Sen. John Moorlach

WhatMatters

Unions, cities square off over raises, layoffs

Good morning, California. It’s Wednesday, December 16. Big budget deficits Even as California cities face yawning budget deficits, many are still on the hook for raises promised to public employee unions — leaving local governments with little choice but to lay off employees or slash services. With Congress gridlocked over a relief package, the cities […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• December 16, 2020

Sen. Scott Wilk reacts after mouthing the F-word Friday morning during the senate floor session. Image via Senate livestream

Politics

Unmasked: Tempers flare and patience frays as California lawmakers hit viral end of session

For anyone who has spent the last five months working from home, these teleconference call mishaps ought to sound familiar: Your lunch delivery arrives smack in the middle of a presentation, or your dog won’t stop yapping. An exasperated colleague drops a muted but unmistakable F-bomb. A co-worker mocks a colleague’s comments to his “hon” […]

By

Ben Christopher

• August 31, 2020

Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration is calling for budget cuts based on an economic model more dire than those of others. Illustration via iStock

Economy

Valid assumptions or “tacky bluffs” — the econ forecast shaping Newsom’s budget

Are the Newsom administration’s dismal recession prognostications a reasonable outlier — or “preposterously negative” and a “poker bluff” aimed at ratcheting up pressure for a financial assist from the feds?

By

Ben Christopher

• May 20, 2020

A small crowd of beach goers at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on April 7, 2020. California is entering the fourth week of sheltering in place to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

WhatMatters

CA readies to reopen

California begins planning to reopen economy. Newsom faces more scrutiny over face mask deal. Counties divided on early release of inmates due to COVID-19.

By

Emily Hoeven

• April 14, 2020

A healthcare worker at a Kaiser hospital in San Francisco on April 9, 2020. Today, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state would make hotel rooms available to care providers in regions with high rates of COVID-19 infections who need to self-isolate. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Coronavirus

Amid pandemic, Newsom faces scrutiny over $1B face-mask deal

California legislators have demanded more details about Gov. Gavin Newsom's coronavirus spending and a recent news report raised questions about the company contracted to make the masks.

By

Laurel Rosenhall

and

Dan Morain

• April 13, 2020

Sen. Bernie Sanders's won the California primary, but California didn't matter much in the march to a Democratic nominee. Here Sanders at a February campaign event at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Elections

Vote update: How big was Bernie’s win and the California primary’s loss?

Bernie won, the California primary didn't decide and a (maybe) another blue wave swells on the horizon.

By

Ben Christopher

• April 7, 2020

Republican California primary results moderate 2020 top two

Elections

Republican tug-of-war: Election raises a familiar GOP dilemma in California

How to be conservative enough for a conservative party but liberal enough for a liberal state? Primary election results in Orange County pose the question anew for California Republicans.

By

Ben Christopher

• March 13, 2020

Ambulances are outside Travis Air Force Base., where Americans have been evacuated from overseas for quarantine after being exposed to, or sickened by, the coronavirus. Photo by Hector Amezcua, AP Photo.

Health

Governor: Coronavirus changing “by the hour” in California

In a state with more patients and more in quarantine than any other, many questions remain unanswered as coronavirus develops in California.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• February 27, 2020

A BART train runs through a neighborhood of single-family homes in Albany. California lawmakers again rejected a bill that would have led to denser development along public transit routes. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Housing

California’s most controversial homebuilding bill just died. What will Newsom do now?

Gov. Gavin Newsom has a goal of 3.5 million new homes by 2025. His path to reaching it is even more limited, now that a hot zoning "reform" measure is dead for the year.

By

Matt Levin

• January 30, 2020

Blake Kazarian and other delegates cheer presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren as she addresses the California Democratic Party Convention at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. Photo by Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group

Elections

No-shows, endorsement spats and drag queens: What’s on tap at this weekend’s Democratic convention

Updated: November 15, 2019. Like Comic-Con for progressive political nerds and consultants, the California Democratic Party’s biannual convention — one of the year’s largest gathering of like-minded partisans — will kick off in Long Beach this weekend with an estimated 5,000 attendees. Some will be coming to snap selfies with presidential candidates, although for all […]

By

Ben Christopher

• November 14, 2019