WhatMatters

Good morning, California. It’s Monday, August 3. Online learning plans up in air A week before some California districts start school, many parents remain in the dark about what online learning will look like as teachers unions and districts negotiate instruction plans — in some cases behind closed doors. Major points of contention include the […]

With federal unemployment benefits of $600 per week set to expire today and nearly 1 million claims backlogged at California’s unemployment department, millions of Californians are teetering on the edge of a financial cliff — and increasingly desperate for answers from elected officials. State lawmakers on Thursday eviscerated the beleaguered agency for leaving many residents […]

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, July 30. State, counties, cities take hard stance Enforcement of coronavirus orders is ramping up across California as the state broke its single-day record for deaths twice this week amid a series of outbreaks in essential workplaces. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday withheld federal coronavirus relief funds from two Central […]

Good morning, California. It’s Wednesday, July 29. Could lose billons of $, thousands of jobs California has a lot riding on federal unemployment benefits set to expire this week. The Golden State could sink even deeper into recession and lose thousands more jobs if the Republican proposal to decrease weekly benefits from $600 to $200 […]

Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, July 28. Democrats unveil $100 billion plan State lawmakers have just five weeks to come up with solutions to massive pandemic-related problems and prevent Californians of all stripes — tenants, landlords, small-business owners, essential workers — from falling off the edge of a cliff. Will they be able to do […]

Good morning, California. It’s Monday, July 27. Government buildings targeted Peaceful protests against racism, police brutality and the intervention of federal agents in Portland, Ore. splintered over the weekend into destruction, vandalism and violence. Protests in Oakland, Los Angeles and Sacramento resulted in numerous arrests and hospitalizations, further inflaming tension between law enforcement and demonstrators. […]

With a series of temporary protections that helped Californians get through the first few months of the pandemic set to expire soon, Gov. Gavin Newsom hinted he will today extend some programs in another flex of executive power. Additional federal unemployment benefits of $600 per week end July 31, foreshadowing a wave of evictions and […]

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, July 23. Sent 17 million masks to other states California is burning through 46 million masks a month even as hospital systems and frontline workers face shortages, leading Gov. Gavin Newsom to ink another multimillion-dollar mask contract with plans to strike an even larger deal in the next few months. […]

Good morning, California. It’s Wednesday, July 22. A metropolitan exodus? Many tech employees may never return to their offices in San Francisco or Silicon Valley as jobs go and stay remote, presaging a massive political and cultural shift as workers flee from crowded, expensive cities to quieter, cheaper parts of California.  Two-thirds of Bay Area […]

Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, July 21. Top California lawmakers push back Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf lambasted President Donald Trump Monday for suggesting he might send federal agents into Oakland to quell civil unrest, ratcheting up tensions between California and the federal government.  Trump on Monday threatened to send federal law […]