California Divide

Covering income inequality across the state

Families carry boxes full of fresh produce during a food bank event at El Verano elementary on Nov. 1, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state

How bad is California hunger? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but is being reduced.

Rya Jetha

Jeanne Kuang

and

Jeremia Kimelman

Brandy Brager, a small business owner in San Jose, poses for a portrait with her children at their home on April 1, 2021. Her children went back to school last week, but she’s working spread out hours, often into the night. “The way I think about my career changed. I had to cut my salary. My business had to take a bit of the back seat.” Photo by Dai Sugano, Bay Area News Group

California Divide

For moms, back to school is not back to normal

Women’s participation in the labor force hasn’t been this low since 1988.

Laurence Du Sault

• April 12, 2021

A group of farmworkers are photographed working underneath a machine on Abbott Street in Salinas, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021.

California Divide

Panetta Preserving Family Farms Act could keep rich ranch land within families

Kate Cimini

• April 10, 2021

California Divide

Pajaro man pleads no-contest to sexual assault on three girls

Kate Cimini

• April 6, 2021

Marlin’s Cove, a housing complex with low-income units, in Foster City on Dec. 2, 2020. Federal bonds allocated toward the construction of affordable housing across California expired in 2017 after less than half of the funds had been used. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

California Divide

How did $2.7 billion in housing bonds disappear?

An audit found an obscure state committee led by top elected officials missed spending deadlines for affordable housing bonds nearly a decade ago. Few are around to explain why.

Nigel Duara

• March 29, 2021

California is modifying the Housing for the Harvest program for farmworkers who have tested positive for COVID-19 by offering up to $1,000 in cash assistance, as well as allowing farmworkers to shelter at home, to boost participation. The expansion will launch in April for most counties. Photo by David Rodriguez, The Salinas Californian

California Divide

Newsom doubles down on sheltering farmworkers despite few takers

California is upgrading its underutilized Housing for the Harvest program to provide quarantine hotel rooms for farmworkers, in the hopes that a wage replacement and an option to shelter at home will boost participation. But is it too late?

Jackie Botts

• March 24, 2021

Cynthia Bassett stands for a portrait in her backyard in San Bernardino on March 16, 2021. Cynthia has been running a daycare at her house for 22 years. Photo by Shae Hammond for CalMatters

California Divide

Thousands of child care centers shutter, spelling bad news for California

The coronavirus pandemic has decimated child care centers in California, with many closing permanently. The consequences will adversely affect children, parents, center operators and the state economy.

Elizabeth Aguilera

• March 24, 2021

California Divide

Could these bills help California build more affordable housing?

Key legislators push duplexes, looser regulations and more money to boost housing supply.

Nigel Duara

• March 23, 2021

Vehicles including Foster Farms trucks enter and exit the Foster Farms facility located at 1000 Davis Street in Livingston, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. Photo by Andrew Kuhn, Merced Sun-Star

California Divide

Fresno health inspectors tipped off Foster Farms about state inspection amid outbreak

Emails reveal Fresno County public health officials tipped off Foster Farms executives during the county's largest-known COVID-19 workplace outbreak.

Manuela Tobias

• March 18, 2021

A sea of homes are photographed from Bayview Park in San Francisco, on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Photo by David Rodriguez, The Salinas Californian

California Divide

Small landlords left struggling when renters stop paying

Economists say small property owners have been uniquely pinched by the pandemic as renters move out or stop paying. Despite a federally mandated mortgage forbearance and $2.6 billion in rental relief from the state, some landlords who slip through the cracks wonder how much longer they can absorb the costs.

Kate Cimini

• March 17, 2021

PG&E power lines are photographed in Fremont, on Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. Photo by Anda Chu, Bay Area News Group

California Divide

Here’s why your electricity prices are high and soaring

PG&E customers pay 80% more than national average.

Laurence Du Sault

• March 12, 2021