'Engaged California' and Digital Democracy

This appears to be the first such injunction since the U.S. Supreme Court let cities crack down on homeless encampments in California and beyond.

Since 2016, the DMV has collected more than $8 million from nearly 5,300 car sales, according to a CalMatters analysis.

Oakland Democrat Buffy Wicks said lawmakers will soon see 20 bills to speed up housing construction, along with more on energy, water and transit.

The governor’s announcement affects most of the state workforce and will take effect on July 1.

Two years ago, California made a bold announcement that it would manufacture a state-branded, low-cost insulin. Drug manufacturers, insurers, economists and diabetics took notice. It had the potential to disrupt the market, bring down drug costs and save patients’ lives.

RED MEANS FAILURE, green means progress. Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced a new tracker tool this week that shows how local agencies are using state funds to eradicate homelessness and rates their success. The concept is to pool data on grants and reporting so counties can watch other counties; the public can watch state spending; and the governor can make the argument for granting or cutting funds.

State and federal water managers have announced significant increases to water allocations across California thanks to early February storms and healthy reservoir levels.

In the past few months, some Democratic state legislators have joined the reported exodus of users on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

Almost 15 million Californians have health care coverage through Medi-Cal, a program that stands to lose billions of dollars if Republicans follow through on proposed cuts.

The governor has proposed spending climate bond money dedicated to wildfire mitigation in various ways. Some lawmakers think a focused strategy would be more effective.

Read on for details about a report on the 2-year Yolo County Basic Income Program which ended in April 2024.

It’s been eight months since the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed how cities in California and beyond can respond to homeless encampments, allowing them to clear camps and arrest people for sleeping outside — even when there’s nowhere else to sleep.

Each year, legislation aimed at better wildfire mitigation fails – often due to cost or conflict with environmental regulations.

Feather River College is still reeling from the 2021 Dixie Fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes in the surrounding community and warped the housing market. The college is one of many schools that have tried — and failed — to secure state grants to build more student housing.

University of California laboratory technicians, information technologists, museum and health care workers went on strike Wednesday to protest what they say are staffing shortages and other grievances.

Ricardo Lara said he will look at information provided by State Farm before revisiting his previous decision to reject the company’s emergency rate hike.

A new program dubbed “Engaged California” aiming to give the public a greater voice in government is launching soon, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced. Described as an exercise in “deliberative democracy,” the program is designed to help the public influence and inform government actions such as the ongoing Los Angeles firestorm rebuilding and recovery, the governor’s office said.

California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36, a new law that stiffened penalties for certain drug and theft charges, and pledged to provide “mass treatment” for those facing drug charges.

But since the law took effect, some counties have been scrambling to implement the measure without new funding or, according to people involved in enforcing the law, sufficient resources.

California is giving students more time to apply for college aid due to a drop in completed applications.