CalMatters
CalMatters is an award-winning, nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.
We were founded to fill the gap left by a shrinking press corps in order to empower people to engage on key issues, hold the powerful accountable, and create a better California for all. In six years CalMatters has established ourselves as a trusted brand and “go-to” hub for in-depth news and information on statewide issues. Our office is in Sacramento, but our team of award winning reporters and photo journalists are found throughout California.
Environment, education, health care, housing, justice, economic inequality – the debates on these vital issues and others have a profound impact on the lives of 38 million Californians and beyond.
Our team of more than 50 experienced journalists, data, audience, product, revenue and partnership professionals, with the time and resources to dig deep, is committed to meaningfully informing Californians about the players, politics, and interests that shape the issues that affect our lives.
We reach 1 in 10 Californians across the state by posting our work online and by sharing our stories at no cost with more than 200 media partners. We have readers and listeners in every major metropolitan area and hundreds of smaller towns and cities.
Our work has led to changes in policy, new legislation and investigations and discussions at the Capitol, in political groups and beyond — and created an awareness of important issues that aren’t getting covered anywhere else.
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When Gov. Gavin Newsom launched his landmark effort to shelter homeless residents in hotels during COVID, the state and local governments relied on FEMA to foot much of the bill. Now, they’re on the hook for $300 million. -
The proposal would have meant challenging a federal law that bars employers from hiring undocumented immigrants. Advocates requesting the change argue that the University of California, as a state agency, is exempt from that law. -
California relaxed its COVID-19 isolation guidelines just as infections for the respiratory virus increased. Symptom-free people can go to work or school. -
The high-stakes Newsom-DeSantis debate devolved into name-calling and arguing over facts — with the backdrop of the presidential campaign. -
Black women are three times more likely than any other women to die during or immediately after pregnancy. California lawmakers passed a law in 2019 requiring hospitals to train labor and delivery staff on unconscious bias in medicine. -
Gov. Newsom vetoes what would have been a first-in-the-nation law banning caste discrimination in education, housing and the workplace. The bill divided South Asian communities in California. -
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara unveils a plan to shore up the California insurance market for homeowners. Insurers would return to wildfire zones, but would have an easier path to rate increases. -
More workers are filing claims with the state alleging employers are retaliating against them for engaging in legally protected activities, such as seeking overtime pay or reporting wage theft or discrimination. -
It’s a confusing time in the COVID pandemic. A new booster is on the way, but cases are rising and you might want more protection now. -
Some independent California community hospitals have struggled with rising costs since the COVID-19 pandemic. Three declared bankruptcy this year, prompting the state to distribute interest-free loans.
