California "Zoom town" grapples with influx of remote workers

Apr 13, 2021
Truckee's newcomers boost the local economy, but long-term residents see rising prices and a culture clash.
A street in Truckee, California. Since the pandemic hit, the mountain town has become a destination for remote workers, who've brought higher prices and increased congestion.
Matt Levin/Marketplace

How surging anti-Asian violence is taking its toll on Asian-owned businesses

Apr 12, 2021
Reported hate crimes against Asian Americans in 2020 rose almost 150% in 16 of America’s biggest cities, according to an analysis of police data.
Finnie Phung and her husband, who run Green FIsh Seafood Market in Oakland, California, have a few dozen tanks with live seafood for sale.
Photo by TIffany Luong for Save Our Chinatowns, courtesy of Finnie Phung

Desert homes become a hot commodity in California's real estate boom

Apr 5, 2021
The housing rush is fueled by the pandemic and the desire of people who can work remotely to get out of the city.
An abandoned homestead structure in Wonder Valley. People who migrate from the city to the desert may have to deal with a lack of services, including municipal water.
Benjamin Gottlieb

A recall election is an economy unto itself

Mar 24, 2021
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will likely face a recall election this fall. That means a flood of campaign contributions.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, will likely face a recall election this fall, more than a year before his first term in office is supposed to end.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

California can enforce its net neutrality law, judge rules

Feb 24, 2021
After the FCC scrapped net neutrality rules in 2017, California enacted its own. Those have been challenged in court ever since.
Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

The California shutdown drove some salons underground

Feb 3, 2021
California salons are reopening after months of lockdown. But some never closed down completely.
A client gets a haircut at a barbershop operating outdoors last summer in Los Angeles.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

California paves the way for certification of mental health peer support providers

Jan 4, 2021
Proponents of the new law point to research that peer support programs can reduce hospitalizations for people with mental health care needs.
“It’s hard to navigate everything. So having somebody who’s been through [it] ... they’re kind of like your GPS,” Keris Jän Myrick, above, says of peer support.
Robert Garrova/LAist

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Why California hospitals are out of ICU beds

Dec 31, 2020
California has a lower than average number of hospital beds by design, but COVID-19 is challenging the system.
A patient lies on a stretcher in the hallway of the overloaded emergency room at a hospital in Southern California on Dec. 23.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

California voters to decide measure that could spur home sales

Nov 4, 2020
Proposition 19 would remove a disincentive to sell property. But a decline in moving is squeezing the housing supply all over the country.
Californians cast their votes inside the historic Hollywood Pantages Theatre on Nov. 3 in Los Angeles.
David McNew/Getty Images

Gig companies throw lots of cash -- and tech -- at California ballot measure

Oct 26, 2020
The ballot initiative in California would allow companies like Uber and Lyft to keep classifying workers as contractors.
A ride-share driver holds up a sign urging Californians to vote "no" on Prop 22 in Oakland, California, on Oct. 9, 2020.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images