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Sacramento County News & Analysis Articles


Image caption: In San Francisco, new police officers can now expect six-figure starting salaries, and other cities are taking similar measures.
Cities Compete to Give Police Recruits the Best Financial Deal

California cities are struggling to hire police in a tight labor market after the COVID pandemic. Some are raising by double digits and offering eye-catching bonuses.

Image caption: New COVID boosters are on the way that will help to protect against rising cases and new variants.
COVID Cases on the Rise Again: Here’s What You Need to Know

It’s a confusing time in the COVID pandemic. A new booster is on the way, but cases are rising and you might want more protection now.

Image caption: A victory by McDonald's workers at a Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, location was a rarity among retaliation cases.
Workers Suffering Increased Retaliation for On-Job Complaints

More workers are filing claims with the state alleging employers are retaliating against them for engaging in legally protected activities, such as seeking overtime pay or reporting wage theft or discrimination.

Image caption: One of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River targeted for demolition.
Dam Demolition Gets Going. Can Klamath River be Saved?

As four aging hydroelectric dams are demolished, tribes and communities along the Klamath River wait anxiously to see what the future holds. “Once a river is dammed, is it damned forever?” experts ask.

Image caption: In a recent poll, 60 percent of Californians supported use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.
How Some Psychedelic Drugs Could Be Decriminalized in California

Psychedelics are having a moment. A nationwide push to bring magic mushrooms and other psychedelics into the mainstream is gaining traction, and some Californians want in.

Image caption: Protests have erupted statewide in response to right-wing activists in California school districts who are trying to put anti-LGBTQ+ policies in place.
State Moves to Stop Anti-LGBTQ+ Local School Board Policies

Under a system that has long prioritized local control for school districts. state officials now are fighting some recent board decisions regarding LGBTQ students.

Image caption: About 52,000 acres land in Solano County, southwest of Sacramento and east of the Napa Valley, will become a new “megacity” if a group of tech titans get their way.
Tech Titans Revealed as Buyers of $1 Billion of Land in Solano County

The mysterious buyers of $1 billion worth of Solano County land have been revealed as a consortium of Silicon Valley billionaires who want to build a new city from scratch.

Image caption: Orange County Health Care Agency psychologist Stacey Berardino speaks about CARE Court at St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Cypress.
CARE Courts Reduction of Homelessness May be Minimal, Officials Say

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s big new experiment to push people with mental illness off the streets and into treatment starts this fall. Counties responsible for the rollout say it may end up being more modest than advertised.

Image caption: Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside is set to receive $33.2 million in state interest-free loans.
State to Bail Out 3 Bankrupt Hospitals With No-Interest Loans

Some independent California community hospitals have struggled with rising costs since the COVID-19 pandemic. Three declared bankruptcy this year, prompting the state to distribute interest-free loans.

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Why a Colorado Company Funds a California Tax-Limiting Initiative

American Medical Response has poured more than $3 million into a November 2024 initiative to raise requirements for levying taxes and fees. The company says it’s looking out for patients, but local officials say it’s about the money.

Image caption: Advocates of allowing public meetings to use COVID-19 pandemic rules say they increase inclusiveness.
Pandemic Rules to Remain for Public Meetings Under New Bill

State boards are backing a bill to continue carve-outs from California’s open meetings law. An unusual coalition of good government, press, taxpayer and industry groups is fighting back.

Image caption: California generates 70 percent more toxic waste than in 2010, but storage sites have declined by 80 percent over 40 years.
California’s Hazardous Waste Disposal System Is in Tatters

Neighbors to one of California’s biggest hazardous waste recyclers say they’re unfairly exposed to pollution, but can California afford to lose one of the few facilities that still takes toxic waste?

Image caption: A recent farmworker death highlights the need for additional heat safety measures.
Farmworker Dies in 100-Degree Heat Amid Calls for New Protections

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and the United Farm Workers union say a recent death in a tomatillo field was due to heat, but a coroner’s report doesn’t back that up.

Image caption: Hurricane Hilary formed off the coast of Mexico, quickly intensifying from a tropical storm to hurricane status.
Climate Change Brings Rare Tropical Storm to California

Climate change has warmed Pacific Ocean waters, causing storms to rapidly intensify, leading to the first tropical storm watch in Southern California ever as Hurricane Hilary prepares to make landfall.

Image caption: Loud noise created by other people is a form of pollution that can put a stop to housing projects, a court has ruled.
Housing Advocates ‘Infuriated’ as Human Noise Pollution Blocks Projects

Two different state courts have ruled recently that the human noise created by future tenants in housing projects are a form of pollution that cities must address. Lawmakers and the governor are working to reverse that novel interpretation of environmental …

Image caption: Statements recorded by police body cameras may not substitute for an actual witness.
Police Body Cam Can’t Replace Witness Testimony, CA Supremes Rule

More California police departments are deploying body cameras. A new court ruling restricts how prosecutors can use footage of witness accounts at trial.

Image caption: The AES Alamitos Generating Station in Long Beach, and natural gas plants in Huntington Beach and Oxnard, will remain operational.
Southern California Natural Gas Plants Will Stay Open Through 2026

Three fossil fuel plants will stand by to provide emergency power for three more years despite California's mandate to switch to clean energy by 2045.

Image caption: The fate of three community hospitals may lie in the hands of California's largest health care chains.
Health Chains May Keep 3 Bankrupt California Hospitals Alive

Two of the three troubled California hospitals are especially vital to their communities because they’re the only emergency providers in their rural counties. Health care chains could keep them afloat.

Image caption: “I have given the city an opportunity to move in the right direction,” District Attorney Thien Ho said.
District Attorney Stands Firm

California Local speaks to Sacramento DA Thien Ho one day after Mayor Darrell Steinberg called a press conference to address Ho’s threat to city officials.

Image caption: Almost 4 of 10 California Black women work at least two jobs and 62 percent say the second job is "essential."
Poll: California's Black Women are Overworked, Underpaid

A recent state survey reveals 2 in 3 Black women are breadwinners; 8 in 10 worry about discrimination or mistreatment and more like Gov. Gavin Newsom than Vice President Kamala Harris.

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