Orange County

Assemblymember Rob Bonta announces the California Green New Deal Act at a press conference on opening day of the 2020 legislative session on Jan. 6, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

WhatMatters

Will Newsom appoint an Asian attorney general?

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, March 18. Surge in anti-Asian hate Pressure is mounting on Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint an Asian American or Pacific Islander attorney general amid a surge in anti-Asian harassment and violence, including Tuesday shootings in Atlanta in which a man killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• March 18, 2021

Jose Rosas and his wife, Sara, who live in the 90060 zip code, wait in line to be screened for high temperature before being vaccinated at the St. John's Well Child and Family Center COVID-19 vaccination site at the East Los Angeles Civic Center in Los Angeles on March 4, 2021. California has just crossed the threshold of 2 million vaccines administered in underserved communities allowing many counties to move more easily into less restrictive tiers. Photo by Damian Dovarganes, AP Photo

Coronavirus

California hit critical milestone for reopening today

Here’s what you need to know about what happens now that the state delivered 2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to low-income communities. Thirteen counties will move to a less restrictive tier on Sunday, and some businesses will reopen on Monday.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

and

Rachel Becker

• March 12, 2021

Patients enter Levi’s Stadium to receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines on Feb. 9 2021 in Santa Clara. The 49ers arena opened on Tuesday as a vaccine distribution site for Santa Clara County residents 65 and older and is expected to inoculate up to 15,000 people per day once supplies become available. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Coronavirus

California’s new COVID-19 vaccine system to start Monday

The new system, operated by Blue Shield, aims to streamline a confusing county-by-county patchwork of vaccination efforts. “Give us a chance to make this work,” Blue Shield’s CEO said.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

and

Barbara Feder Ostrov

• February 26, 2021

Alameda County Fire Department employee Max Shih, left, administers the second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Julia Jackson, a volunteer at a Berkeley needle exchange program, at St. Rose hospital in Hayward on Jan. 27, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Coronavirus

Who’s getting vaccinated in California? A county-by-county look at racial data

Although data is incomplete, in nearly all counties, white people received the largest percentage of vaccine doses — even in counties with large Latino populations. Latinos are the biggest group vaccinated in Los Angeles and two other counties.

By

CalMatters Staff

• February 19, 2021

Mae Villanueva, 4, plays at Lake Balboa Park in Van Nuys on Jan. 20, 2021. Mae's parents worry that without in-person instruction she will fall behind in reading. Photo by Shae Hammond for CalMatters

Coronavirus

COVID-19 cases, new syndrome on the rise among children, especially Latino children

As COVID-19 cases increase among adults, they have also increased in children, along with cases of a new inflammatory syndrome. Also like the adult population, Latino kids have borne a disproportionate brunt of the cases.

By

Elizabeth Aguilera

• January 21, 2021

Justice

Justice delayed: Courts overwhelmed by pandemic backlog

From child support to insurance fraud, court cases are delayed throughout California. Only half as many civil and criminal cases were resolved last summer compared with pre-pandemic numbers. “Justice has not shut down. Justice has slowed down,” according to an attorneys' group.

By

Robert Lewis

• January 19, 2021

Economy

What do basketball, ballet and parties have in common? All 3 live-event industries are in trouble

As pandemic shutdowns intensify, more than a third of jobs in three California industries that rely on events — sports, performing arts and catering — have already disappeared. And they’ve been slower to recover than the state workforce as a whole.

By

James Bikales

• December 22, 2020

Marica Kumayama Petrey at her home in Oakland on Dec. 19, 2020. Kumayama Petrey, a film producer and musician, has had much of her work curtailed this year due to the pandemic. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Economy

The show must go on. But will it after the pandemic?

California’s dancers, musicians and other performers have lost their audience to a pandemic. Some may never return to the stage even when the patrons are back. Marica Kumayama Petrey had put eight months of pre-production work into the live debut for her first album with a new pop/rock band, Girl Swallows Nightingale, planned for March. […]

By

James Bikales

• December 22, 2020

Poll workers use tongs to collect ballots and hand out stickers at a curbside voting location at Alameda County courthouse on Nov. 3, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Elections

Which California county voted the most? The least? Let’s compare

California voters are as diverse as its geography, from mountain ranges to valley farmland to forests and beaches. So a look at official voting results released this month shows notable differences in who turned out, how we voted, and where we voted. More than half of California’s record 17.8 million ballots cast came from just […]

By

Michael Lozano

• December 21, 2020

A voter exits a polling place in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles on Nov. 3, 2020. Photo by Tash Kimmell for CalMatters.

Elections

Poor and diverse voters fuel California’s record ballots cast

California’s decision to mail a ballot to every registered voter resulted in record ballots cast in the general election — but it was poor and diverse communities that fueled the increases.

By

Phillip Reese

and

Lewis Griswold

• December 10, 2020