Federal rule on gig workers proposed, narrowing definition of employee

Sep 25, 2020
When your work is a gig instead of a job, you have fewer protections and benefits.
Air travelers wait in the ride-hailing lot at Los Angeles International Airport in August.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

California hits the brakes on gas-powered cars

Sep 25, 2020
Insiders say the ban just accelerates the inevitable.
Even with the ban on new sales of gas-powered cars, it will take awhile to get them off the road.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What will it take for California to meet its new electric vehicle goals?

Sep 24, 2020
One expert says the state may need to improve its electric grid, while manufacturers bring down prices and pick up battery production.
Tesla car sits parked at a Tesla Supercharger. The Biden administration's new standards for EV chargers announced this week could set the stage for more business opportunities.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A new law will allow some California inmates who fight wildfires to have their records expunged

Sep 16, 2020
A new law clears the way for some offenders to become EMTs, and eventually firefighters, after they're released.
Inmate firefighters arrive at the scene of a fire in Whitewater, California, in August.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

For 2 California volunteer firefighters, the losses hit home

Sep 14, 2020
Fire decimates the neighborhood where they both grew up.
Brandon North and Becca Brown-Dehner grieve the loss of their two family homes at Spanish Flat Mobile Villa in Napa County, California.
Lesley McClurg/KQED

For many immigrants, the eviction crisis has already begun

Sep 1, 2020
Undocumented tenants have the same rights when it comes to evictions. But they often can't come forward to report abuse.
Renters and housing advocates attend a protest to cancel rent and avoid evictions amid the Coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

California blackouts trigger debate about electric grid resilience

Aug 28, 2020
A heat wave and record levels of electricity demand are straining infrastructure.
Investments in grids were already falling, and COVID-19 has slowed down upgrades even further.
Brent Stirton/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Uber, Lyft threaten to stop service in California

Aug 20, 2020
The dispute could put jobs at stake during the pandemic.
The conflict has come after a judge supported a state law that classifies drivers as employees, not contractors.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

California blackouts reflect a complicated supply-and-demand problem

Aug 17, 2020
The load can overwhelm the electric grid during heat waves, but this summer's outages have raised new questions.
A sign in Calistoga, California, calls on PG&E to turn the electricity back on during a statewide blackout in October 2019.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images