electric vehicles

State lawmakers are passing many, many bills before they end the legislative session next Thursday. But under California’s system of direct democracy — and happening at the same time — advocates for various causes are trying to go straight to the voters when their elected representatives won’t do what they want. Tuesday, victims’ families filed […]

How can California make sure the electric vehicle revolution isn’t just for the wealthy few? That was the big question in a CalMatters panel discussion Tuesday. While bringing down the cost of EVs is crucial, so is the availability of chargers. And that is something of a chicken-and-egg proposition. Some on the panel — moderated […]

Through bidirectional charging, owners of electric cars can sell energy to the grid or use it to power their homes. But will the technology, which is costly, become widespread?

With temperatures soaring and air conditioners working overtime, Californians’ electricity bills are peaking as well. Will a contentious new rate proposal help families, especially those living paycheck to paycheck? That’s the big question explored by Wendy Fry of CalMatters’ California Divide team. Last year, the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom passed an energy bill requiring […]

From CalMatters politics reporter Alexei Koseff: It wasn’t Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins’ first turn standing in for the governor of California while he was out of the state. (That came in 2014, when she was Assembly speaker and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel tried to get her to invade Oregon during her 10 hours […]

Truck manufacturers won’t file legal challenges over California's controversial mandate, and in return, the state air board will relax some smog-fighting requirements.

A look inside the factory that assembles Ford’s F-150 electric pickup. As the industry invests $40 billion in new US electric car plants, the rapid transformation raises labor and supply chain issues. Automaker says “we're all-in.”

From Jeanne Kuang of CalMatters’ California Divide team: Low wages and unpredictable hours make fast food the industry with the highest percentage of homeless workers in the state, according to a new union-sponsored report that is sure to stoke debate this year amid the latest contentious legislation over the industry’s labor practices.  The report released […]

Now that California has opted to phase out diesel trucking, the state will find out in the years to come which was right: the aspirations of environmentalists or the warnings of the trucking industry.  On Friday the California Air Resources Board unanimously voted to ban the sale of new diesel big rigs, delivery and garbage […]

In a worldwide first, California’s air board unanimously moves to end diesel’s decades-long stranglehold on the economy. Truckers predict chaos, while communities near ports, freeways celebrate cleaner air.