Statewide Region Local News

The state Assembly has passed legislation to require large cities, counties and school districts to use independent commissions to redraw districts for their governing boards, but the measure exempts five major counties.

In May, a video featuring a young woman named Brooklyn in heart-shaped glasses implored viewers to tell the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation how important a company named EarnIn was to their day-to-day life. EarnIn is part of a relatively new app-based industry that provides cash advances to people based on their wages.

California is considering banning the use of “reverse search warrants,” which compel tech companies to disclose the identities of individuals based on the location of their phone and internet search history. Abortion activists call it vital.

The deadline for bills to pass their first house in the California Legislature has come and gone. Most made it. A few failed. And a handful of intriguing bills that didn’t pass may resurface because their authors aren’t giving up.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 341 into law, reinstating a moratorium on the expansion of cardrooms in the state.

With a conservative Supreme Court expected to rule this summer in favor of ending or restricting affirmative action in college admissions, California’s private universities are worried about the potential impact on campus diversity. College administrators are revamping admissions and doing more high school outreach, while student activists are campaigning against a potential ban.

Workers who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic and are enrolling in a college program have until June 15 to apply for a California relief grant to receive up to $2,500 as state lawmakers seek to cut programs to plug a budget hole.

Gov. Gavin Newsom in March said state relief would soon help flood victims who don’t qualify for federal emergency relief. The state has yet to name nonprofits that will dole out the aid.

Wildfires and expensive rebuilding wiped out their profits, California home insurers say. State Farm isn’t the first insurer to retreat from the state, and may not be the last.

Proposed cuts stemming from California’s budget deficit mean community colleges may be unable to improve AC and heating, make safety upgrades or follow through on major programs and infrastructure projects.

Environmentalists say it’s past time for California water officials to halt Los Angeles’ diversion of Mono Lake’s tributaries. But L.A. officials insist that water is a tiny but vital part of the city’s water supply.

The state Air Resources Board voted today to ban the substance known as chromium 6, giving platers several years to switch to an alternative the platers say won’t produce the same chrome shine.

Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled out a plan to speed construction of major public infrastructure and demanded quick votes from lawmakers. His Democratic allies put the proposals on ice.

After unanimously clearing the Senate, a bill expanding first responders' access to workers’ comp for PTSD moves to the Assembly.

Officials are proposing to increase reimbursement rates for some Medi-Cal providers, who say low pay rates prevent them from taking more patients.

California's public transit agencies are seeking $5 billion over five years to keep buses and trains running, but time is running out in the budget process at the state Capitol. To address criticism, they submitted a new accountability plan.

The UC Student Association is calling for California to spend millions more on disability services at the university, as disabled students report long wait times to access the academic accommodations they say they need to succeed.

The U.S. government has approved a proposed multibillion-dollar transmission line that would send wind-generated electricity from rural New Mexico to big cities in the West.

California legislative committees in the Assembly and Senate blocked two big climate bills. One would have made the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets more ambitious. Another would have allowed people to sue oil companies over health problems if they meet certain criteria.

In 2020, a fallen tree in Shasta County landed on PG&E energy conductors, which caused a fire that burned 56,338 acres and killed four people. On May 18, a $150 million settlement was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission regarding PG&E's involvement in the Zogg Fire.