California Divide

Illustration of a silhouette of a person wearing a hard hat, crouched and sitting inside an orange prescription bottle

Economy

Fewer California workers were dying on the job. Then fentanyl happened

Employers and unions are grappling with the opioid crisis, while the state inches toward requiring Narcan in workplaces.

By

Jeanne Kuang

and

Jeremia Kimelman

• December 11, 2024

A close-up view of a person's legs in an orange jumpsuit and blue shoes standing next to a metal table in a common area of a detention center. The person is surrounded by more metal tables and other people in orange jumpsuits walking through the common area.

Justice

ICE is looking for a new detention center in Blue California. The state probably can’t stop it

A possible migrant detention facility within two hours of San Francisco has some lawmakers concerned.

By

Wendy Fry

• December 5, 2024

A collage-style illustration in red and yellow hues with various visuals related to housing and rent, including: a house, an apartment building, a Google maps screenshot, a "for rent" sign, a key, a line graph, rent prices, an arrow pointing up and a legal document.

Technology

Landlords are using AI to raise rents — and California cities are leading the pushback

California and federal prosecutors have accused software company RealPage of enriching itself ”at the expense of renters who pay inflated prices."

By

Wendy Fry

• December 2, 2024

Residential single family homes under construction in the community of Valley Center on June 3, 2021. Photo by Mike Blake, Reuters

California Divide

California AG charges construction firm with felony wage theft and tax evasion

A wood framing company is accused of stiffing workers and the state $2.6 million. Two employees could face penalties and jail if convicted.

By

Deborah Brennan

• November 26, 2024

A view of a man wearing a gray shirt and black pants standing in the living room of his home. A frame Buddha art piece and decorations that read "love" and "home" can be seen in the background. Chanthon Bun stands in the living room of his home in San Leandro on Nov. 23, 2024. Bun was born in Cambodia during the genocide in the 1970s and grew up in a refugee camp in Thailand before moving to the United States, where he was convicted of a crime and at age 18. That was decades ago, but now he's anxious about President-elect Donald Trump's plan for mass immigrant deportation. Photo by Jungho Kim for CalMatters

California Divide

‘What’s going to happen to my kids’: California prepares to resist Trump deportations

In the first Trump administration, California passed a "Sanctuary State" law that, with some exceptions, prohibited local law enforcement from automatically transferring people to federal immigration authorities. Now the state is readying legal challenges to thwart a second Trump administration's mass deportation plans.

By

Wendy Fry

• November 25, 2024

Two people in protective gear and face masks cleaning up the front year of a house with a pile of debris nearby.

California Divide

As atmospheric river soaks California, farmworkers await flood aid promised in 2023

Floodwaters devastated the small communities of Pajaro and Planada in early 2023. California gave each town $20 million to recover – but as residents face down another winter, much of the aid has yet to reach them.

By

Felicia Mello

• November 22, 2024

A person is holding a section of pipe while a group of people surrounds him as he teaches a lesson at a table in a workshop.

California Divide

This Central Valley program helps Californians get six-figure jobs

ValleyBuild is a workforce development program that helps applicants into apprenticeships for construction trades.

By

Fiona Kelliher

• November 15, 2024

A person stands outdoors in partial shadow, framed by vertical lines in the foreground. The person has a calm expression and is looking forward. In the background, a building with windows and doors is softly out of focus under clear daylight.

California Divide

California empowered immigrants to speak up at work. Trump could end their protections

California wants to protect witnesses in workplace investigations from deportation, but the Biden administration program for undocumented employees is at risk with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

By

Jeanne Kuang

• November 11, 2024

A person wearing a face mask works in a large warehouse aisle lined with shelves filled with boxes. They are sorting items from a cart holding two bright yellow bins labeled "HEAVY." Overhead, fluorescent lights illuminate the space, and a large blue industrial fan is mounted on the right side. Signs on the shelves indicate section numbers and rows.

Elections

No raise for California’s minimum wage workers. Voters reject Prop. 32

California voters refused to raise the statewide minimum wage to $18 an hour. Fast food and health care workers already get more.

By

Jeanne Kuang

• November 5, 2024

A for-rent sign hanging in front of an apartment complex in Tower District in Fresno on July 27, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/Catchlight Local Fellow

Politics

Californians vote against rent control as Prop. 33 fails

California voters are deciding whether or not to repeal a past restriction on what properties could be affected by rent control, and whether the state can dictate local rent control policy.

By

Felicia Mello

• November 5, 2024

California Divide

Covering income inequality across the state