CalMatters

Workers denied pandemic-era jobless benefits are still struggling with debt and stress — collateral damage as they fight a state employment agency on edge about fraud and an appeals system facing a ‘historic’ backlog. What happens next with these and other legal battles will help decide who pays for a multi-billion-dollar debacle three years in the making.

The governor unveils his plan to cover a California budget deficit now projected at $31.5 billion, up from $22.5 billion in January. He says his plan protects investments in climate, economic development, education, health care and housing.

After widespread, bipartisan criticism, the governor revised his budget proposal to bring back $40 million to restore San Joaquin Valley floodplains.

A new state law aims to ensure workers with disabilities earn at least minimum wage. But some worry that the state doesn’t have enough resources to help these workers compete for jobs.

The future of farming in California is changing as the planet warms, altering the rain and heat patterns that guide which crops are grown where. “We’re adjusting for survival,” one grower said.

A task force approved economic models for lawmakers to calculate the costs of historical racism in California. Try our interactive tool to see what is owed.

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.

A California bill would hold social media companies legally responsible for addicting kids to their platforms. Tech lobbyists, digital rights advocates, and others say the proposal would run afoul of federal law and the U.S. Constitution.

Trucking companies say the deadlines for converting big rigs, delivery trucks and other heavy vehicles are unachievable and will cause “chaos and dysfunction” of California’s economy. The move is designed to clean communities’ air, especially near ports, warehouses and freeways.

A California housing law grants generous benefits to builders who agree to only hire union workers. Trouble is, few if any builders found a way to do it.