Christmas ghosts, the California Gold Rush and hard times in Victorian Sacramento
By Scott Thomas Anderson Charles Dickens never made it west of Buffalo, New York, during his longest visit to America in 1867; though, by then,…
Read More 
B Street Theatre’s production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ shines with audience participation, candy and unadulterated joy
By Dave Kempa Mirth! Joy! Candy! The moment audience members shuffle into the theater for B Street Theatre’s winking take on “A Christmas Carol,” they…
California new laws for 2025: Cannabis cafes and entertainment zones
By the CalMatters staff Starting Jan. 1, alcohol and cannabis sales could expand in some parts of California thanks to two new laws that aim…
A lost journalist, an absent friend: Here’s to the memory of a great breaking news photographer
I could tell you stories about Bill Lavallie, the beloved photojournalist from the Gold Country who just passed away. Sitting in a bar with some…
Music marvels: Timothee Chalamet and his fellow performers make Bob Dylan biopic ‘A Complete Unknown’ truly special
By Bob Grimm The movie surrounding him is merely decent—but Timothee Chalamet is so incredible as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown that he elevates the film. …
Protecting the Children
Sacramento’s Child Abuse Prevention Center fights harm and neglect through education and advocacy by M.S. Enkoji When the Child Abuse Prevention Center chose a new…
New book on college murders, ‘When the Night Comes Falling,’ may resonate in Chico and Davis
Darkness can descend anywhere: This is a bleak truth pushing the gravity through Howard Blum’s “When the Night Comes Falling: A Requiem for the Idaho…
Sacramento’s Elise Hodge on art exposure and a new era of live-streamed theater
By Helen Harlan Walking down 28th Street in the Newton Booth neighborhood of Sacramento, you might miss The Ooley Theatre. The nonprofit, multi-use venue is…
Sites Reservoir in the Sacramento Valley remains a second environmental battlefront between Newsom and California tribes and conservation groups
By Dan Bacher Gavin Newsom continued his “California Jobs First” tour last week with a press event at a farm in Colusa in the Sacramento Valley where the…
Hope Cooperative CEO April Ludwig on continued advocacy for housing policies and wraparound services in Sacramento
By Lisa Thibodeau April Ludwig is the CEO of Hope Cooperative, a nonprofit that provides supportive housing and mental health services in Sacramento County. A…
Early Prevention
First 5 works with Sacramento County child welfare department to prevent abuse and neglect of children If a child turns up at school almost every…
If the American Dream means hard work leads to getting ahead, most Californians no longer believe it
Seventy percent of the state’s residents think kids in the state will be financially worse off than their parents. By Mark Kreidler, Capital & Main…
Residents of Sacramento housing complex live with mold. Single mother fights for repairs.
By Robert J. Hansen Marcheri Smith has lived in public housing at Alder Grove for seven years. For the last three the single mom has…
Lifetime in the arts: Author Anne Da Vigo taps into thriller-writing mindset
By Joan Cusick Author Anne Da Vigo is rewriting the rules of what it means to be an older adult. As a young journalist, she…
Why California’s Latina wage gap is nation’s worst
Concentration in low-paying industries and lack of education and career training mean Latinas earn 44% of what white men are paid. By Mark Kreidler, Capital…
A Leg Up, Not a Hand Out
Reparations can give Black communities the opportunity to thrive For generations, Black and African Americans have faced discrimination and an uphill battle for basic civil…
Kendrick Lamar’s surprise release ‘GNX’ keeps it all the way L.A.
Lamar’s different approach results in an instant west coast classic By Chris D. Johnson Kendrick Lamar caught the world by surprise by releasing his newest…
Court ruling clouds historic housing district’s future in Sacramento
Alder Grove could be razed under city plan By Robert J. Hansen The future of a historic public housing development is unclear after a Sacramento…
‘Georgiana & Kitty’ doth present a Victorian Yuletide tale to brighten up the season
By Patti Roberts ‘Tis the festive Yuletide season — a time for the esteemed Darcy and Bennet families to arrive at Capitol Stage for the…
California’s employment safety net is still broken. Will anyone fix it?
By Lauren Hepler for CalMatters Kim Tanner didn’t expect to become a fraud detective when she filed for disability with the California Employment Development Department….