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CalMatters

@calmatters.org

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CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization. We write stories about California, for Californians.

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 16d

We’re here to answer any questions you have about Proposition 50 or how to vote.

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 16d

Great interactive voter guide from excellent @calmatters.org

It's on Prop 50, to re-district CA /gain Dem seats. Enter your address and see how district would change. Eg, w minor shift of lines, would change my home district from 37/33 GOP to 44/25 Dem. (cont.)

calmatters.org/california-v...

Map of San Bernardino county, showing how current congressional district is 37/33 GOP. Change would make it 44/25 Dem.

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 2h

Los Altos Hills agreed to legalize some apartment buildings. Now, with a project proposed at Twin Oaks that would include the town’s first-ever affordable housing units, the wealthy Bay Area suburb is having second thoughts. https://cal.news/47hCdV6

📝 @frombenc.bsky.social

Why this wealthy Bay Area suburb is at the center of the next big fight over California housing

Los Altos Hills agreed to legalize some apartment buildings. Now it wants a do-over.

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 2h

Thank you! With the Whatmatters newsletter, folks have been receiving it via email, but we were also able to get it back up on the website as of today.
- Michael

CalMatters @calmatters.org · 2h

We are nonpartisan! And also transparent. You can find our funders here: calmatters.org/about/funding/

- Michael

How We're Funded

CalMatters is funded through foundations, advertisers, major donors, sponsorships and members. We spend the majority of our funding on reporters, editors, photographers, researchers and people who sup...

calmatters.org

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 2h

Thank you for engaging our work and sharing your views with us! - Michael.

CalMatters @calmatters.org · 3h

California’s K-12 schools will take far-ranging steps to prevent sexual abuse on campus — including building a database of teachers under investigation for misconduct — under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. https://cal.news/46KbeRS

📸 Miguel Gutierrez Jr.

The hallway of an elementary in Sacramento on May 11, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Hed: Newsom signs bill to prevent sex abuse in schools

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 4h

Campaign strategists and election watchers agree there are two big questions whose outcomes could decide the race — who can sell a simpler message, and which side can convince more uninformed voters to turn out. https://cal.news/3IPS440

📸 Larry Valenzuela

Reno Lanfranco, owner of Reno’s Hardware, stands in one of the aisles of his business. Photos by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Quote: “I’m telling everybody — all my employees, if they want to listen to me or not, and all my customers — vote no on it."

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 5h

Update: Governor Newsom signed AB 566 into law today. It requires web browsers include an easy opt out of personal data collection. Learn more about it: https://cal.news/4gjjXNS

📝 @khari.bsky.social & @bystellayu.bsky.social

How Google organized opposition to a California privacy proposal

Google organized business owners against California legislation to force its Chrome web browser to safeguard personal data.

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 5h

The San Mateo County sheriff is in hot water and facing removal. If she hangs on, she'll benefit from a little-noticed California law that changed the dates of local elections. https://cal.news/48mt5zw

📸 Nathan Frandino, Reuters

San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus during a news conference in Half Moon Bay on Jan. 24, 2023. Photo by Nathan Frandino, Reuters

Hed: California sheriffs and DAs are getting a rare political perk — 6-year terms

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 6h

Commentary:

So how will my disgust about the entire process affect my vote —even if I resist the temptation to toss my ballot into the nearest wastebasket? I really don’t know.
https://cal.news/4nAIRLX

📝 Dan Walters

Opinion | Gerrymander duelists, Newsom and Trump, deserve scorn for partisan power plays

Redrawn maps will likely increase the number of Democrats in Congress while also boosting Gov. Gavin Newsom's chances in a presidential race.

cal.news

CalMatters @calmatters.org · 7h

CA has about 100,000 workers in the fossil fuel industry, according to an August report by the Public Policy Institute of California. As the state continues its transition to renewable energy, many of those jobs may disappear — and some already have. https://cal.news/48m5Be2

📸 Stella Kalinina

The Wilmington location of the Phillips 66 refinery complex in Los Angeles, on Sept. 30, 2025. Photo by Stella Kalinina for CalMatters

Hed: Oil refinery closures leave workers searching for a job that ‘just doesn’t exist’

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 7h

Commentary:

Californians can count on their elections. That hasn't changed. What has changed is the volume of false claims from the federal government. https://cal.news/4mZ144O

📝 Gowri Ramachandran

Californians should ignore the federal government's false claims about our elections

Californians can count on their elections. That hasn't changed. What has changed is the volume of false claims from the federal government.

calmatters.org

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 7h

California’s famously slow vote-counting process could see slight improvements next year after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that gives counties an earlier deadline to tally voters’ ballots. https://cal.news/48UzB0C

📸 Miguel Gutierrez Jr.

Election workers process ballots at the Sacramento County Voter Registration and Elections office in Sacramento on Nov. 5, 2024. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

HEd: California voters could see faster election results under new state law

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 1d

California tourism numbers have dipped because of decreases in foreign travel and worsening international exchange rates. https://cal.news/3VVf7xb

📷 Kristian Carreon

Travelers wait for their flight at the new Terminal 1 as a plane moves on the airfield at the San Diego International Airport on Sept. 23, 2025. Photo by Kristian Carreon for CalMatters

HED: Can San Diego Airport’s new $3.8 billion terminal stem sliding tourism?

