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María Vela assembles a cardboard box as her family gets ready to move out of their home of nearly 30 years in East Los Angeles on Dec. 17, 2023. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

Housing

New law could help tenants facing eviction stay in their homes

Voters said no to expanded rent control, but tenants facing evictions will have more time to fight to keep their homes under a new California law.

By

Felicia Mello

• December 23, 2024

A group of cars driving northbound on a highway with overcast in the sky.

Politics

California’s lemon law is changing and car buyers have fewer protections in the new year

Californians who purchase a clunker car in 2025 face a confusing year as new lemon law rules take effect and the state Supreme Court limited warranty protections for used vehicles. Lawmakers are revisiting the rules, but consumers could see weaker protections until new laws are passed.

By

Ryan Sabalow

• December 19, 2024

A group of individuals wearing bright pink Planned Parenthood shirts stand along a sidewalk under the shade of trees, holding signs in support of Planned Parenthood. In the foreground, one person wearing sunglasses and a pink cap smiles while holding a sign that reads "Fontana Deserves Planned Parenthood" with three heart icons above the text.

Health

California Democrats plan to crack down on cities that block abortion clinics

California Democrats have passed two dozen laws to protect abortion access since the Supreme Court in 2021 overturned Roe vs. Wade. New bills are on the table.

By

Kristen Hwang

• December 2, 2024

Sally K., right, thirty-eight weeks pregnant, talks to midwife Andrea Bergleen, left, during a check-up at the Best Start Birthing Center in San Diego on March 20, 2024. Photo by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters

Health

California birth centers are shutting down. A lawmaker has a new plan to help them

Birth centers are midwife-run facilities that deliver babies outside of hospitals. They have struggled to stay in business in part because of strict state licensing requirements.

By

Kristen Hwang

• December 2, 2024

A surveillance tower monitor, with a background landscape of a brown fence, river and mountains.

Technology

California’s ‘Trump-proofing’ likely won’t include AI — at least not yet

President-elect Trump has vowed to rescind an executive order that imposed AI safeguards, and could use tech to enable mass deportations. How far will California go in the other direction?

By

Alex Shultz

• November 21, 2024

A person wearing glasses and dressed in a blue suit stands with his hands crossed in front of a row of American flags in a decorated office.

Politics

A California Republican won a seat he didn’t want. Now taxpayers are paying for a new election

Kern and Tulare county taxpayers are on the hook for a special election after Republican Vince Fong won his Congressional seat along with an Assembly seat he no longer wanted.

By

Ryan Sabalow

• November 19, 2024

Pro-abortion rights supporters marched in protest of a Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe vs. Wade, in Sacramento on June 25, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Health

How will Trump change health care? California braces for fights over insurance and abortion

California laws governing health insurance, access to abortion and health care for undocumented immigrants could be contested during a second Trump administration.

By

Kristen Hwang

• November 18, 2024

The wooden frames of houses under construction are visible on a residential street in Goshen.

Housing

How a Trump administration could affect California’s housing crisis

President-elect Donald Trump’s housing policy for his second term is vague at best. But based on available information, many California housing experts are not optimistic about what it could mean for the state’s crisis.

By

Felicia Mello

• November 14, 2024

A person dressed in a black suit, white button-up shirt and a black and green tie speaks into a microphone while holding a piece of paper. The heads of other people are visible at the bottom of the frame, as they listen. The setting is a legislative hearing.

Politics

California Senate leader calls union ‘morally bankrupt’ for opposing a vulnerable Democrat

In California, Democrats rarely criticize organized labor, one of their biggest and wealthiest allies, so it’s remarkable that Democrats have harsh words against a union for attacking a vulnerable Democratic senator in a close race.

By

Ryan Sabalow

• November 13, 2024

A stack of empty five-gallon water containers at Shady Lane Estates in Thermal on March 23, 2023. According to some residents, there is no clean drinking water from the mobile park, so these five-gallon containers are their only option. Pablo Unzueta for CalMatter

Elections

Prop. 4 passes: Californians approve $10 billion for water, wildfire, climate projects

California voters approved Prop. 4's $10 billion in bonds for environmental projects, with about $2 billion going toward protecting drinking water.

By

Alejandro Lazo

• November 5, 2024

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