Wendy Fry

Berkeley resident Alex McNall uses CalFresh tokens to purchase vegetables at the Ecology Center farmers' market in downtown Berkeley on July 13, 2019. (Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters)

California sues after Trump demands access to sensitive data about food stamp recipients

July 29, 2025 at 12:57 p.m.

California, 18 other Democrat-led states and Washington, D.C. are suing the Trump administration to halt the U.S. Department of Agriculture from collecting sensitive information about people who receive federal food vouchers, known...

California sent investigators to ICE facilities. They found more detainees, and health care gaps

April 30, 2025 at 6:53 a.m.

A new report from the California Department of Justice finds that immigration detention facilities across the state continue to fall short in providing basic mental health care, with gaps in suicide prevention...

Flanked by state lawmakers, Gov. Gavin Newsom shakes another lawmakers hand in celebration while seated at a desk at a Home Depot in San Jose. Posted inCapitol Which 2024 California bills will Gavin Newsom sign into law?

August 31, 2024 at 6:03 a.m.

For California laws, the buck does really stop at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

A clothing store in the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego on April 16, 2024. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

‘Devastating’ wait times at Mexico border strain California small businesses

April 25, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.

Billions in tax dollars are pouring into efforts to reduce the U.S.-Mexico border wait times, yet excessive delays continue. Local leaders say small businesses are struggling in border communities.

A group of migrants at Moviemiento Juventud 2000, a shelter in Tijuana, on July 26, 2023. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

Waiting game: Asylum seekers at California border at more risk during court fight

August 8, 2023 at 6:00 a.m.

María Guadalupe Cruz has been trying every day since January to get on the Biden administration’s electronic waitlist, so she could seek asylum in the United States for her and...

A US flag waves at the San Ysidro crossing port in the US-Mexico border

What Title 42’s end means for California

May 11, 2023 at 12:32 p.m.

Federal, California and local officials have had more than two years to prepare for this moment. But officials running migrant shelters on both sides of the border say they have...

Walter Forster, a Los Angeles resident, holds a sign that advocates for financial compensation during the California Reparations Task Force meeting at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 23, 2022.

Reparations panel recommends possible millions for eligible Black Californians

May 8, 2023 at 9:45 a.m.

A task force approved economic models for lawmakers to calculate the costs of historical racism in California.

Reparations task force members listen during the public comment portion of a December 14, 2022 meeting in Oakland on reparations proposals for African Americans.

California reparations task force to recommend ‘down payments’ for slavery, racism

May 2, 2023 at 8:38 a.m.

The reparations task force meets Saturday in Oakland. It may vote to recommend a state apology and payments to African Americans based on years living in state.

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