Two recent fires at PG&E substations cut power to thousands, drew condemnation from members of Congress, and spotlighted a year full of safety and maintenance violations at the utility giant’s substations throughout the region. www.mercurynews.com/2026/01/06/f...

Good question.

CalMatters is launching a free tool that helps Californians follow, engage and hold their Sacramento lawmakers accountable in a powerful new way. bit.ly/45vq1ig

Just seen Grok putting the body of the victim of the ICE shooting in Minneapolis into a bikini. Digital corpse desecration now available to the public.

In his final year in office, Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to go after large investors buying and owning California housing — in the same week that President Donald Trump also took rhetorical aim at Big Landlord. bit.ly/3Z3BSAo 📸 Rich Pedroncelli, AP

On the anniversary of the Los Angeles fires, California's calls for more federal aid have stalled while a congressional investigation is gaining steam. Just why does Florida's Sen. Rick Scott care so much about one fire that took place across the country? www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

A year after the deadly Los Angeles County fires, California’s property insurance market remains problematic; survivors are suing insurers over delayed or denied claims; and most of the state’s policyholders are likely to see their premiums rise. bit.ly/4jw4rQC 📸 Joel Angel Juarez

I'd love news organizations to get a comment from all the corporations, such as SPOTIFY, that continue running ICE ads on their platforms. Do they support ICE murdering US citizens? They still support ICE? Let American consumers know!

Update: As of January 7, The Trace has identified 28 incidents, including 14 shootings, in which federal agents shot someone or held them at gunpoint during an immigration enforcement action under Trump’s crackdown. At least four people have been killed and five others have been injured.

FOLKS IN MINNEAPOLIS: SAVE all videos & photos from today. They will be valuable to prove the ICE agent --- who had time to move & re-position himself to the side of the victim's car to shoot into the driver's side window --- was not in reasonable fear of imminent serious physical injury or death.

As of this week, more than 2,600 residential permits have been issued between the Palisades and Altadena — roughly one for every five of the nearly 13,000 homes lost. Another 3,340 are under review. bit.ly/4qFnKsV 📸 Myung J. Chun, Getty

My latest look at how the tech industry's health is intertwined with the state's tax revenue, for better or for worse.

Southern California Edison received 1,500 applications for its Eaton fire compensation program and only paid out 82 after close to two months. bit.ly/49nP0oJ 📸 Jules Hotz

1. Hundreds of corps that pledged to stop donating to members of Congress who voted to overturn the election on 1/6/21 have broken their promise over the last 5 years But we've identified 10 promise keepers: Farmers Airbnb Expedia Nike Clorox Eversource Energy Holland & Hart Qurate Whirlpool Lyft

If the biggest donor to the DCCC/DNC ran a website where you could use AI to take women's clothes off I feel like there'd be a demand for Dems to give the money back.

A new California law gives the state more power over workplaces. Trump is suing to block it A new California law taking effect Jan. 1, 2026 allows the state to regulate union organizing in private workplaces, a power normally held by the NLRB.

California homeowners could qualify for grants for new roofs and fire safety New Safe Homes grants program, taking effect on Jan. 1, 2026, could begin taking applications in the spring, CA insurance department says.

The 1.6 million number marks the largest-ever effort to strip permissions for immigrants who attempted to migrate to the country through legal means, advocates said. n.pr/3LfqH4o

Facing a mountain of lawsuits, California K-12 schools will have a system in place beginning this year to prevent teachers and other staff from sexually abusing students. bit.ly/3MJdlxX 📸 Miguel Gutierrez Jr.

1 - the exec branch can't decline to spend $ Congress appropriated 2- the fed govt can't use federal $ to extort states over policy/political disagreements 3-the fed govt can't use federal $ to impose conditions unrelated to the funding program 4-the fed govt can't use federal $ to coerce states

Homeownership is, we're told, a benchmark of success, a milestone of responsible adulthood, the most viable way to amass wealth for you and your progeny and the white-picket-fence-fronted embodiment of the American Dream. What if it’s also a little overrated? calmatters.org/housing/2025...

If you followed immigration news this year, please support the many, many local journalists who made it possible. Nonprofit media needs support! I kept returning to @lataco.bsky.social @calmatters.org @wbez.org @blockclubchi.bsky.social @documentedny.bsky.social @statesnewsroom.com & so many more

When Gov. Gavin Newsom launched his signature mental health court, it was supposed to help get some of the most vulnerable homeless Californians off the street. But two years into the program, people are still falling through the cracks. @calmatters.org tinyurl.com/376ycf5w

A CalMatters investigation looks at the limitations of this model and its impact on people accused of crimes in rural parts of the state. calmatters.org/investigatio... 6/7

I remember writing years ago about a then-new initiative by Amazon to disrupt local government procurement of things like office and school supplies. Turns out Amazon's become very popular with school districts, and it's using dynamic pricing to rip those schools off. prospect.org/2025/12/17/a...

