CalMatters

The increased water use in California’s cities and towns came during the second-driest January on record, as the Sierra Nevada snowpack continues to dwindle — and another dry summer looms.

The new draft of the proposed framework — a non-binding series of recommendations — largely doubles down on the key goals of making math more relatable and closing the achievement gaps for Black and Latino students.

Lawmakers have approved a legislative Hail Mary that they say will allow UC Berkeley to admit all the new students it planned to this fall, undoing a judge’s enrollment cap. Without the law, the campus said it would have needed to defer admissions and move other students online to satisfy the judge’s order.

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed pausing tax increase on gas sellers and Republican state lawmakers have pushed for suspending the tax entirely in the short term. Those plans would likely reduce the price of gas, but it’s not clear by how much.

The Newsom administration is proposing large bonuses to retain juvenile prison employees as the system prepares to close next year.

Gov. Gavin Newsom gave a pep talk to Californians tired of COVID and worried about crime, homelessness and inflation. In his State of the State address, he pledged some relief from high gas prices, but mostly promoted the “California Way” of finding new solutions to big problems.

Watch a replay of the governor's speech and read the transcript alongside corrections, clarification and context.

The governor's State of the State speech today will stream live at 5 p.m. on LAist.com and will be broadcast at 7 p.m. on KPCC, 89.3 in a special from CapRadio.

The CalMatters College Journalism Network spoke with first-generation college students across the state about the challenges they face on campus.

California has more debt from the surge in unemployment claims during the pandemic than any other state.

Expiration of two COVID-19 emergency programs means Californians could lose their Medi-Cal insurance or find Covered California unaffordable.

The California Supreme Court agreed with a lower court’s order that UC Berkeley cap its enrollment. New statements from the university say it will be able to enroll almost all of the students it planned for the coming academic year. The cap is the result of a lawsuit based on the California Environmental Quality Act.