Oakland

Justice

California cities just saw their lowest homicide rates in decades. It’s not clear why

Homicides in California surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, killings are down to historic lows in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and many other cities.

By

Nigel Duara

• January 26, 2026

A collage-style illustration in blue and gray tones that shows a person resting their hand on their forehead.

Health

He built a nursing home empire despite state investigations. Now, lawsuits are piling up

California nursing home owner Shlomo Rechnitz received a batch of state licenses in 2023 despite past scrutiny from the attorney general's office and the state auditor. Today, his companies are facing half a dozen lawsuits over patient care.

By

Jocelyn Wiener

• November 20, 2025

A woman stands at a podium with two microphones in front of a seal for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. She wears glasses, a navy blazer, and a patterned blouse, and smiles slightly while speaking.

Justice

New Alameda County DA changes course on historic death penalty resentencing

Evidence of racial bias in jury selection led Alameda County to review dozens of death penalty cases. A new district attorney is withdrawing from that effort.

By

Cayla Mihalovich

• May 30, 2025

A collage-style illustration in brown and beige tones. The illustration includes cut-out images of a dome-shaped shelter building; a homeless person holding a blue tent; a portrait of a person looking at the camera; rows of red shelter tents and text of complaints about the conditions at shelters. Portions of the text read: "I have black mold all over my walls. I have been exposed to it" and "program staff misusing services and resources intended for guests."

Housing

‘A volunteer jail’: Inside the scandals and abuse pushing California’s homeless out of shelters

Shelters have become California’s go-to solution for homelessness. A CalMatters investigation finds the vast majority of residents stay homeless.

By

Lauren Hepler

• February 25, 2025

An electric school bus is charging at Grant Union High School in Sacramento on July 20, 2023. The chargers are bidirectional, which means they can feed power back to the electric grid. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Climate Change

California awarded $135 million for electric buses, trucks

The Biden administration is awarding Inflation Reduction Act money to help clean the air before President-elect Trump takes over.

By

Alejandro Lazo

• December 11, 2024

California Governor Jerry Brown leaves the Assembly Chambers after his final State of the State address at the State Capitol in Sacramento Jan. 25, 2018. Photo by Max Whittaker

Commentary

Oakland needs serious leadership changes. What about bringing back Jerry Brown?

Oakland often seems like California's municipal basket case with problems almost too numerous to list. It needs some adult supervision. How about Jerry Brown?

By

Dan Walters

• August 23, 2024

Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis tours a fleet of Tesla Semis at PepsiCo Beverages North America's Sacramento facility on April 11, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Commentary

Sometimes California officials do things that are mind-boggling, or just interesting

Why is California's lieutenant governor bashing a vice presidential candidate? Why is Oakland plugging a budget hole with Coliseum money? Some official acts merit a second look.

By

Dan Walters

• August 8, 2024

A security guard stands by the front entrance of a luxury retail storefront in downtown San Francisco on April 15, 2024. Retail theft has plagued the area, and numerous storefronts sit vacant. Photo by Loren Elliott for CalMatters

Politics

California officials debate Prop. 47 changes to curb crime. On the street, the answer isn’t that simple.

How do you stop retail theft? For local and state elected officials, it’s a question of changing Proposition 47. Ask business owners and residents in Oakland and San Francisco, and the answer is much more nuanced.

By

Yue Stella Yu

• April 24, 2024

Mold can be seen on the exterior of the building at Grove Condominiums on April 18, 2023 in Imperial Beach. Photo by Ariana Drehsler for CalMatters

Commentary

Shady business owners can hide behind LLCs. California should make their identities public

The lack of accessible LLC ownership information can give bad actors cover and needlessly waste taxpayer resources in the pursuit of accountability. Senate Bill 1201 would rightly make ownership information public.

By Suzanne Dershowitz • March 13, 2024

Tim Barnes (right), the assistant program manager at Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Academy, explains some of the curriculum and programming to Michaela De Guzman (left) and Jocelyn Tang (center) of Girls Who Code. Dozens of computer science-focused organizations displayed booths on the first floor of the Oakland Scottish Rite Center on Oct. 26, 2023. Photo by Emily Steinberger for CalMatters

K-12 Education

A shortage of teachers for computer science classes puts California near the bottom of a national instruction ranking

Only 40% of California high schools offer computer science classes. A new law aims to make it easier to certify computer science teachers.

By

Carolyn Jones

• October 27, 2023