San Joaquin Valley

A farmworker works on land irrigated by sprinklers in El Centro on May 29, 2020. REUTERS/Bing Guan

California Divide

Cash for farmworkers? Newsom vetoes $20 million drought aid bill

A proposed bill would pay farmworkers who lost work due to dry or low-water conditions $1,000 a month for three years.

By

Melissa Montalvo

• April 25, 2022

Kelly O’Brien listens to her well hum as it fills with cool water after more than a month of living without water, at her home on July 2, 2021. Photo by Rachel Becker, CalMatters

Environment

California enacted a groundwater law 7 years ago. But wells are still drying up — and the threat is spreading

As drought worsens, there are few, if any, protections in place for California’s depleted groundwater. The new law gave local agencies at least 26 years — until 2040 — to stop the impacts of over-pumping.

By

Rachel Becker

• August 18, 2021

Amber R. Crowell, assistant professor at Fresno State, left, joins other community leaders including Congressman Jim Costa, right, at a press conference at Lighthouse for Children, Thursday July 8, 2021, calling on Congress to turn the $300 monthly Child Tax Credit into a permanent benefit. Over 600,000 children will benefit from the Child Tax Credit in Fresno County. Photo by John Walker, The Fresno Bee

CalMatters en Español

¿Recibirá su familia pagos mensuales de impuestos por hijos de $ 300? Lo que necesitas saber

Read this article in English. Se están realizando pagos mensuales de $ 300 para las familias de California que luchan por llegar a fin de mes. El IRS comienza la implementación del Crédito Tributario por Hijos el 15 de julio como parte del Plan de rescate estadounidense. Los hogares que califiquen recibirán hasta $ 3,600 anuales por niño, […]

By

Melissa Montalvo

• July 14, 2021

Commentary

Californians will adapt to living with drought, as we always have

Managing droughts well requires extensive and organized preparation, which California sometimes lacks. Our losses will be greater if we manage poorly because of delay, complacency or panic.

By

Guest Commentary

• July 14, 2021

California Divide

Will your family get $300 monthly child tax payments? What you need to know

Lea este artículo en español. Monthly $300 payments are in the works for California families struggling to make ends meet. The IRS begins the roll-out of the Child Tax Credit on July 15 as part of the American Rescue Plan. Qualifying households will receive up to $3,600 annually per child, which will benefit families across the state. On […]

By

Melissa Montalvo

• July 12, 2021

Joshua Rayburn, with a mask on, and Blake Whytock, without a mask, prepare drinks for customers inside The Good Bar in Long Beach, on June 15, 2021. Rayburn has decided he wants to wait before being maskless inside public spaces. Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

WhatMatters

California’s not-so-big reopening

Good morning, California. It’s Wednesday, June 16. For many, masks here to stay Rome wasn’t built in a day — and neither did California reopen in one. Flanked by minions, Smurfs and Transformers at Universal Studios Hollywood, a maskless Gov. Gavin Newsom drew $15 million worth of prizes in the state’s vaccine lottery and declared […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• June 16, 2021

John Werner holds a handful of soil for a portrait in his soon-to-be pistachio grove near Visalia on June 10, 2021. He works as an educator to supplement his income from farming and is planning on planting pistachio trees soon. Photo by Shae Hammond for CalMatters

Environment

Tulare County’s never-ending drought brings dried up wells and plenty of misery

In the rural towns around Visalia, today’s dry spell is indistinguishable from the last one or the next one. Drought is a perpetual plight in the region, which is a hotspot for dry wells.

By

Julie Cart

• June 15, 2021

A Fresno-area politician wants California to prioritize struggling San Joaquin Valley farmworkers in a proposed pilot program that would put cash in the hands of some the state’s impoverished residents. Photo by Juan Esparza Loera

California Divide

Universal basic income for farmworkers? Some leaders are pushing for it

A Fresno-area politician wants California to prioritize struggling San Joaquin Valley farmworkers in a proposed pilot program that would put cash in the hands of some the state’s impoverished residents. State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Democrat from Sanger, issued a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom last week urging the state to prioritize California’s “displaced, underemployed, or unemployed […]

By

Melissa Montalvo

• June 14, 2021

Dry wells in small rural communities have forced residents to bring in drinking water.

Climate Change

How better data can help California avoid a drinking water crisis

Drought reporting systems can predict where wells will go dry and help communities prepare to take action before they run out of water.

By

Guest Commentary

• June 9, 2021

A ranch dog drinks from the well with a solar panel and water storage tank seen in the background. Brown has attempted to make her ranch as sustainable is possible. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Environment

Running out of water and time: How unprepared is California for the drought?

With most of the state gripped by extreme dryness, some conditions are better, some worse, than the last record-breaking drought. Over-pumping of wells hasn’t stopped. But urban residents haven’t lapsed back into water-wasting lifestyles.

By

Julie Cart

and

Rachel Becker

• May 18, 2021