California Local Explainers, Guides, Etc.


Image caption: Google is just one of dozens of tech companies announcing major layoffs in 2022 and 2023.
Silicon Valley Boom and Bust: Why California’s Tech Mecca Always Survives

Silicon Valley has been hit with repeated boom and bust cycles throughout its history, and layoffs are sweeping the tech industry in 2023. Here's why the Valley will survive the latest downturn, as it has all the others.

Image caption: Clockwise from upper right: Architect Paul R. Williams, Assemblyman Frederick Madison Roberts, abolitionist Mary Ellen Pleasant, and Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (with President Gerald Ford).
California Pioneers

Black History Month provides an opportunity to remember the achievements of African Americans who fought for equality in the Golden State.

Image caption: Has Google established a monopoly over online advertising? The feds say yes.
DOJ Lawsuit Seeks To Force Google to Sell Ad Service

Google may be forced to sell off its $200 billion online advertising service if a new lawsuit by the federal Department of Justice claiming that Google acts as a monopoly succeeds.

Image caption: Explaining California is hard work! But at California Local, we were up for it throughout 2022.
Explaining California in 2022: 5 More of Our Best Explainers

2022 was a year that needed a lot of explaining. And California Local was there. Here are 5 "honorable mentions" in the list of our most important explanatory journalism stories from the year gone by, from animal welfare to the …

Image caption: Explaining California is hard work! But at California Local, we were up for it throughout 2022.
Explaining California in 2022: Our 10 Best Explainers of the Year

2022 was a year that needed a lot of explaining. And California Local was there. Here are our 10 most important explanatory journalism stories from the year gone by, from immigration to cryptocurrency to wealth inequality and more.

Image caption: From its earliest days, Hollywood has reigned as California's most glamorous industry.
Hooray For Hollywood: All About California’s Most Glamorous Industry

From its early days of hard-charging, Jewish immigrant moguls to today's domination by megacorporations, here's how Hollywood continues to hold its place as one of California's most important industries.

Image caption: How the American story begins in California, and continues to play out here.
California: The Most American State

California is the most American of all states, both setting the direction for the rest of the country, and acting as a mirror of what the U.S. is today. Here’s why, and how it got that way.

Image caption: The Israeli drugmaker Teva is one of three manufacturers experiencing a shortage of Amoxicillin.
Amoxicillin: Why the Popular Antibiotic is in Short Supply

Amoxicillin, the most widely prescribed antibiotic, is suddenly in short supply just as a wave of respiratory illnesses is sweeping California. What is causing the sudden shortage?

Image caption: Businessman and Republican activist Howard Jarvis was the main advocate for Prop 13 in the 1970s.
How Prop 13 Drives Economic and Racial Inequality

Proposition 13, the popular tax reform law passed in 1978, has driven increases in economic inequality and racial wealth disparities in California. Here’s how.

Image caption: California's State Capitol, seat of a government with a colorful history, to say the least.
California’s Governmental Structure: From Chaos to Compromise

California's government was born out of utter chaos. Here's how the state developed some sort of order to the way it operates, and how it makes and enforces laws.

Image caption: California has three cities of more than 1 million people, and 187 of over 50,000.
Cities in California: What Does it Take to Be One?

California is full of places and communities, but most are not cities. Here's what it takes for a community to become a city, the benefits of being one—and why the state has a 'de facto moratorium' on new cities.

Image caption: Billionaires do not have to control where the public gets its news. There are alternatives.
Taking Back Information Control From Billionaires

Billionaires now own Twitter, Facebook and numerous other online and offline media outlets. But there are other information sources not run by the super-rich. We've found a few and listed them here.

Image caption: Owning homes is the primary way the middle class builds wealth, and an option no longer available to most Californians.
Is California’s Housing Crisis Making Inequality Worse?

California has some of the worst economic inequality in the United States. Is the housing crisis a cause?

Image caption: At an Oct. 11 discussion (available on YouTube), the LWV dissects issues on the ballot in Palo Alto.
League of Women Voters Analyze Props and Measures

Palo Alto voters will vote on seven statewide props and two local measures this election.

Image caption: California aims to be 100 percent coal-free by 2026. Can other states follow suit?
Why California Uses Less Coal Than Most Other States

Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel, yet it is the source of 40 percent of the world's energy. California remains an exception to coal industry dominance, using and producing less coal that almost any other state.

Image caption: The streets of San Francisco saw one of the many women's marches held after the 2016 election.
A League of Our Own

Founded in 1920, the year that suffragettes triumphed, the League of Women Voters now protects the entire electorate’s rights.

Image caption: How did oil come to dominate both California's and the world's economy—and daily life?
Can We Break Oil’s Grip on the World Energy Economy?

Oil aka petroleum holds a tighter grip on California than any other energy source. Here's how Big Oil came to dominate the state and world economy, and some hints at how oil's grip may finally loosen.

Image caption: Yusbely Delgado Medrano, a UC Davis College Corps fellow, speaks during a swearing-in ceremony for the fellows in Sacramento on Oct. 7, 2022.
This State Program Could Help Undocumented Students Find Jobs

California’s estimated 75,000 undocumented students don’t qualify for federal work-study or most job opportunities. A new state service program launched last week, College Corps, will give hundreds of them as much as $10,000 per year to perform community service.

Image caption: Because property taxes fund local school districts, resources for students vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood.
Learning Disabilities

A child’s ZIP code can dictate educational resources, student performance, and the chance of obtaining a higher degree.

Image caption: Natural gas produces less CO2 than gasoline when burned, but the story is not that simple.
Natural Gas and California’s Energy Future

Natural gas is sometimes called a 'clean' fossil fuel, but it comes with considerable risks to the environment in both its use and how it is extracted. Here's how natural gas is a major cause of climate change.

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