WhatMatters

Three bills that would boost benefits and pay for California police officers and firefighters are wending their way through the Legislature with bipartisan support. But in a limited state budget year, their potentially high price tags might make them a tough sell to Gov. Gavin Newsom, reports CalMatters’ Adam Ashton. The Senate’s appropriations committee later […]

When people in California talk about mental health and homelessness, it’s usually the sickest people who come to mind: Those living on the street in the grip of psychosis.  But conditions such as depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder actually are far more common among homeless Californians. While less visible, those conditions can be […]

Southern California air regulators can move forward with new limits on the sale of certain gas-powered appliances, including water heaters. Despite pushback from businesses and developers, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling last week upheld restrictions on commercial and industrial gas appliances in four Los Angeles-area counties. The ruling directly affects […]

As the Republican candidate for California governor, Steve Hilton has a steep mountain to climb. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans almost two-to-one, and the majority of California voters disapprove of President Donald Trump, who endorsed Hilton. Nevertheless, Hilton hopes to be the first Republican to hold statewide office in 20 years. But who is Hilton and […]

Scheduling note: WhatMatters is celebrating the Fourth of July and will return to your inboxes Monday. A year and a half after deadly wildfires ripped through Southern California, state lawmakers are asking what kind of regulations they should impose to support people who want to rebuild. One method is meant to empower regulators to block […]

California immigrant families could breathe a sigh of relief Tuesday, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to end the constitutionally guaranteed right of birthright citizenship. On the first day of Trump’s second term, the president issued an executive order declaring that a person born in the U.S. was not a citizen […]

In 2020, Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Sea Grant launched a fishing apprenticeship, aimed at shoring up the ranks of San Diego’s declining commercial fishing fleet. Instead, the program revealed just how tenuous the industry has become. Once known as the tuna capital of the world and employing more than 40,000 people, the fleet dwindled to […]

Two days before the fiscal year kicks off on Wednesday, state lawmakers today are poised to approve a budget agreement between Democratic legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Democrats say the plan — Newsom’s last as California governor — balances the state’s budget through 2028, and includes $351 billion in spending for 2026-27. This means […]

Seasoned Californians by now should be used to various bans on single-use plastics, like grocery bags, straws and food packaging, in an attempt by the state to curb environmental waste. But one proposal to ban single-use nicotine vapes ranks waste as a secondary concern. Instead, bill proponents argue that banning disposable electronic cigarettes — better […]

If at first you don’t succeed in your plan to build a new city from scratch, try again with a pair of the state Capitol’s best known dealmakers of this century. That’s essentially the new tactic a group of tech billionaires is using in its decade-long effort to turn an underdeveloped stretch of Solano County […]