covid-19

In Los Angeles County about 491,000 renters are at risk of eviction if Rule 1 is not replaced. Activists say this will exacerbate the county’s homelessness crisis and worsen the spread of COVID-19, which has already disproportionately impacted Latino and Black Angelenos. Image via iStock

CalMatters en Español

Doctora aclara dudas de los angelinos sobre el COVID-19

By

Jacqueline Garcia

• September 12, 2020

A multi-family home in Oakland on Sept. 2, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Politics

Democratic squabbling doomed California’s ‘Year of housing production.’ What will happen in 2021?

Despite entering 2020 with the governor and many legislators pushing for an increase in housing production, none of the bills put forth went into effect. The coronavirus pandemic has also put prospects for such bills in 2021 in doubt.

By

Matt Levin

• September 11, 2020

A strike team of doctors, nurses and respiratory care specialists from Travis Air Force Base was honored for their service at Community Regional Medical Center for assistance with COVID-19 cases in Fresno. Photo by Eric Zamora, The Fresno Bee

California Divide

Fresno County COVID-19 cases slowing, but authorities expect potential Labor Day spike

By

Manuela Tobias

• September 10, 2020

A pedestrian walks around Lake Merritt on Sept. 9, 2020, in Oakland. Smoke from multiple fires in California has filled the Bay Area sky. Photo by Aric Crabb, Bay Area News Group

WhatMatters

‘It feels like the end of the world’

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, September 10. Orange skies, raging fires Just when it seemed like 2020 couldn’t get any more apocalyptic, millions of Northern California residents will likely spend their Thursday under a dark orange sky clouded with ash — just as they did yesterday. Catherine Geeslin, a San Francisco resident: “It feels like […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• September 10, 2020

The Creek Fire burns in the Sierra National Forest on Sept. 6, 2020, near Big Creek, Calif. Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP Photo

WhatMatters

‘We are in uncharted territory’: High winds spreading already-historic fires

Never has so much of California burned. And as powerful winds continue to blast the state, the likelihood of historic fires metastasizing and others exploding looms large for overworked firefighters and exhausted residents. In Southern California, strong Santa Ana winds could push the Bobcat fire toward homes in foothill communities. The fire, which is currently […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• September 9, 2020

Capitol

Domestic workers like me deserve health and safety protections like other workers

We clean houses after wildfires and during COVID-19; domestic workers should be covered with safety protections by Cal/OSHA.

By

Guest Commentary

• September 6, 2020

Earlier this week, the Legislature approved AB 826, which allows nonprofits, such as food banks, to distribute $600 prepaid grocery cards to each qualified adult regardless of immigration status. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

California Divide

Undocumented immigrants could qualify for $600 if Newsom signs pandemic assistance bill

Given overwhelming demand for pandemic relief, undocumented Californians hope the governor will authorize a second round of emergency grocery money. But it’s still not clear yet where funding will come from.

By

Jacqueline Garcia

• September 5, 2020

Tracy Tran and Steven Tran, owners of La Orquidea Salon and Spa pose for a portrait on Aug. 25, 2020, in Los Gatos. While most of the state’s businesses have been able to resume some activity, nail salons have remained largely closed under state and local health orders since the start of the pandemic. Photo by Dai Sugano, Bay Area News Group

California Divide

Coronavirus shutdowns are hitting Vietnamese-owned nail salons hard

Tracy Tran’s years of savings are gone. Most went into the nearly $13,500 monthly rent she says she’s been paying for her shuttered business since March, when coronavirus public health orders forced her to close. La Orquidea Salon and Spa has been sitting empty ever since on busy North Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos. So […]

By

Laurence Du Sault

• September 5, 2020

Coronavirus

Whipsawed: California faces shifting federal messages over coming COVID vaccine

The evolving federal timeline has complicated an already enormous challenge for a state as large and diverse as California: how to distribute a brand new vaccine to millions of residents?

By

Barbara Feder Ostrov

• September 4, 2020

A delivery of state-supplied masks, face shields, no-touch thermometers, and hand sanitizer arrive for when Kern County schools are able to open for in-person instruction. Photo courtesy of Kern County Office of Education

Education

Behind the ‘Wild West’ of school reopenings

A still rampaging coronavirus pandemic means schools have spent gobs of money just to add the necessary protective equipment and cleaning staff necessary for a safe and effective school reopening.

By

Ricardo Cano

and

Ana B. Ibarra

• September 4, 2020

Covid-19