Rob Reiner played a major role on gay marriage and child development in California The slain actor and director’s impact on California is felt far beyond Hollywood. Here’s how he helped shaped politics

Newsom, who said he couldn't get a meeting with the Trump administration when he was in DC last week, tries a new strategy on securing additional federal aid for the Los Angeles fires, after months of relentlessly trolling the president

Almost 400 people pardoned or granted clemency by President Donald Trump in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol are now seeking millions of dollars in payouts from the federal government.

A federal judge has ordered the National Guard to leave Los Angeles and return to @governor.ca.gov Gavin Newsom’s control in a stern rebuke of the Trump administration’s contention that it can leave troops in the city indefinitely. bit.ly/3XNvsF3 📝 @nigelduara.bsky.social 📸 Ted Soqui

JOHN DEERE: "Our US market has been the one under the most pressure . . . based on what’s happened with trade flows, what’s happened with tariffs .." We'll build "half as many tractors this year as we did two years ago." @financialtimes.com $DE www.ft.com/content/523a...

What the font?

At CalMatters/The Markup union, we're proud of the AI article we ratified in our contract this year. It ensures that no union employee will be laid off because of AI, guarantees that humans are writing the news you read, and keeps our content from being used to train AI without our consent. 1/2

A new poll shared exclusively with CalMatters adds to a slate of recent surveys suggesting Californians’ support is waning for Trump’s harshest immigration enforcement policies. bit.ly/48ASCUd 📸 Pedro Rios

Today, unionized nonprofit newsrooms across the country are standing shoulder-to-shoulder to demand that news industry leaders agree to common-sense guardrails around the implementation of artificial intelligence to protect the integrity, quality and accuracy of our journalism.

California, whose unemployment rate has been at 5% and above for the past couple of years, is likely to see a weak job market through at least early next year, according to the winter UCLA Anderson forecast published this week. bit.ly/3Xx0wJb 📝 @levisu.bsky.social 📸 Fred Greaves

FLORIDA — Woman in scrubs: “I’m a U.S. citizen! Why are you doing this to me??”

Jacob Frey: "If we are now at the point where the federal govt is deploying agents on legal American citizens with a goal of uprooting people who have formed lives here, have families here, started businesses here, definitively made Minneapolis a better place, everybody should be speaking out."

Zillow dropped climate risk scores. Redfin kept them. Why? Our research shows these scores are useful to homebuyers. Ideally, we'd have information on rising insurance costs. But until insurance disclosure rules change, we will continue to provide the best info available.

Nevada regulators have accused Elon Musk’s Boring Co. of nearly 800 environmental violations in the last two years as it digs a sprawling tunnel network beneath Las Vegas for its Tesla-powered “people mover.” By @anjeanette-damon.bsky.social and Dayvid Figler

"If you did let your imagination run wild, especially if you were undocumented, everywhere you look, around the corner, is somebody that you’re fearful is going to try and get you and deport you.” Nice deep dive by my colleague @nigelduara.bsky.social calmatters.org/economy/2025...

California nursing homes affiliated with Shlomo Rechnitz are facing lawsuits alleging that patients were raped, ignored and unnecessarily exposed to COVID-19. His companies deny the allegations. bit.ly/4i6FmLa 📝 @jocelynwiener.bsky.social 📸 Paul Kitagaki 🎨 Adriana Heldiz

New federal regulations could leave California with 61,000 fewer truck drivers as the Trump administration bans certain immigrants from operating large vehicles. With fewer truck drivers on the road, consumers may see higher shipping costs, too. bit.ly/4peUFUC 📸 Larry Valenzuela

TEN MONTHS IN: The national debt is higher. The trade deficit is wider. The inflation rate has worsened. The unemployment rate is up.

WAPO SCOOP: U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols wapo.st/3Mbd9a6

I wrote about how Culver City became the first municipality in California (and likely the last for now) to ditch the ubiquitous two staircase requirement for mid-rises. As YIMBYs turn to impediments to construction beyond zoning, Culver City is an early test case. calmatters.org/housing/2025...

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to get rid of tariffs on a broad swath of commodities, including beef, coffee and tropical fruits. It’s part of a response to pressure from consumers who complain prices are too high. https://to.pbs.org/47YR6L4

What will other Silicon Valley tech billionaires say?

Kevin Hassett on the October jobs report: "We'll maybe be able to concoct something, but we'll never actually know for sure what the unemployment rate was in October."

NBER grants to fund research into economic measurement - I find this agenda very compelling and important #linkoftheday www.nber.org/news/nber-la...