California Divide

Jesús Martinez, an NFT artist and crypto investor, outside his family's home in Eagle Rock on Dec. 3, 2021. Photo by Bing Guan for CalMatters

California Divide

From street vendor to crypto artist: How digital assets offer minorities new opportunities

A Los Angeles artist who once sold flowers with his immigrant parents on street corners breaks into the world of NFTs. In doing so, he’s also found a nontraditional way to generate wealth in crypto currency.

By

Jacqueline Garcia

• December 8, 2021

Jorge Mijango of Ken's Rototilling and Landscaping uses a chainsaw to cut trees for fire mitigation at a property along Via Floreado road in Orinda on Nov. 16, 2021. The landscaping company owns around 50 gas powered tools that could be impacted by a state ban on new small gas motors. Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group

California Divide

A 50% coupon for one tool? Gardeners call California’s subsidy inadequate

California will ban most new gas-powered lawn equipment starting in 2024, but landscapers and gardeners warn the transition will cost them money and jobs. Industry officials say the technology isn’t ready for commercial use and called a $30 million incentive program for small operators inadequate. One state lawmaker who co-authored the bill says he’s open to more funding.

By

Jesse Bedayn

• November 24, 2021

Supporters of the movement to change the name of Squaw Valley gather in front of the Hall of Records, before the Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting Nov. 16, 2021. Photo by John Walker, the Fresno Bee

California Divide

Should the community of Squaw Valley change its name?

Resident and activists are urging Fresno County change the name of Squaw Valley community. They say it's derogatory to Native American women.

By

Melissa Montalvo

• November 19, 2021

CalMatters en Español

¿Debería la comunidad de Squaw Valley cambiar su nombre?

EN RESUMEN Residentes y activistas instan al condado de Fresno a cambiar el nombre de la comunidad de Squaw Valley. Dicen que es despectivo para las mujeres nativas americanas. Read this article in English. Más de un año después de lanzar un esfuerzo para cambiar el nombre de la comunidad de Squaw Valley, un grupo de […]

By

Melissa Montalvo

• November 19, 2021

Luis Philipe Ruiz Gonzalez inside of his RV in San Mateo on Nov. 1, 2021. Ruiz Gonzalez lived in the RV with his wife during the pandemic. Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group

California Divide

New study finds millions of workers are ‘functionally unemployed’

California’s official unemployment rate is 7.5%. But a newer method of measuring unemployment reveals a far larger portion of the state is struggling to find full-time employment that pays enough to cover the cost of living.

By

Jesse Bedayn

• November 4, 2021

Maybelle Manio, right, and her son, Jake Cruz at their new apartment in San Mateo on Oct. 4, 2021. They moved into the new place in August. Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group

California Divide

‘I don’t recognize myself anymore’; How the pandemic drowned a working mom in debt

Commercial real estate agent Maybelle Manio is one of many middle-class Californians who found themselves financially stranded by the pandemic. The 42-year-old commercial real estate agent turned to public support for the first time in her life.

By

Jesse Bedayn

• November 2, 2021

CalMatters en Español

Pocos trabajadores de escasos recursos pueden votar sobre los sindicatos. ¿Puede California cambiar eso?

Frente a una asombrosa brecha económica, California sugiere aumentar la participación sindical entre los trabajadores con salarios bajos, y señala que una membresía sindical reduce la pobreza laboral mejor que un título universitario. Pero lograr que más trabajadores voten por los sindicatos requerirá que las empresas y los sindicatos se comprometan.

By

Grace Gedye

and

Jesse Bedayn

• October 27, 2021

California Divide

Few working poor get to vote on unions. Can California change that?

Facing a staggering wealth gap, California suggests increasing union participation among low-wage workers, noting that a union membership reduces working poverty better than a college degree. But getting more workers to vote on unions will require businesses and unions to compromise. Recent efforts have stalled but the stakes are higher than ever as a court overturns Prop. 22 and the Teamsters begin to campaign at Amazon warehouses across the state.

By

Grace Gedye

and

Jesse Bedayn

• October 27, 2021

California Divide

California still won’t make COVID-19 workplace outbreaks public

Faced with business opposition, a state lawmaker fails to deliver on a pledge to require companies to report COVID outbreaks publicly. Supporters vow to fight for transparency in the name of public health and workplace safety.

By

Melissa Montalvo

• September 27, 2021

California Divide

For 3.5 million California families, jobs don’t cover high cost of living

California’s high cost of housing and child care are creating such a burden on working families that millions of households don’t make enough to meet their most basic necessities. The United Ways of California, which put out the study, advocates for expanding eligibility so assistance doesn’t fall off just as families attain economic stability.

By

Erika Paz

• July 22, 2021