Covid-19

A CalMatters analysis shows that Cal/OSHA dispatches inspectors in just 5% of COVID complaint cases. Non-COVID complaints were more than twice as likely to result in on-site inspections — but that’s still far below the pre-pandemic share.

Two months after Gov. Gavin Newsom called for an investigation into California’s first rolling blackouts in nearly two decades — during which time residents were twice warned that blackouts could return — a group of key state agencies released their preliminary findings. The findings raise serious questions about the ability of California’s electrical grid to […]

El gobernador Newsom y la Legislatura Estatal deberían desarrollar de inmediato un programa de apoyo para pequeñas empresas para aquellos negocios que necesitan más ayuda.

Gov. Newsom and the Legislature should immediately develop a major small-business relief program for businesses that need the most help.

California has had strong leadership in the COVID-19 pandemic. But, like other states, we are struggling to get COVID-19 data right.  Between the disclosure of a missing backlog of a quarter of a million lab results and announcement of a $15.3 million six-month contract with Optum to fix COVID-19 data, California is reckoning with health […]

It pains me to begin yet another newsletter with this line, but dangerous fire weather is expected to persist across much of Northern California through Saturday amid dry, powerful winds and elevated temperatures — likely adding fuel to the Glass Fire tearing through Wine Country. The blaze, which has already forced nearly 100,000 evacuations and […]

Lea este artículo en español. California lawmakers are looking to protect one of the state’s most valuable workforces with a new COVID-19 relief package.  Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a farmworker relief package this week, which promises farmworkers stricter enforcement of health guidelines and education of paid sick leave for COVID-19, among other things. Lawmakers also requested Newsom […]

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, October 1. Newsom signs high-profile bills As historic protests against police brutality and racism continue to sweep across California and the nation, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed into law a spate of racial and criminal justice legislation and several police reform bills — though the most ambitious police proposals […]

California’s Wine Country, one of the most famed and iconic tourist destinations in the state, is at a tipping point. Gone is the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood, home to the region’s most celebrated fine dining. Gone are sections of well-known wineries, including Chateau Boswell, Castello di Amorosa, Hourglass Winery and Spring Mountain Vineyard. Gone are […]

Humboldt County, tucked into the redwoods on the state’s far North Coast, also has a much higher suicide rate than most of California. The pandemic has fueled new concerns.