This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Three years ago, California built a first-in-the-nation system aimed at protecting drivers when oil markets turn calamitous. The Legislature passed it. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it. He proclaimed “California took on Big Oil and won.” Its author, then-Sen. Nancy Skinner called it a “landmark law” that […]
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Gov. Newsom and Pres. Trump Tell the Same Inadequate Tale About Native America
Native American Heritage Month turns a spotlight on how we treat issues of importance to Indigenous peoples. Below: An assistant professor specializing in Indigenous people’s history describes how U.S. political leaders fail to respect Native American governments. Another view: A former museum curator describes how museums and universities neglect the remains of ancestors and artifacts […]
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He built a nursing home empire despite state investigations. Now, lawsuits are piling up
California nursing homes affiliated with Shlomo Rechnitz are facing lawsuits alleging that patients were raped, ignored and unnecessarily exposed to COVID-19. His companies deny the allegations. This story was originally published by CalMatters. In February 2024, a Los Angeles County jury awarded $2.34 million to an 84-year-old nursing home resident named Betsy Jentz, finding that the […]
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California Democrats Made Prop. 50 About Trump. Polls Show it’s Working as Voting Ends
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A day before voting ends for Proposition 50, California voters appear poised to approve Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to gerrymander the state’s congressional districts in Democrats’ favor. Recent opinion polls show strong support for the Yes side. Newsom’s campaign is flooding the airwaves with star-studded advertisements […]
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Supporters Are Way Ahead in Fundraising for Newsom’s Prop. 50, but the Race Remains Close
California, listen up: Former President Barack Obama wants you to know that the whole nation is counting on you this November. “Democracy is on the ballot,” the 44th president says straight to camera in the latest advertisement from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign for Proposition 50, the ballot question that asks voters to temporarily gerrymander California’s […]
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Top Democrats Say They Won’t Just ‘Trump-proof’ California — They’ll Make it Affordable Again
The leaders of the state Legislature have a message for voters: We know you’re frustrated with how expensive California is — and we’re going to fix it. After a painful election that sparked recriminations and soul-searching among Democrats across the country, state Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas are returning […]
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Medical Debt Wouldn’t Hurt Credit Under California Bill
Medical debt weighs heavily on the lives of millions of Californians. It can ding their credit scores and hurt their chances of landing a rental or securing a home mortgage. Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced a proposal to stop medical debt from showing up on credit reports. That proposed rule is under consideration […]
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California is not Close to Meeting its Climate Change Mandates
California will fail to meet its ambitious mandates for combating climate change unless the state almost triples its rate of reducing greenhouse gases through 2030, according to a new analysis released last week. After dropping during the pandemic, California’s emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other climate-warming gases increased 3.4 percent in 2021, when the […]
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Legislators Unveil Measure to Ask Voters for $1 Billion Offshore Wind Bond
In a step toward building the first massive wind farms off California’s coast, three Assemblymembers on Feb. 8 proposed a $1 billion bond act to help pay for the expansion of ports. The bill, if approved, would place a bond before voters aimed at helping ports build capacity to assemble, construct and transport wind turbines […]
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Saving Salmon: Newsom Unveils Blueprint for Ending Decades-long Decline
With salmon populations throughout California declining for decades and facing the threat of extinction, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday unveiled a state strategy aimed at protecting and restoring the iconic species “amidst hotter and drier weather exacerbated by climate change.” The blueprint calls for tearing down dams and improving passages for migrating salmon, restoring flows […]
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Can this Plan Fix California’s Insurance Crisis? What You Need to Know
A week after negotiations to rescue California’s floundering home insurance market stalled out in the Legislature, the state’s top insurance regulator put out his own rescue plan that effectively amounts to a trade for the state’s major insurers. Under proposed regulations Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Thursday, major insurers will be required to cover a […]
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CA Lawmakers Want to Tax Guns and Ammo
With adjournment edging ever closer next Thursday, legislators are continuing to push through bills to beat the deadline. On Thursday: Gun tax: After years of failed efforts, the Legislature sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a measure to tax firearms and ammunition to fund gun violence prevention in California, CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff reports. Assembly Bill 28 by […]