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 1d

As California writes plastic waste rules that would affect advanced recycling, a startup says it will leave for a more welcoming state. https://cal.news/46VV6LM

📷 Chad Surmick

Residents gather in front of Rohnert Park City Hall to protest the operation of Resynergi’s microwave incinerator at 1200 Valley House Drive in Rohnert Park, on Aug. 26, 2025. They demanded that the city council revoke operating permits after the facility was red-tagged for violations of city-issued permits. Photo by Chad Surmick for CalMatters

HED: A Bay Area startup sold a plastic recycling dream. Neighbors call it just another incinerator

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 1d

Commentary:

Thankfully, last week’s explosion at California’s second largest refinery was not an environmental catastrophe. But it could have serious economic and political impact. https://cal.news/3ISj96z

📝 Dan Walters

Opinion | Refinery fire spotlights California's gas supply crunch and high prices at the pump

Damage from the Chevron El Segundo refinery fire hasn't been tallied yet. But gas prices are likely to soar anyway because two other refineries are closing.

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 1d

PG&E and Southern California Edison routinely blow their deadlines to hook up new solar panels, an advocacy group says. But after years of complaints they have not been punished. https://cal.news/4mU6tdc

📷 Ben Margot, AP Photo

A worker installs solar panels in Hayward on April 29, 2020. Photo by Ben Margot, AP Photo

HED: Regulators know PG&E, Edison are slow to hook up solar. Why are there no penalties?

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 1d

Commentary:

Black women have heard stories about celebrities like Serena Williams nearly dying after childbirth because her concerns weren’t taken seriously. We wonder: If they didn’t listen to her, why would they listen to me? https://cal.news/3KBdClj

📝 Erica Moore-Smith

Opinion | ‘Carrying fear’ while carrying a baby: Pregnant Californians deserve more maternity options

Pregnant Black people often internalize fear and face racial bias in health care. A bill would make more midwives and doulas accessible.

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 1d

Inside the newsroom:

CalMatters’ innovative Digital Democracy project is bringing government transparency to other states, starting with Hawaiʻi.

Like CA, Hawaiʻi residents can now swiftly search state legislators' hearings, donors, bills and vote records. cal.news/4o7gtB4

CalMatters’ Digital Democracy team helps launch the same effort in Hawaiʻi with Civil Beat

Now, Californians and Hawaiʻi residents alike can search through every word uttered in public hearings, every dollar given to a politician, every bill introduced and every vote taken in their state le...

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 2d

Commentary:

The governor shouldn’t take housing advice from Los Angeles. He should sign SB 79, lead the state forward and send a clear message: CA’s future won’t be held back by NIMBY politics. https://cal.news/48Q3q2m

📝 Marc Vukcevich

Opinion | Los Angeles housing permits are tanking, yet leaders want Newsom to veto a major reform

Signing SB 79 should be an easy call, despite pressure from L.A. Newsom should know better than to let L.A. dictate state housing policy.

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 2d

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a low tax advocacy group, is currently gathering signatures to put a measure on California’s November 2026 ballot. https://cal.news/4nCLwog

📷 Myung J. Chun, Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Mid-century modern house in the Vista Las Palmas neighborhood of Palm Springs on April 4, 2025. Photo by Myung J. Chun, Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

HED: California is about to have a massive fight over taxes. Here’s why Los Angeles is the frontline

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 2d

The news has sent counties throughout California into a panic. The state is bracing to lose hundreds of millions of dollars for permanent housing, which is the one thing experts agree on as the most effective way to solve homelessness. https://cal.news/4nBKuZI

📷 Fred Greaves

A person walks past a homeless encampment along X Street under State Route 99 in Sacramento on Oct. 25, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

HED: California braces for ‘devastating’ expected cuts to federal homeless housing funds

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 3d

Gov. Gavin Newsom is vowing to sue after Trump sends 300 California Guard troops to Portland, saying Trump is using the military as a “political weapon.” https://cal.news/4mS22Qm

📝 @mzinshteyn.bsky.social
📸 Ted Soqui

Demonstrators protest against recent ICE immigration raids as National Guard officers stand guard in front of a federal building in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters

Hed: Newsom says he’ll sue after Trump sends California Guard to Portland over protests

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CalMatters @calmatters.org · 5d

Thanks for chiming in.

- Michael

CalMatters @calmatters.org · 5d

Right?

Thanks for engaging us.

- Michael

CalMatters @calmatters.org · 5d

Commentary:

Algorithms are not neutral. They are engineered with a single purpose — to keep us on the platform, clicking, commenting and scrolling. In the race to capture attention, one emotional trigger outperforms others: anger. https://cal.news/4337Y1A

📝 Jim Berk

Opinion | If hate-fueled algorithms cause real-world harm, California's tech companies should pay

A bill that would allow Californians to sue social media companies if their algorithm spurs violence or other harms is on the governor's desk.

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