: This is CalMatters political reporter Ben Christopher filling in for Emily Hoeven while she enjoys a well-deserved vacation.  Buffalo. Boulder. Aurora. Las Vegas. Orlando. San Bernardino. Sutherland Springs. Poway. Parkland. Sandy Hook. At a press conference on Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom rattled off a list of towns that have become tragic metonyms of our […]

Note: My amazing colleague Ben Christopher will be guest hosting the newsletter through June 3. I’ll see you on Monday, June 6 — just in time for California’s primary election! As news traveled around the country Tuesday of a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that left at least 22 dead — including 19 […]

With California’s June 7 primary election just two weeks away, political campaigns are intensifying — and getting more confusing.  Take this mailer circulating in Southern California, which reads, “We all want to protect the environment, increase recycling and reduce plastic waste, but adding billions of dollars in higher costs on the backs of working families […]