Toni Atkins - CalMatters

Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins speaks in the Senate chambers of the California State Capitol on Dec. 5, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

How Toni Atkins made California history

by Lynn La July 7, 2023July 7, 2023

From CalMatters politics reporter Alexei Koseff: It wasn’t Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins’ first turn standing in for the governor of California while he was out of the state. (That came in 2014, when she was Assembly speaker and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel tried to get her to invade Oregon during her 10 hours […]

A crowd of people gathered at City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles as part of a nationwide effort in support of abortion rights on May 14, 2022. Photo by Raquel Natalicchio for CalMatters

California cements abortion rights, flavored tobacco ban

by Emily Hoeven December 22, 2022December 22, 2022

An abandoned strip mall in central Fresno on Aug. 25, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Rival fast-track housing bills? California lawmakers pick both

by Manuela Tobias August 26, 2022August 26, 2022

You could be a joint homeowner — with the state

by Emily Hoeven June 15, 2022June 15, 2022

California Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses the recent mass shooting in Texas, during a news conference in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Flanked by lawmakers from both houses of the state legislature, Newsom said he is ready to sign more restrictive gun measures passed by lawmakers. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo

After Texas shooting: A call to ‘advance our resolve’

by Ben Christopher May 26, 2022May 26, 2022

Pro-abortion demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court after the leak of a draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito preparing for a majority of the court to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision later this year, in Washington on May 3, 2022. Photo by Michael A. McCoy, REUTERS

States’ rights? Building walls? Democrats’ new rhetoric

by Emily Hoeven May 4, 2022May 17, 2022

Planned Parenthood Dr. Jessica Hamilton inside a consultation room at the health center in Sacramento. California abortion providers are preparing for an influx of patients from other states, if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark Roe vs. Wade case. Feb. 1, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

‘When you don’t know where to go, you come here:’ California preps to be a haven for abortion rights

by Alexei Koseff April 25, 2022May 2, 2022

Angelenos celebrate during the 33rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2018. Thousands of people lined the streets of South Los Angeles for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade that is among the nation's biggest celebrations of the holiday. Photo by Richard Vogel, AP Photo

California Divide

California’s reparations task force explained

by Lil Kalish April 13, 2022April 13, 2022

Tenants and housing rights activists protest for a halting of rent payments and mortgage debt in Los Angeles on October 1, 2020. Photo by Lucy Nicholson, REUTERS

California primed to extend eviction ban — again

by Emily Hoeven March 25, 2022March 25, 2022

Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon at the Sacramento Press Club on Aug. 8, 2018. Robbie Short for CalMatters

What’s on the priority list for top California legislators?

by Sameea Kamal February 16, 2022February 16, 2022