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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 […]

Scheduling note: WhatMatters is honoring America’s presidents on Monday and will return to your inboxes on Tuesday. From the CalMatters environmental team: In large swaths of Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange counties scarred by fires, thousands of residents were on edge through the night as the heaviest storm of the season hit. Debris flows were […]

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang: After a 2022 CalMatters series documenting long waits and low payouts for workers who claim their employers have shorted them on wages, California lawmakers have now proposed bills to try to ease the backlogs.  One measure, Senate Bill 310 by San Francisco Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener, would allow workers […]

The Palisades Fire that ignited in January and killed 12 people engulfed several luxury homes, beachfront properties and celebrity mansions. But it also razed the homes of those living in more affordable communities, including two mobile home parks.  For those residents, the long road to recovery includes even more uncertainties and barriers, writes CalMatters’ Felicia […]

Following President Donald Trump’s directive in January to temporarily freeze certain federal aid to states and agencies (an effort that has since been halted by a federal judge), the administration moved to cut another source of key funding, reports CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn. On Monday the National Institutes of Health planned to enact its new policy […]

For years, former Democratic Assemblymember Evan Low of Cupertino raised money for a tech nonprofit foundation run by people closely tied to him, including his former chief of staff. Now, the state’s campaign finance regulators say there’s probable cause to believe that the same nonprofit made more than $113,000 in non-monetary donations to Low’s re-election […]