WhatMatters

California officials and lawmakers, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, often make bold proclamations that promise to make residents’ lives easier. But for two recent state initiatives, CalMatters reporters found that so far, affected Californians are still waiting for results: Fast food council: Gov. Newsom signed a law in 2023 that raised the minimum wage for fast […]

In the past few months, some Democratic state legislators have joined the reported exodus of users on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. These include Assemblymembers Tina McKinnor of Inglewood, Marc Berman of Palo Alto and Akilah Weber Pierson of San Diego. The most recent is Sen. Scott Wiener, who on Wednesday […]

Eight months ago the U.S. Supreme Court granted cities more authority to clear homeless encampments and arrest unhoused people for sleeping in public spaces. Since then, several cities across California have been ramping up efforts to sweep encampments, or pass more punitive anti-camping rules. But for those who have little say in high-profile court cases […]

From CalMatters local news fellow Cayla Mihalovich: California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36, a new law that stiffened penalties for certain drug and theft charges, and pledged to provide “mass treatment” for those facing drug charges.  But since the law took effect, some counties have been scrambling to implement the measure without new funding or, […]

All across California, temporary homeless shelters have become the foundation of taxpayer-funded efforts to get people off the street and back into housing. Our new investigation found that shelters have instead turned into housing purgatory. They’re a mess — dangerous, chaotic and ultimately ineffective at finding people housing. Shelters are usually off limits to anyone […]

Has California’s spate of recent laws to build more housing worked? A report published today holds some answers. Its conclusion? Outlook not so good. As CalMatters’ Ben Christopher explains, YIMBY Law, a pro-housing development nonprofit, looked at five California laws. Those include one from 2021 allowing people to split their single-family homes into duplexes; and […]

In a dispute over whether he can convert his three-story condominium’s garage into its own ground-floor apartment, one Carlsbad resident is waging a battle against his homeowners association. As CalMatters’ Ben Christopher explains, Adam Hardesty is an unemployed project manager and HOA board vice president. After months of research and planning, he decided to turn […]

As the setting for John Steinbeck’s 1950s classic “East of Eden,” Salinas has long been known as a working-class, farming community. Nestled between two mountain ranges and located a few miles inland of Monterey Bay, the city’s geographic location lends itself a beautiful, serene setting.  But recently, CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones explains, Salinas parents, students and […]

In the days and weeks following the January Los Angeles County wildfires, Gov. Gavin Newsom and his office moved quickly to manage the response and begin recovery efforts after the blazes were contained. Since then, the governor has been singularly focused on the region, describing his approach as “an extended period of engagement” with L.A. […]

Against the recommendation of his staff experts, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara denied a request from State Farm to green light “emergency” rate increases for insurance policy holders. As CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay explains, earlier this month the largest insurer for California homeowners sought rate increases averaging 22% for homeowners, 15% for renters and 38% for […]