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In California, one county is forcing restaurants to pay wage theft claims or risk losing their permits

Sep 7, 2023
Santa Clara County is helping regulators deal with businesses that cheat workers out of wages but fail to settle that debt.
Melissa Sanchez with the Fair Workplace Collaborative speaks with a restaurant manager. Sanchez is part of an outreach effort to inform small businesses about Santa Clara County’s food permit enforcement program.
Farida Jhabvala Romero/KQED

Checking in on the path of pandemic homebuying

Aug 10, 2023
Three real estate agents explain how their communities have changed.
The flow of out-of-state buyers into rural communities has not stopped, according to one Montana real estate agent.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Some trucking companies in California are trying EVs, eyeing a state mandate down the road

Aug 8, 2023
In April, the state's Air Resources Board adopted a new mandate that would require companies with fleets of 50 or more trucks to start transitioning to electric vehicles.
Edwin Buenrostro is one of Quality Custom Distribution's first drivers behind the wheel of an electric truck. He delivers to Starbucks locations across Fontana.
Erin Stone/LAist

Yes, you can be employed and homeless

Jun 1, 2023
Fast-food workers, who are often paid low wages and work limited hours, make up 11% of homeless workers in California, a study finds.
An Economic Roundtable study looks at the fast-food industry in California, which has the "highest rate of poverty employment" in the state, according to author Daniel Flaming.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

California's investor-owned utilities are changing how they charge for power

Apr 19, 2023
The push to "electrify everything" prompted the state to mandate a new fixed charge based on income, and the state's investor-owned utilities are out with proposals.
California is trying to bring down utility fees with a flat fee tacked on to an individual's utility bill based on income. Above, power lines in Rosemead, California.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

In California’s Inland Empire, the warehousing industry’s growth comes with consequences

Apr 19, 2023
Many worry that the industry’s growth has put the local environment and economy at risk.
Above, a massive processing and distribution center in Los Angeles.  Warehouses have boomed in California’s Inland Empire over the past decade thanks to the growth of online shopping.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

California bill could penalize oil companies for price gouging

Mar 28, 2023
The law aims for transparency in a state known for high gasoline prices.
Prices at a San Bruno, California, gas station in October. Prices in the state are lower today but remain higher than in other states.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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SVB’s collapse sends California wineries into a state of uncertainty

Mar 28, 2023
More than 400 California wineries borrowed from Silicon Valley Bank. In the aftermath of its collapse, many are wondering what comes next.
In addition to lending to wineries, SVB helped raise money for basics like bedding and food for area farmworkers, said farmworker advocate Rosaura Segura.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A push for corporate climate disclosures in California could influence rest of U.S.

Mar 3, 2023
A proposed carbon emissions disclosure law in the world's fifth-largest economy could push such requirements into the mainstream.
If Senate Bill 253 goes into effect, roughly 5,400 companies in California would have to disclose greenhouse gas emissions generated by themselves, their suppliers, suppliers’ suppliers and consumers. Above, downtown Los Angeles.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

What's behind California's spiking natural gas prices?

Feb 8, 2023
Ratepayers report their bills are double or even nearly triple what they paid last year.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is calling for a federal investigation into the factors behind the state's natural gas price spike. Above, a natural gas plant in El Segundo, California.
Mario Tama/Getty Images