California rent control back on the ballot, twice

Sky-high rent is among Californians’ biggest concerns. Nearly 30% of tenants spend more than half their income on rent; and the median rent is $2,850 a month, 33% higher than the national average.

Two propositions on the Nov. 5 ballot address this issue — though one does so in a rather roundabout way.

The more straightforward one is Proposition 33, which would give local governments more control over rent caps. Currently, cities cannot limit rents on single-family homes, apartments built after 1995 and new tenants. Prop. 33 would change that, essentially ending the state’s “limits on limits.” Tenant advocates say that, if passed, Prop. 33 would keep more people housed.

But voters have rejected two similar ballot measures in 2018 and 2020. Landlord groups opposing this year’s measure say stricter rent control will make housing less profitable, worsening the housing crunch.

Learn more about Prop. 33 from CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall in our one-minute video. And take a quiz from CalMatters data reporter Erica Yee to see how you might vote. 

The measure is sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which also poured tens of millions of dollars into the two previous rent control measures. To stop the foundation from bankrolling another one, landlord groups are backing Prop. 34. 

It would require California health care providers (but really, just the AIDS Foundation) to spend at least 98% of revenue from a specific prescription drug discount program on “direct patient care” — or risk having their state license and tax-exempt status revoked and losing out on government contracts.

Supporters, including the California Apartment Association, say the ballot measure is a simple case of accountability, while the foundation argues it’s a political hit job.

To find out more, watch a video explainer from CalMatters housing reporter Ben Christopher. And take the quiz from Erica. 

More on props: On Wednesday, CalMatters posted its first TikTok on a ballot measure: Prop. 32 to increase California’s minimum wage. Starring our politics intern Jenna Peterson, you can also watch it on Instagram. 

Young voters: Jenna and Matthew Reagan, assistant editor of CalMatters’ College Journalism Network, talked to political analysts and young people about Vice President Kamala Harris and the presidential race.

Following President Joe Biden’s stunning withdrawal from the race, 72% of registered voters 18 to 29 said they were either “very likely” or “almost certain” to vote in the presidential election — up 8 percentage points.

But even with 41 million eligible Gen Z voters, that age group has historically voted at a far lower rate than every other age group. 

Harris’ candidacy, however, is drumming up more excitement among young voters, who are boosting her campaign with coconut emojis, green-tinted Brat fancams and “Veep” memes.

• Mindy Romero, founder and director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at the University of Southern California: “I think all of the momentum and activities that we’ve been seeing can grab the attention of young people, maybe get them to give her a chance. She still has to have the goods.”

Democrats hope all that enthusiasm will help congressional candidates in California. For example, Republican U.S. Rep. John Duarte is clashing again with Democrat Adam Gray for the 13th District centered on Modesto. Duarte won in 2022 by just 564 votes, when the youth turnout was only 23%.

Read more on California’s young voters in Jenna and Matthew’s story.

November election: It’s not too early to get informed. Keep up with CalMatters coverage by signing up for 2024 election emails. Check out our Voter Guide, including updates and videos on the 10 propositions and a FAQ on how to vote. And read up on the history of ballot measures in California.

More than a year after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a report that a weed-killing chemical was dangerous to humans, the department finally banned the herbicide on Tuesday, writes CalMatters water reporter Rachel Becker.

In a move that one toxicologist said was “long overdue,” the agency issued a rare emergency order to suspend all use of Dacthal immediately — the first time it’s done so in nearly 40 years. Women exposed to the pesticide “could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems,” including impaired brain development, according to the EPA.

Pregnant farmworkers and people living near fields are the most vulnerable. The chemical is sprayed on crops, such as broccoli, onions and cabbage. In California, Dacthal is used the most in Monterey County, as well as Imperial, Fresno, Riverside, Santa Barbara counties. The herbicide has contaminated Salinas Valley groundwater in low concentrations. 

Federal and California officials have known its health risks for decades, but the state’s department for pesticide regulation told CalMatters it couldn’t ban Dacthal on its own because it didn’t have enough information.

Read more about California’s use of the Dacthal in Rachel’s story.

University of California students battling alcoholism and substance use disorder are finding refuge in on-campus collegiate recovery programs — but only half of UC campuses offer this kind of comprehensive support.

As CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn explains, these treatment programs differ from others such as Alcoholics Anonymous because they don’t require students to be completely abstinent. 

This more nuanced approach still provides students an outlet to cope with, and eventually conquer, their addiction. Some programs, including at UC Davis, distribute fentanyl test strips and the overdose-reversing medication Narcan, for free. 

• Cheech Raygoza, an undergraduate at UC Berkeley who has been drug- and alcohol-free since 2018: “It’s just so awesome to be part of this community. It helps me live.”

But only five of the 10 UC campuses have at least one full-time staff member. The university system’s student government, which represents 233,000 undergraduates, wants that to change. At a July UC Regents meeting, the organization called for ongoing funding for each program, dedicated meeting spaces and a full-time coordinator at every UC.

The UC president’s office says that every campus has some kind of drug prevention, intervention and treatment program, which served 4,000 students last year.

Learn more about the recovery programs in Mikhail’s story.

A new state report shows that California heatwaves have killed hundreds of residents and cost billions of dollars in the past decade. CalMatters economy reporter Levi Sumagaysay and producer Robert Meeks have a video segment on Levi’s story on the toll of heatwaves as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.