San Francisco

Merika Reagan in the backyard of her East Oakland home on May 6, 2021. Reagan and her fiancee spend much of their time gardening and doing home improvements. Their story is also about housing equity in California. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Housing

What California lawmakers could do to boost homeownership for Black families

Legislators are talking a lot about equity in housing, and could help more Black families buy their own homes. But advocates say lawmakers are failing to confront racial equity in many other ways.

By

Manuela Tobias

• May 17, 2021

Blossom Sergejev, left, and her mother, Amika Mota, are photographed at their home in Concord on April 26, 2021. Sergejev says she and Mota were only able to speak for a few minutes a month during the six years Mota was incarcerated. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Commentary

High-priced jail phone calls: $15 to talk to your daughter

Research shows that the more people stay in touch with their families while in jail, the better they do when they get out.

By

Guest Commentary

• April 27, 2021

Blanca Esthela Trejo has foregone treatment for lingering pain caused by COVID-19 in order to prioritize paying rent on the apartment she shares with her family. Photo by David Rodriguez, The Salinas Californian

Housing

How much is rent relief helping Californians?

Complex rules and landlord resistance are limiting the success of an unprecedented effort to help tenants. Advocacy groups are concerned what will happen after a statewide eviction moratorium ends June 30.

By

Manuela Tobias

• April 26, 2021

Alyssa Jenkins has a phone call with a person in search of a vaccine while using MyTurn at her Pacifica home on April 19, 2021. Jenkins has made appointments for more than 400 people since February. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Coronavirus

State’s ‘MyTurn’ website bypassed for most vaccine appointments

Billed as a one-stop shop, California’s $50 million site has instead created nonstop problems. Only 27% of vaccinations booked each day use MyTurn.

By

Barbara Feder Ostrov

• April 22, 2021

Palo Alto resident Margaret Park, 91, is wheeled into Levi’s Stadium to receive a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 9, 2021. The 49ers arena opened as a vaccine distribution site for Santa Clara County residents/ Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

WhatMatters

California policy gives businesses incentive to require ‘vaccine passports’ at events

California is incentivizing businesses to require customers show proof of vaccination, suggesting that the Golden State is moving toward a “vaccine passport” system despite health officials’ comments to the contrary. The state Department of Public Health last week unveiled little-noticed revisions that allow conferences, live events and performances, stadiums, family entertainment centers and other gatherings […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 20, 2021

Silhouettes of students walking between buildings are seen reflected in a window at Ruby Bridges Elementary school in Alameda on March 16, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

WhatMatters

Newsom overstates school reopening progress

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, April 15. Minimal in-person learning Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday touted the state’s progress in reopening schools, even as California continues to offer its students the least amount of in-person learning in the country. At a press conference at a Sonoma County elementary school that had reopened two days before, […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 15, 2021

Brandy Brager, a small business owner in San Jose, poses for a portrait with her children at their home on April 1, 2021. Her children went back to school last week, but she’s working spread out hours, often into the night. “The way I think about my career changed. I had to cut my salary. My business had to take a bit of the back seat.” Photo by Dai Sugano, Bay Area News Group

California Divide

For moms, back to school is not back to normal

Women’s participation in the labor force hasn’t been this low since 1988.

By

Laurence Du Sault

• April 12, 2021

Brandy Brager, propietaria de una pequeña empresa en San José, posa para un retrato con sus hijos en su casa el 1 de abril de 2021. Sus hijos regresaron a la escuela la semana pasada, pero ella trabaja muchas horas, a menudo hasta la noche. “La forma en que pienso sobre mi carrera cambió. Tuve que recortar mi salario. Mi negocio tuvo que quedar un poco en segundo plano". Foto de Dai Sugano, Bay Area News Group

CalMatters en Español

Para las mamás, el regreso a la escuela no es el regreso a la normalidad

La participación de las mujeres en la fuerza laboral no ha sido tan baja desde 1988.

By

Laurence Du Sault

and

CalMatters Staff

• April 12, 2021

Justice

Waiting for justice: Defendants locked up for years awaiting trials, sentencing

Across California, 44,241 people are being held in a county jail without being convicted or sentenced for a crime. That’s three quarters of all inmates. At least 1,317 people have been waiting in county jails for more than 3 years. For 332 of them, it’s been longer than 5 years. In 32 counties that gave […]

By

Robert Lewis

• March 31, 2021

WhatMatters

Is a fourth coronavirus wave coming for California?

President Joe Biden said Monday that states should pause their reopening efforts amid a new surge in coronavirus cases, creating a potential political liability for Gov. Gavin Newsom as he ushers California into its fastest reopening yet. Biden’s comments came the same day that Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• March 30, 2021