Prize Winners

Throughout California, families sheltering in place are cut off from school, work and friends — lifelines the most vulnerable rely upon. Officials and advocates worry because domestic violence reports have surged and, with fewer eyes on kids, reports of potential abuse are down.

Which California counties have the highest rates of coronavirus hospitalization? CalMatters is following confirmed and suspected cases. Some are a surprise.

Children, parents, and educators are struggling to adapt to a remote teaching necessity at odds with how special education is delivered.

Steak dinners with lobbyists, overseas trips, favors for spouses — nonprofits set up by California legislators and their staffers are testing campaign finance laws even as they underwrite good works by elected officials. Here as elsewhere, they're on the rise.

Californians have grown increasingly concerned about who has access to their digital data — and how it’s being used. Faced with a possible initiative asking voters if they want to toughen safeguards of their own privacy, state lawmakers instead approved a new consumer privacy law giving people a window into what information companies collect. When […]

The modern American gun debate began in 1967 in California's Capitol. In the years since, California has enacted more gun control laws than any other state.

The cost of a college degree is soaring in California, where public universities were once free. What happened? And what can be done for students and families?

Only hard options remain for dealing with California’s wildfire crisis. From controlled burns to burying power lines to breaking up PG&E, what are the odds?

In California, wildfire season is nearly year-round. CalMatters explores why, and what could help fireproof the state.

From climate-driven natural disasters to crumbling infrastructure and threats of mass shootings, modern dangers are sending California kids home from class in record numbers. The trend is only beginning to show up on lawmakers' radar.