Covid-19

WhatMatters

More housing, fewer prisons: California outlines game plan

Hanging over the heads of California’s newly sworn-in state lawmakers — and likely to be top of mind when they return to Sacramento next month — are the state’s intertwined housing and homelessness crises. That was made clear Tuesday, when Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco introduced for the third time a bill […]

By Emily Hoeven • December 7, 2022

Health

The supply of COVID antivirals is increasing, but many patients aren’t using them

Health officials say a key difference between this upcoming winter and the last two is the wider availability of COVID antivirals like Paxlovid. But many infected people aren’t aware of their availability or have difficulty accessing them.

By Ana B. Ibarra • December 5, 2022

Commentary

Why last minute changes to Cal/OSHA’s COVID regulations are a mistake

Cal/OSHA is considering a late change to emergency pandemic policies before a final vote by the Standards Board in December, allowing little time for public outreach.

By Guest Commentary • November 15, 2022

WhatMatters

California faces triple threat of respiratory illnesses

Forget “twindemic” — California may be in for a three-headed Cerberus of respiratory illnesses this winter as the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 collide. Orange County on Monday declared a local public health emergency over RSV, a common cause of pneumonia in babies that’s contributed to a record number of pediatric hospitalizations and daily […]

By Emily Hoeven • November 2, 2022

K-12 Education

California student test scores plunge — but some achievement gaps narrow. See how your school compares.

The results — the most thorough look yet at the pandemic's toll on learning — left education officials and experts neither surprised nor hopeless.

By Joe Hong and Erica Yee • October 24, 2022

Education

Amid ominous signs, California releases first student test scores since the pandemic

State education officials — who initially seemed to be delaying the release of student scores until after the election — instead shared them in a way guaranteed to hinder coverage of what's expected to be a steep pandemic-driven decline.

By Joe Hong • October 24, 2022

Health

California to end the COVID state of emergency

The state of emergency gave Newsom wide-ranging powers to issue mandates and enter into billions of dollars of emergency response contracts.

By Kristen Hwang and Ana B. Ibarra • October 17, 2022

WhatMatters

California’s homeless population increased — again

It’s the white whale of California politicians and policymakers, the problem that only seems to intensify no matter how much attention and money are devoted to it: homelessness. About six in 10 Californians said the homeless population has grown in their community over the past year, according to a recent Public Policy Institute of California […]

By Emily Hoeven • October 6, 2022

WhatMatters

Decision day for hot-button bills

California’s legislative session ends tonight at midnight, but the intense lobbying surrounding some of the most high-profile and controversial bills is far from over. That’s because Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the hundreds of bills sent to him by the state Legislature, and you better believe interest groups are […]

By Emily Hoeven • August 31, 2022

Commentary

For San Bernardino County, loving California may end in leaving it

San Bernardino County’s Fair-Share ballot measure asks if the county should secede from California to ensure that our tax dollars are put to work addressing our most pressing needs.

By Guest Commentary • August 29, 2022