All California Local Articles

A year from now we’ll be choosing the next U.S. president. But there are many important decisions to be made before then. Now’s the time to start getting ready for the March 5 primary.

The United Farm Workers, which represents nearly 7,000 workers, won a unionization vote in Stanislaus County. It’s the first such win in six years and first under a law that went into effect in May.

By the end of September 2023, more than $358 million had been spent this year on lobbying California’s Legislature, agencies, and Public Utilities Commission.

While state regulators craft new regulations and consult with the insurance industry, many Californians are paying extra-high premiums—or going without insurance entirely.

New vaccines for RSV and an updated booster for COVID-19 give Californians more tools to protect themselves from respiratory viruses this fall.

California and 32 other states are suing Instagram’s parent company, Meta, saying that their apps are damaging to children. Is there evidence for those claims? Here’s why social media is under attack.

After a 2018 vote authorizing the state legislature to make daylight saving time year-round, Californians are still changing their clocks twice per year. How did we get here?

After the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in college admissions, some students are rethinking their school selections. Some colleges are also boosting their student outreach as they seek diversity.

It’s the highest-profile race next year in California. This is where the leading candidates—Democrats Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff—are raising the most money.

California took the first step toward a single-payer health care system when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 770 this month, but the move is not enough for many backers of universal health coverage.

The state’s unemployment insurance debt, which ballooned as a result of the pandemic, is in dire straits with no clear path forward.

KQED has spent more than three years reporting on how reparations could work in California. This series looks at the nuanced work that could be needed.

Black women are three times more likely than any other women to die during or immediately after pregnancy. California passed a 2019 law requiring hospitals to train labor and delivery staff on bias in medicine.

It’s happened more than 300 times in the state’s history: a once-bustling town is abandoned, leaving behind ramshackle houses, crumbling roads and forlorn tableaux.

Only 40 percent of California high schools offer computer science classes as California falls behind in technology education nationally. A new law aims to make it easier to certify computer science teachers.

California’s poverty rate climbed and its working poor grew this spring, says the Public Policy Institute of California. Safety net programs played a major role in poverty rate changes.

California has more gun laws than any other state. Here's how it took a series of mass shootings to make the state the toughest in the country on guns.

A recent incident in San Francisco spurred the Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission to suspend the licenses for Cruise’s driverless cars.

Logistics is one of the largest industries in California and keeps the state economy running. But it also comes with a heavy cost to the environment. Here are the facts on the most important industry you don't know much about, …

California grants climate credits for fuel made from cow manure, but there’s a paradox: The state’s program encourages collection of methane yet promotes natural gas.