California Divide

Supreme Court limits California union recruiting in favor of property rights

Commercial growers celebrated the Supreme Court's decision in Cedar Point Nursery v Hassid, but farmworker unions say this will make it harder for them to access workers and advocate for their rights.

By

Kate Cimini

• June 23, 2021

California Divide

Activistas de Los Ángeles se unen al ayuno nacional por una reforma migratoria

By

Jacqueline Garcia

• June 22, 2021

California Divide

Familiares recuerdan a José Tomas Mejía, un querido activista que fue asesinado en su empleo

El inmigrante de origen salvadoreño recientemente había comprado una casa con su esposa Dora Molina.

By

Jacqueline Garcia

• June 22, 2021

California Divide

Vendedor ambulante encuentra su carrito de helados quemado

By

Jacqueline Garcia

• June 19, 2021

California Divide

‘Ellos son pacientes antes que presos’

By

Jacqueline Garcia

• June 18, 2021

Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today Los Angeles will form a reparations committee as part of a national coalition with other big city mayors. Photo by Gary Coronado, Los Angeles Times via AP/Pool

California Divide

Los Angeles, Sacramento announce reparations coalition on Juneteenth

Mayors, including Los Angeles and Sacramento, form reparations and equity coalition on new federal holiday to push for national reparations. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti also announces the formation of an advisory committee, paving the way for a local reparations pilot project.

By

Nigel Duara

• June 18, 2021

Gabriel Lopez stands for a portrait at his work at Homeboy Industries in Boyle Heights on April 19, 2021. Photo by Shae Hammond for CalMatters

California Divide

Stimulus, unemployment checks help child support debt collection hit new high

During the height of the pandemic, the state clawed stimulus and unemployment checks from parents who owe child support debt to the government. The Newsom administration put a stop to the practice by the time the second stimulus checks went out, but California still retained a record $430 million in 2020.

By

Kate Cimini

• June 17, 2021

Housing activists and rent strikers participate in a vigil for tenants who they say will not be covered by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rent relief plan at the Elihu M. Harris, State of California office building in Oakland on Jan. 29, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

California Divide

Is California still facing an eviction tsunami when the moratorium ends?

CalMatters conducted a Q&A with housing researcher Carolina Reid, who has been tracking vulnerable renters throughout the pandemic. She says the state could help renters facing eviction — if enough money gets to them in time.

By

Nigel Duara

• June 16, 2021

A Fresno-area politician wants California to prioritize struggling San Joaquin Valley farmworkers in a proposed pilot program that would put cash in the hands of some the state’s impoverished residents. Photo by Juan Esparza Loera

California Divide

Universal basic income for farmworkers? Some leaders are pushing for it

A Fresno-area politician wants California to prioritize struggling San Joaquin Valley farmworkers in a proposed pilot program that would put cash in the hands of some the state’s impoverished residents. State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Democrat from Sanger, issued a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom last week urging the state to prioritize California’s “displaced, underemployed, or unemployed […]

By

Melissa Montalvo

• June 14, 2021

Dr. Shirley Weber testifies during her confirmation hearing as Secretary of State on Jan. 26, 2021 in Sacramento. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

California Divide

California reparations committee confronts harms of slavery, debates direct payments

As California’s reparations committee embarks on a two-year process to study the harms of slavery and systemic racism, task force members will confront how a single state, which never formally sanctioned slavery, can make amends. During the first meeting, members openly grappled with whether reparations should mean direct payments or long-term investments, such as education and housing, to boost African American households.

By

Jackie Botts

• June 9, 2021

California Divide

Covering income inequality across the state