In summary

Highlighting all of CALmatters’ work over the past week

Recent Articles

5 takeaways from Newsom’s revised budget plan

By Judy Lin

Buoyed by California’s strong economy, Gov. Gavin Newsom sent state lawmakers a revised budget on Thursday that boosts his already-hefty January proposal to $213.6 billion. Ka-ching! Public schools will reap most of the gains if the Democratic-controlled Legislature rolls with him. Newsom also upped his ante on the housing crisis with a proposed $1 billion more to combat homelessness.

‘Governor Dad’ Newsom budgets tax breaks for diapers, focuses on families

By Laurel Rosenhall

From family leave to tax-free diapers to expanded preschool, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised budget proposal aims to support kids and parents—and to contrast with Jerry Brown’s policies.

A Capitol Crime: How a 16-year-old murder reached California’s highest offices

By Dan Morain

Gov. Jerry Brown’s grant of clemency to the brother-in-law of Speaker Anthony Rendon underscores not just Brown’s thinking but also California’s evolution on crime and punishment.

Hot off the grille: Is California ready to legalize roadkill cuisine?

By Ben Christopher

A bill in California would legalize the “salvaging” of roadkill. Proponents promise safer roads, protected animals and less food waste. But will Californians stomach it?

Listen to Force of Law, Episode Two: Split

By Laurel Rosenhall

Lobbying is under way in California for two vastly different approaches to reduce police shootings. Victims’ families and civil-rights advocates are pushing a tougher standard for police to use deadly force, while law enforcement officers promote a plan to increase training.

Can they do that? California Dems again try to force Trump to show his taxes

By Ben Christopher

California Democrats are advancing a bill that would require any presidential candidate (see: Donald Trump) to disclose his tax returns if they want to make it onto the state primary ballot next year. Good blue-state politics—but is it legal?

Coming wave of seniors will strain a caregiver network already stretched thin

By Elizabeth Aguilera

In a decade, roughly one in five people will be 65 or older—a group more racially and ethnically diverse and more likely to be single and childless. The growing need: professional and culturally sensitive caregivers.

Cal Grant expansion tops list of college affordability bills: Track them here

By Felicia Mello

California’s financial aid system could get its biggest overhaul in 20 years if a proposal backed by key Assembly Democrats becomes law.

Commentary

USC’s George Tyndall is gone, but sexual abuse survivors still deserve a choice

By Vanessa Carlisle

Dr. George Tyndall was the only gynecologist available to women such as Vanessa Carlisle at USC. Now, survivors finally do have a choice: Accept a settlement offered by USC or, if the Legislature approves a bill by Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes, file a separate suit. Legislators should approve the bill.

Gig economy workers deserve basic protections that come with employee status

By Art Pulaski

IPOs are bringing rideshare companies tens of billions of dollars in investment. But the companies mistreat drivers who are the backbone of their businesses. Thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers went on strike across California on May 8 to call for basic rights and protections like those afforded through Assembly Bill 5.

Californians must pitch in to make drinking water safe for everyone

By Emily Rooney and Jennifer Clary

Groundwater basins drawn down by years of drought contain dangerously high levels of nitrates, arsenic and other contaminants. One million Californians don’t have safe drinking water, and nearly 2 million more are not served by a regulated public water system and may not know if their water is contaminated. The Legislature must step in.

Newsom is shrinking Brown’s pet projects

By Dan Walters

Gov. Gavin Newsom is scaling back a statewide bullet train and twin water tunnels beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. But both still face high hurdles.

California must reform charter schools. Here’s how

By Emma Turner

California has more charter schools than any state in the union. Yet our haphazard charter laws force school boards to grapple with loopholes and unintended consequences, too often creating havoc in our state.

Stop this insidious form of corporate welfare

By Steve Glazer

Online retailers have leveraged their power to extract subsidies from cities desperate for tax revenue. Those cities have agreed to give the retailers half or more of the sales tax paid through the retailer not just by their own residents but by people in every city in the state. Online retailers are reaping as much as $1 billion a year in taxpayer dollars through these kickbacks.

California’s vexing poverty puzzle

By Dan Walters

California has not only the nation’s highest rate of poverty, thanks to high housing costs, but also its highest level of income disparity, and raising the state’s minimum wage may be reducing job creation.

How better wastewater management can help California adapt to climate change

By Caitrin Chappelle and Henry McCann

Climate change is worsening water scarcity and flood risks. Advancements in engineering and technology can help prepare wastewater agencies for a changing climate. But significant shifts in policy and planning are needed to address these challenges.

Excluding hydropower makes no sense

By Dan Walters

Excluding hydroelectric power from the state’s renewable portfolio to reduce greenhouse gases makes no sense. A pending bill would bring some rationality to the situation.

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