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…
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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…
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…
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…
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…
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….
Striking Kaiser therapists say thousands of appointments likely to be cancelled
A union complaint filed with California regulators says a leaked internal memo shows Kaiser intended to break its own rules and state law, leaving patients…
Surrounded by death, area fentanyl pusher kept selling: Now he’s a convicted murderer who could spend life behind bars
By Scott Thomas Anderson In a 12-month window, three young people – Spencer Newsom, Hailey Modesitt and Kade Webb – all died of fentanyl overdoses….
December skies: The month brings the longest night of the year—and great views of planets
By Robert Victor Winter begins with the solstice on Dec. 20-21, at 1:21 a.m., during our longest night. There are plenty of dark skies in…
Conservation groups respond to Trump picking Lee Zeldin as head of EPA, fear dismantling of environmental protections
By Dan Bacher President-Elect Donald Trump recently announced that Lee Zeldin, a former New York Republican Congressman who holds a lifetime League of Conservation Voters…
California’s November election stopped another rent control ballot measure – and maybe its chief architect
A measure seemingly targeting the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has put forth three rent control ballot measures, is on its way to narrowly passing. By…
Analysis: The U.S. Senate could help—or significantly harm—press freedoms
By Jimmy Boegle As the 118th Congress enters its final weeks, I am very closely following two pieces of legislation—one of which would be a…
Two California prosecutors promised a different kind of justice. Voters turned on them
By Cayla Mihalovich for CalMatters California’s two best known “progressive” prosecutors were doing what they promised the voters who elected them. Pamela Price, elected as…
Remembering Davis’s tragic ‘House of Horrors’
The Chiles Mansion and what happened in 1972 By David Kulczyk Over a decade ago, the heirs of Mary Simmons put 12 undeveloped acres of prime…
Sacramento, Yolo and San Joaquin groups join native tribes and environmentalists to battle Newsom as he gets more water districts to support Delta tunnel
By Dan Bacher Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom celebrated the recent votes by three water agencies for the next phase of funding for the proposed…