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Statewide Region Business, Economy & Jobs Articles



Image caption: Board of directors come in all shapes and sizes, but by and large, the job is the same.
Anil Dash Explains: What Does a Board of Directors Do?

The writer and Internet dynamo shares his experience and reveals what happens in the board room.

San Jose Inside logo LOCAL NEWS
Newsom Hopes to Delay Minimum Wage Boost for Health Care Workers

A higher minimum wage for health care workers that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law is set to take effect in two weeks, but he is racing to delay it because of its potential impact on the state budget deficit.

Image caption: California Forever CEO Jan Sramek announces that he has gathered enough signatures to get his plan on the November ballot in Solano County.
California Forever CEO on Democracy and City Planning

Jan Sramek disavows techno-libertarian 'Network State,' explains why master-planned cities are All-American, and talks of his love for walkable communities.

Image caption: A screenshot from “Modern Times” (1936), Charlie Chaplin’s meditation on the vicissitudes of labor.
For May Day: A Temp Worker’s Oddest Jobs

They were odd jobs, but somebody had to do them. On International Workers’ Day, one peripatetic laborer shares his career lowlights.

Image caption: San Jose is finally working to fix its housing shortage, as are many California cities. This could help quell the hoards heading out of state.
Is the ‘California Exodus’ Over?

Despite predictions that the party on the West Coast is winding down, California’s population increased last year for the first time since 2020.

Image caption: Gov. Gavin Newsom tours a Chinese electric-car factory in October, 2023.
How California Helped Clean China’s Bad Air

A Tesla lobbyist, an LA-based environmental group, and Gov. Jerry Brown brought a rule minted in Sacramento to Beijing, and helped launch China’s EV industry.

Image caption: Every now and then, it's important to focus on good things.
One Good Thing

We announce a new initiative and invite our members to contribute.

CalMatters logo STATE NEWS
Californians Face Higher Costs for Goods and Services Than Before the Pandemic Despite Inflation Slowing

The consumer price index shows services are mostly responsible for persistent inflation, but prices for food and other goods in California remain high.

Image caption: California almond orchard in bloom. The state produces the vast majority of the world’s almond supply—about 80 percent. That number has skyrocketed over the past decade
Will the End of the Almond Boom Save California Water?

LA Times report, ‘After years of rapid growth, California’s almond industry struggles amid low prices,’ suggests bankruptcies may represent an opportunity.

Image caption: The city of Downey is home to the oldest McDonald’s restaurant still in operation.
Beyond the Burger

McDonald’s might be the biggest fast-food chain to get cooking in California, but many others have followed, serving up hot dogs, tacos, and more.

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Publishing in Paradise

Based in California’s most iconic vacation spot, Katherine Hill celebrates Tahoe Guide’s 42nd birthday.

Image caption: From its factory on the San Francisco Peninsula, Guittard makes chocolates that are used by professional pastry chefs and confectioners, including See’s Candies.
Beans, Bars and Bonbons: A Guide to California Chocolate

From giant companies with roots in the Gold Rush days to local microproducers with a focus on fair trade, California is ground zero for high-end chocolate.

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Bending the Arc of History

Here’s a short list of just some of the organizations working to build better futures for African Americans in California.

Image caption: A new law seeks to prevent cars from speeding, which causes about one of every three traffic fatalities.
If Drivers Won’t Slow Down, Proposed Law Requires Cars Do It for Them

“Intelligent” speed-limiting technology will be required in all new California cars starting in 2027, if a new law authored by San Francisco Senator Scott Wiener passes.

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Silicon Valley Billionaires vs. Bay Area’s Housing Crisis?

In NYT’s “The Farmers Had What the Billionaires Wanted,” we meet a man who wants to build a city in the middle of nowhere, and folks who are slowing him down.

Image caption: Next month marks one year since Hanna Nakano took over as publisher of The Dirt, a monthly in the city of Davis.
Publisher Q&A: Digging Into ‘The Dirt’ in Davis

Hanna Nakano says her monthly newspaper raises the voices of local residents through “the power of documentation and the power of publishing.”

Image caption: The roundabout joining Highway 12 and State Route 113 in Rio Vista, just south of the site for a proposed new city of 400,000 people.
Solano County May Get to Vote on New City in November

California Forever, the company behind a proposed new city in Solano County, will submit a ballot measure seeking an exemption from local laws to allow development on the massive project to proceed.

Image caption: "Impact fees" add thousands to the cost of building new housing. The Supreme Court could end them.
SCOTUS Hears California Case That Could Make it Cheaper to Build Housing

The highest court in the land will soon decide how much leeway cities and counties have in offsetting new construction with fees to pay for infrastructure.

Featured

Water is a human right under California law, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Agriculture and Water Shortages in the State’s Breadbasket, Explained
There are many causes contributing to this crisis. And as you may already know, this situation really is nuts.
The cycle of crime and homelessness is escalating, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Homelessness and Crime in California: Even More Complex Than You Think
What causes the cycle of homelessness and crime, and how to stop it.
Thousands of homeowners have been kicked off their fire insurance policies.
California Fire Insurance Crisis: How the State Helps Homeowners
The state tries persuading insurance companies to cover homes in fire zones.
Moss Landing in Monterey Bay is the world’s largest battery storage facility for solar and other renewable energy.
Solar Power and California’s Clean Energy Goals
How the sun is helping push the state toward 100 percent renewable energy.
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 housing a cause? Could it be a cure?
Though life expectancy has declined in recent years, Californians still live longer than most Americans.
Want to Live a Long, Healthy Life? Move to California
Californians live longer than people in all but three states, but not all counties are equal.
They help feed the whole country, but life for California’s farm workers remains a struggle.
How California Feeds the Country
California, a state known for high-tech and show business glitz, is also America’s farming powerhouse.
Zoning laws tell you what you can and can't build on the property you own. How does government get away with that?
How Zoning Laws Shape California and Society
Zoning is everywhere, but is it a way to regulate development or a tool for social engineering?
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Long-duration energy storage, such as this thermal energy storage facility, allows renewable energy sources to operate at full capacity without overloading the power grid.
How California Leads the Race For Long Duration Energy Storage
For renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to be viable, ways to store the power they create are essential.
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