Almarissa Segura, 14, a student at San Antonio Elementary School in Lockwood, looks up while seated on a school bus. She was part of a CatchLight and CalMatters photo project that captured student life during the pandemic in California. Photo by David Rodríguez Muñoz for The Californian, Catchlight and CalMattersPosted inPolitics
Here’s a look back, through the work of CalMatters photojournalists and freelance photographers.
First: Sacramento firefighters respond to a fire at a homeless encampment under Highway 80 near 14th Street and X Street in February. Last: John Vasquez, 61, sorts through the remains of the fire at the homeless encampment. The first snapshot of the crisis since the pandemic hit reveals that the number of people without a stable place to call home increased by at least 22,500 over the past three years, to 173,800. Photos by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMattersStarlyn Darby and her 8-month-old son Zelimir Quarles at Memorial Park in San Leandro. Darby doesn’t produce enough breast milk to feed Zelimir, who is underweight and relies on formula. When a nationwide shortage began, California couldn’t quickly expand its list of approved formula brands due to federal restrictions, leaving low-income families scrambling to find formula. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMattersLorena Hernandez readies to hit a tetherball during recess and works with fellow classmates at Buttonwillow Union School in Buttonwillow. CatchLight and CalMatters collaborated on a photo project that captured student life during the pandemic in California. Photos by Larry Valenzuela for CalMatters/CatchLight LocalFirst: The Sierra Nevada as seen from the Alabama Hills in the Owens Valley. Next: The sun sets behind a row of transmission towers as temperatures rose to a scorching 114 degrees in Fresno County in September. Last: Oil pumps in the Kern River Oil Field near Bakersfield. Photos by Julie A. Hotz and Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local Beverly Moore in front of her daughter’s home in Elk Grove. Moore’s family home in Richmond was taken through eminent domain to make way for a drainage system linked to the Richmond Parkway. The organization Where is My Land aims to help Black families regain property, sometimes decades after a government takes it. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMattersFirst: 1,000 flags representing 10,000 deaths from menthol cigarette use are laid out at a Sacramento park, during an event organized by supporters of Proposition 31 to uphold a state ban on flavored tobacco products. Next: Nursing home workers and supporters gathered at the state Capitol in memory of residents and colleagues who have died during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last: Seriyah Harris, 11, organizes candles at a memorial for her father Sergio Harris, 38, who was killed in a mass shooting in Sacramento in April. Photos by Rahul Lal and Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters Namirah Jones, at home with her mom Mia Costley, in Corona in May. Jones has severe autism, as well as an intellectual disability. Tens of thousands of Californians with disabilities require special accommodations for dental care, but only 14 centers in the state can treat them. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMattersFirst: United Farm Workers member Veronica Mota leads marchers in chants through Delano in August. Last: Graduate student Alex Mabanta, State Controller Betty Yee and controller candidate Malia Cohen (right to left) attend a pro-Proposition 1 rally at UC Berkeley in November. Photos by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local and Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters First: Physician’s assistant Brett Feldman checks his patient Gary Dela Cruz on the side of the road near his homeless encampment in downtown Los Angeles in November. Feldman is the director and co-founder of Street Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Last: Ariel Garcia, 5, receives a COVID-19 vaccination at the La Clinica de la Raza community vaccination site in Oakland in January. Photos by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/Catchlight Local and Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters Striking Kaiser Permanente mental health worker Willow Thorsen and others stage a die-in at the Kaiser headquarters in Oakland in October. In every corner of mental health right now, a similar story is being told: There simply aren’t enough providers. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMattersThe Route Fire burns near Castaic Lake in August. Overall in 2022, moderate weather and well-timed rainstorms in much of California combined to curb the acreage and structures burned. Photo by Julie Hotz for CalMattersFirst: Sara Marquez, a sophomore at Los Angeles Mission College, poses for a portrait on campus in October in Los Angeles. Next: Jeff Griffith, a second-generation firefighter and former fire captain with Cal Fire, sits in his living room in Escondido in February. Last: Gauge Hernandez, 16, the son of Johnny Hernandez Jr., the vice chairperson of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, looks out the window in San Bernardino in September. Hernandez is part of a youth committee advocating for a new state law designed to ensure that students can learn about historical events involving Native Americans in California. Photos by Lauren Justice, Ariana Drehsler and Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters Oscar Tang, 35, watches over kids as they play at Modern Education Family Childcare in San Francisco in January. The center had to close as a precaution after a child tested positive for COVID-19. Photo by Thalia Juarez for CalMattersOlivia burns sage to bless the “Celebration of Life” memorial for Sage Crawford in February in Nevada City. Sage Crawford was fatally shot by a Nevada County sheriff’s deputy in February 2021. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMattersAbortion rights supporters marched in protest of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe vs. Wade, in Sacramento in June. Next: The state Capitol in Sacramento in July. Last: A woman who did not want to be identified waved an upside-down flag at the Victims of Crime “Rally for Change” on the steps of the state Capitol in April. Photos by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., Rahul Lal, and Fred Greaves for CalMatters First: Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis gives an interview at CalMatters in September. Last: Malia Cohen, candidate for state controller, gives an interview at CalMatters in Sacramento in April. Photos by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters First: Student Cassandra Shoneru on campus at Diablo Valley College in October. Next: Sophie Nguyen, 10, left, and Chloe Nguyen, 7, right, at their home in Sacramento in July. The sisters both require the use of hearing aids. Last: Mayra Perez looks out into San Francisco Bay in November. Photos by Martin do Nascimento and Rahul Lal for CalMatters, Julie Hotz for CalMatters/CatchLight Gov. Gavin Newsom holds a nearly three-hour press conference to unveil his 2022-23 budget proposal in Sacramento in January. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMattersStriking UC academic workers picket on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles in November. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMattersFirst: Students attend class at Lake Marie Elementary School in Whittier in November. To help students recover reading skills, the district has redeployed specialists who work with students in small groups. Last: Walter Preza works on a car at J & R Auto Repair shop in San Francisco in May. The California Air Resources Board estimates that half of auto mechanics in the state could lose their jobs over the next two decades as a result of the plan to phase out all new gas-powered cars by 2035. Photos by Lauren Justice and Nina Riggio for CalMattersFirst: Mathew Garcia digs through the soil of his fallowed rice field near Glenn in April. Next: Cattle feed on hay at a ranch in Red Bluff in April. Last: Josh Davy with his dogs Ella and Lenny in a field on his property in Cottonwood in April. Photos by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom cast their ballots on Nov. 8 at the California Museum in Sacramento. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMattersFirst: Volunteers receive training for going door-to-door on behalf of Republican candidates in the Republican National Committee office in Bakersfield in October. Next: Rep. Michelle Steel goes door to door canvassing in Buena Park in May ahead of the primary election. Photos by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local and by Bing Guan for CalMatters Election workers sort ballots at the Sacramento County voter registration and elections office in Sacramento in November. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMattersFast food workers from across California rallied at the state Capitol in Sacramento in August, urging lawmakers to pass a bill creating a council to set industry wages and workplace standards. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMattersKavon Ward, CEO and founder of Where is My Land, at home in Marina Del Rey in November. For decades Black families have borne the brunt of eminent domain, with many saying they had little or no recourse. Eminent domain still poses barriers to Black homeownership today, contributing to the wealth gap. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMattersThe state Capitol in Sacramento in August. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters
