reparations

From CalMatters health reporter Kristen Hwang:  If Gov. Gavin Newsom was hoping amendments introduced to his mental health overhaul last week would sufficiently appease critics, Tuesday’s back-to-back committee hearings only revealed how much further he has to go to reach a compromise. The big idea: Newsom wants counties to prioritize behavioral health spending on homeless […]

Scheduling note: WhatMatters will be celebrating the Fourth of July weekend and will return to your inboxes on Wednesday, July 5. This morning, Assemblymember Robert Rivas was sworn in as speaker. He takes the place of Lakewood Democrat Anthony Rendon — who has been on a farewell media tour of sorts — and assumes one […]

The first-in-the-nation state-appointed task force report contains hundreds of recommendations for reparation, including a proposal that the state apologize and make financial amends for slavery and decades of racist policies.

California’s first-in-the-nation task force on reparations is handing lawmakers dozens of recommendations, including a proposal that the state apologize for slavery and racist policies, and make financial amends.

As of Friday, Anthony Rendon will no longer be the speaker of the California Assembly — the culmination of a messy and protracted handover of power to Democratic Assemblymember Robert Rivas from Salinas.  On his way out, the Lakewood Democrat has been conducting a very public HR exit interview of sorts — reflecting openly on […]

From Wendy Fry of CalMatters’ California Divide team and CalMatters politics intern Rya Jetha: Next Thursday, California’s first-in-the-nation task force on reparations plans to hand over to the state Legislature its extensive report and recommendations for how to compensate eligible Black Californians for the enduring harms of slavery.  As historic a moment it may be, […]

In 2021, President Biden recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday and the state of California followed suit last year. But many state workers were on the job Monday, and the Legislature was in session. So what gives? The answer, in short, is that Juneteenth is not one of the 11 paid holidays that all state […]

From Wendy Fry of CalMatters’ California Divide team: A pandemic-era public health policy known as Title 42, used to turn away asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border, is coming to an end just before 9 p.m. tonight, prompting concerns about unprecedented migration flows. Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants have been waiting outside between border walls in […]

A task force approved economic models for lawmakers to calculate the costs of historical racism in California. Try our interactive tool to see what is owed.

After 15 public hearings and testimony from more than 100 expert witnesses and the public, the California Reparations Task Force approved calculations on Saturday that estimate as much as hundreds of millions of dollars owed to eligible Black residents. Describing the emotional meeting as “one of the more rowdy hearings by the task force,” Wendy […]