Author Archives: Public Press staff

By Laurel Rosenhall, CALmatters Nail polish and hair dye. Cleaning products. Plants and flowers for the garden. All of these could get new labels under proposals being considered by California lawmakers, triggering an annual conflict in the state Capitol over how much to tell people about what they buy at the store or use at […]

By Guy Marzorati, KQED News Fix Democrats in California’s Senate doubled down on the state’s commitment to reducing dependence on fossil fuels, painting their move in contrast to Donald Trump’s potential withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Accord. The Senate on Wednesday voted to set a goal of getting all of the […]

By Zaidee Stavely, KQED News Fix When Vanessa and Richard Bulnes got an eviction notice, it felt sadly ironic. The Bulneses were unable to pay the rent because their corporate landlord took three years to remediate high levels of lead in the backyard soil, which caused Vanessa to lose her business — a family home […]

By Carrie Feibel, KQED News Fix/The California Report An estimated 23 million additional Americans will become uninsured over the next decade if the current version of the Republican health care bill goes into effect, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released Wednesday. This is only slightly lower than the 24 million predicted in March, […]

By Ted Goldberg, KQED News Fix San Francisco emergency officials, who have been scrambling to respond to an increasing number of calls to the city’s 911 dispatch center, plan to roll out new technology in the coming weeks that aims to improve ambulance response times. The center’s staffing problems have been known for some time, […]

By Marisa Lagos and Sukey Lewis, KQED News Fix/The California Report Every year in California, nearly 1 million people are arrested and booked into jail. Their freedom before they go to trial often hinges on a century-old money bail system that critics say favors the rich: If you can pay, you’re free — and if […]

By Viji Sundaram, New America Media Republicans’ efforts to repeal and replace portions of the Affordable Care Act threatens the health coverage of California’s self-employed, as well as workers in such small businesses as restaurants, small retailers and family farms. A study out May 18 by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education showed […]

By Guy Marzorati, KQED News Fix/The California Report California officials vowed to move ahead with a retirement savings program for the state’s private sector workers, a day after losing the federal government’s support for the initiative. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon and State Treasurer John Chiang said Thursday that the state will still […]

By Ben Christopher, Justice/CALmatters  At the office of Monterey County’s Treasurer-Tax Collector, gun-toting guards now stand sentry over the parking lot and entry door. A newly renovated front office now serves as a secure drop-off point for taxpayers carrying duffel bags full of cash (payments made by appointment only). A fleet of state-of-the-art currency counters […]

By Ana Ibarra, KQED News Fix/California Healthline Luz felt relieved and grateful when she learned that her 16-year-old son qualified for full coverage under Medi-Cal. Now, she worries that the information she provided to the government health program could put her family at risk of deportation. Luz’s son is one of nearly 190,000 children who […]