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Image caption: Farmworker Inocencio Cortez joins the rally in downtown Fresno on Cesar Chavez Day to help urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign the Ag Labor Voting Choice Act, providing more choices in how farm workers can vote in their union elections.
Farmworkers Ask Newsom To Sign Voting Bill

AB 616, authored by Santa Cruz Asm. Mark Stone, would allow farmworkers to vote for a union by mail instead of in elections conducted on a grower’s property.

Image caption: As their fundamental journalistic service, legacy local news organizations, most of which are struggling, help stop the spread of disinformation.
Apr 3, 2023: Democracy & Journalism

In which we consider informed civic participation.

Image caption: Pastor Casey Tinnin has come under attack following a hit-piece by a notorious spreader of disinformation.
Editor Brings Truth to Placer County

Last week Carol Feineman, managing editor of four Gold Country Media papers, provided her readers with an important piece of information that should reverse a hasty and ill-informed decision.

Image caption: Assemblymember Buffy Wicks' bill would make Google, Facebook, et al, pay when their ads appear alongside content generated by legitimate news media.
Making Online Media Giants Pay for the Industry They Crushed

Asm. Buffy Wicks' AB 886, the Journalism Preservation Act, would require Google, Facebook, et al, to share advertising revenue with news media organizations.

Image caption: Artificial intelligence, experts say, is moving closer toward matching human intelligence. Should we stop it?
Should AI Developers Take a 6-Month Break?

Artificial intelligence development is moving fast. Elon Musk and others are now calling for AI researchers to pause for six months to ensure safety and ethical measures are put in place.

Image caption: A memorial to the seven victims slain in a mass shooting in Half Man Bay in January 2023.
Mass Shootings in California: 2023 Has Been a Bad Year

Three mass shootings with at least six fatalities have already taken place in California in 2023, resulting in 25 deaths. Statistically however, California has been below average for the United States in rate of mass shooting deaths.

Image caption: Historic downtown Salinas, California, capital of Monterey County, and the hub of  "America's Salad Bowl."
The Ghost of a California Newspaper

James Rainey reports that the Salinas Californian, the daily newspaper serving the capital of Monterey County, has completely emptied its newsroom.

Image caption: The Elephant in the Room: Incivility, at both ends of the political spectrum, wreaks havoc on our democracy. We can do something about this.
Mar 27, 2023: Connection or Chaos?

Greetings from Midtown Sacramento, where this morning broke bright and cold for the second day in a row. Don’t know about you but I’m ready for the warmth of spring. And trying to feel good about the rain that’s still …

Image caption: We're working to make it easier for you to find your way around this awesome state by improving our site architecture and User Interface, and building out two new editorial products.
California Local's Spring 2023 Roadmap

Several projects are underway to make California Local beautiful and more functional. We're working hard to make it even easier for our members to citizen. (And remember: 'Citizen' is a verb!)

Image caption: State of Jefferson is only the best-known of dozens of plans for counties to secede from the state of California.
All About the Plan to Break Up California

State of Jefferson may be the best-known secessionist movement, but starting before California became a state, there have been at lest 220 efforts to divide the state into two pieces, or even more.

Image caption: The State of Jefferson Double-X flag symbolizes the California's supposed "double cross" of its northern counties.
State of the State of Jefferson

State of Jefferson is a movement by northern counties to secede from California and form a new state. Here's everything you need to know about this secessionist movement, which started in 1941 and remains strong today.

Image caption: Tiny Pajaro (center) sits across the river from Watsonville in the strawberry-rich Pajaro Valley.
Mar 20, 2023: Survival and Civic Engagement

Hello and welcome to the first “statewide” issue of The Newsletter from California Local.

Image caption: Valerie Jarrett with the commander in chief in the Blue Room of the White House in 2010.
What Is Civic Engagement?

President Obama’s closest advisor, Valerie Jarrett, created and ran the White House Office of Public Engagement. Because democracy.

Image caption: What role did the self-described "libertarian" venture capitalist play in SVB's collapse?
Did Peter Thiel Cause the Collapse of SVB?

Peter Thiel, the Donald Trump supporting Silicon Valley billionaire and venture capitalist, may have played a big role inthe bank run that ended in the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. But why?

Image caption: The government has avoided calling its plan to pay off SVB depositors a "bailout." But is it?
Silicon Valley Bank Collapse: the Causes and Bailout

SVB lobbied hard for bank deregulation, which may have led to its own failure. And depositors blew past limits on federal insurance, knowing they would lose their cash if the bank went under unless the government saved them. Here’s how …

Image caption: Withholding a mere 1% of LA's water would protect Mono Lake and millions of birds.
Save Mono Lake Again

A sizeable coalition has called for California's water regulator to take emergency measures to protect Mono Lake and suspend diversions to Los Angeles.

Image caption: DWR’s report on groundwater sustainability plans was illustrated with this photograph of a wheat field irrigated by groundwater in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
DWR Flushes Six Groundwater Plans

The San Joaquin Valley plans, serving low-income Latino communities, were deemed inadequate for preventing dry wells and sinking land.

Image caption: The snow-lined South Fork of the American River on March 3, 2023.
Too Much, Too Early

When warm storms melt snowpack early, reservoir managers must release water to prevent flooding—which sends this precious resource into the ocean.

Image caption: Just because record rains have been falling, the state’s water crisis remains.
What Is Drought? Probably Not What You Think

2023’s torrential rainstorms have eased California's drought conditions. But there’s a lot more to drought than the amount of rain, and this drought isn't over yet.

Image caption: Braver Angels members discuss election reform.
Bridging the Great Divide

In a time of unprecedented polarization, Braver Angels encourages citizens to do something completely revolutionary: listen to each other.