WhatMatters

Proponents of a huge water project are claiming victory after the $20 billion tunnel largely cleared a key hurdle last week. But the massive construction — known as the Delta tunnel — is still mired in controversy, and many roadblocks lay ahead, writes CalMatters’ Rachel Becker. To shore up state water supplies, the Delta tunnel […]

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a congressional voting map in Louisiana, adding a new wrinkle to the multistate gerrymandering war, report CalMatters’ Nigel Duara and Maya C. Miller. On Wednesday the high court upheld an earlier ruling by a federal district court rejecting a 2024 voting map that was redrawn to give Louisiana a […]

Republican-led concerns of alleged widespread Medicare fraud underscore the recent spate of hospice fraud cases in California. But what does hospice fraud entail and how can you protect yourself? As CalMatters’ Ana B. Ibarra explains, there are numerous types of hospice fraud. It can be as simple as providers knowingly overbilling Medicare and Medi-Cal, or […]

In a move immigration and privacy advocates call a “betrayal,” California is preparing to share detailed information about its driver’s license holders with an outside organization. That includes information on unauthorized immigrants — despite a decade-old state law prohibiting it from doing so. As CalMatters’ Khari Johnson and Wendy Fry explain, under a 2013 law […]

Come November, California voters will elect the state’s next insurance commissioner. The race comes at a time when California is grappling with an ongoing insurance market crisis, increasing fire hazards intensified by climate change and the aftermath of 2025’s Los Angeles-area wildfires. CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay spoke with the five candidates who raised the most money […]

A bill that would extend privacy protections for people who provide legal, health care and other aid to immigrants is facing intense pushback from Republican legislators who say the proposal threatens journalists trying to uncover government fraud. Assembly Bill 2624 would expand the eligibility for California’s Safe at Home Program to immigration service providers. Established […]

A federal appeals court struck down one of California’s signature laws challenging the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, and the ruling does not bode well for future measures. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld an injunction prohibiting the state from requiring federal immigration agents to readily identify themselves, a law that Democrats passed […]

Should someone’s work in immigration enforcement during the Trump administration preclude them from having a job in California civil service? Many California Democrats, alarmed by the administration’s aggressive immigration tactics, are prepared to take that step. On a party line vote, legislators in the state Senate’s public safety committee passed a bill Tuesday that would […]

Using years of internal emails, reporters Anat Rubin and Jessica Pishko have traced the development of the 4-year-old case that ultimately led to Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s unprecedented seizure of 650,000 ballots in March. The emails show that: The emails “reveal that his sprawling investigation was based on the thinnest of evidence, and raise […]

Smaller California school districts — especially ones in isolated, rural areas — cost taxpayers way more money per student. But as school enrollment declines across the state, closing these small districts could risk upending entire communities, writes CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones. California has over 1,000 school districts and spends an average of $23,000 per K-12 student. […]