Red Texas is flush, blue California has a deficit, but it's more about economics than politics

Jan 11, 2023
Fewer tech millionaires were minted in 2022, hurting California's bottom line, while in Texas, the oil and gas industry boomed.
"Because [California is] a heavy tech economy, it means tech has a disproportionate impact on the state’s revenues," said Chris Hoene at the California Budget & Policy Center. 
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Californians brace for more extreme weather after a week of deadly storms

Jan 10, 2023
Tens of thousands of people remain without power as flooding and midslides prompt evacuations
Cars drive by a sign warning of storms hitting the Bay Area on Jan. 7, 2023 in Sausalito, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

New California law promotes worker-owned businesses

Jan 6, 2023
The model is attracting interest as a way for workers to share in a company's success.
The full staff of Proof Bakery after the business became a worker cooperative.
Courtesy Franzi Charen/Project Equity

Complying with California's new privacy law is a big deal for employers

Jan 2, 2023
Employers collect a lot of data on workers beyond the basics: surveillance footage, emails, facial recognition. Now, they have to account for all of it.
Human resources files, emails and other information must now be accounted for under California's expanded consumer privacy law.
dusanpetkovic/Getty Images

California set to enforce recycled content mandates for plastic bottles

Dec 23, 2022
Supporters of AB 793 hope it motivates beverage companies to push for expanded recycling of plastic bottles.
Recyclables are sorted at the Burbank Recycle Center on Dec. 15. Items that can be sold are packaged into bales. Much of the rest ends up in landfills and waterways.
Lily Jamali/Marketplace

Inside California's new law allowing more people to seal old criminal records

Dec 9, 2022
The law could help people with arrest or conviction records who are applying for jobs or seeking housing, says David Harding of UC Berkeley.
Most provisions of SB 731, which was signed into law recently, will go into effect in July.
David Paul Morris/Getty Images

She left California for Arizona, but found high rent and lower wages

Dec 5, 2022
Taylor Jenkins learned the hard way that the Phoenix area had become a top destination for those leaving expensive coastal cities.
Taylor Jenkins moved to Arizona from the San Francisco Bay Area in search of more affordable housing, but she struggled to find it there. Above, Jenkins in Arizona.
Courtesy Taylor Jenkins

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Napa Valley's vineyards are in "climate crisis," winemaker says

Oct 3, 2022
Between heat waves, droughts and wildfires, the grapes of California's wine region are suffering nature's wrath. Producers are trying to adapt.
The climate crisis, which worsens drought and wildfires, is changing agriculture. That includes vineyards.
Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images

California's governor signs bill to make farm union voting easier

Sep 30, 2022
The bill, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, allows voting by mail-- a victory for both organized labor and Democrats, including President Biden, who have supported the measure.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill following support from United Farmworkers and President Joe Biden.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Pay transparency laws are changing the rules for salary negotiations

Sep 28, 2022
California will require companies to publish salaries in job postings, a move aimed at closing pay gaps for women and people of color..
California is joining a growing number of locales to require that most companies include salary ranges in job postings.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images