California Divide

Residents of Planada and Pajaro want state aid to help alleviate debt incurred from rebuilding after winter floods. Local officials want some money to go elsewhere.

Angelica Vásquez is one of millions of people across the state that struggle to pay electric bills as California regulators decide on proposed rate increases. PG&E wants a rate hike to bolster the safety and reliability of its services.

The United Farm Workers, which represents nearly 7,000 workers, won a unionization vote in Stanislaus County. It’s the first such win in six years and first under a law that went into effect in May.

Young people are stuck earning low wages, working long hours — often while going to school — and often without benefits or work protections. Their hardships may hamper the state’s economy for years to come, researchers said.

Ramon Ruelas grew up in California and served a decade in prison. Now free, he can’t live with his wife and daughter, who are U.S. citizens. Lawmakers want California to stop handing former inmates like him to ICE. Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed the bills.

California’s poverty rate climbed and its working poor grew this spring, says the Public Policy Institute of California. Safety net programs played a major role in poverty rate changes.

After years of planning a broadband system to bridge California’s digital divide, officials deprioritized some low-income areas due to unexpected costs. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he’s committed to funding the entire network, but advocates are skeptical.

While many of the 900-plus migrants who arrived in L.A. from Republican states quickly integrated into the community, the few dozen who went to Sacramento found an under-resourced support system.

The governor signed two other bills that strengthen protections for grocery workers during grocery store mergers and acquisitions.

States across the United States are banning the practice of billing kids for the cost of their foster care. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar effort in California, citing costs to the state.