All California Local Newsletters

As voters receive their ballots for the 2024 presidential election and important statewide and local races, we look at efforts to build democracy, and efforts to weaken it.

Volunteering and looking out for one another is central to community life.

A spectacular piece of land north of Santa Cruz shows what a determined group of people, with the help of a tenacious little media company, can do.

California's first big reservoir project in decades is underway, as the state finally gets rid of some old dams. Environmental responsibility meets aridification.

As some municipalities struggle to find people to run for elected offices and advisory boards, we look at the civic engagement pipeline.

In which we salute the hard workers who make California the fifth largest economy on the planet.

For one thing, "citizen," like "garden," can be used as a verb.

In the midst of charges that California, and its favorite daughter Kamala Harris, are soft on crime, lawmakers step up in the name of public safety.

Joe Biden visited the Santa Cruz County beach towns of Aptos and Capitola following bad storms a couple winters ago. Last week, his administration delivered a big pile of money to help these communities and their neighbors build resilience.

As July goes down in the history books as the hottest ever recorded, the 2024 California fire season has already burned more than 30 times as much acreage as in 2023.

This week: Two examples of ways people in and around government and politics worked behind the scenes, and in the state house, to make things better.

If you've ever wondered how your governments raise and spend your tax money, here's a primer.

The public process that determines who stays cool and who does not—and many more urgent issues. Plus a virtual escape to the high country.

Over the past week, citizens empowered as members of civil grand juries issued reports of their investigations of local governments. It's an honorable institution, and they found some dishonorable stuff.

The celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is always a booming success for the fireworks industry.

Summer is here, and with it, fire season.

Logging for the future, starting in 1946, and building water resiliency, starting now.

It's impossible to predict the future—unless you set your mind to make something happen and build a coalition to execute your plan. That's how democracy works. And, frankly, how California works.

Kamala Harris, Tiger Woods, and 23 more AAPI Californians; DTLA flourishes, and a homemade birthday cake.

Our brand new book, "How California Works: Building Democracy in the Golden State," tells a true story that you'll be glad to know. And: Learn how, if you look closely, you'll see that things are truly getting better.