Free Phone Calls Saved Incarcerated People and Their Loved Ones $622.5 Million

Kwaneta Harris is one of the thousands of Americans charged with supporting both her aging parent and her own children. Her mother is in her early 70s. She also has three children; the youngest is finishing high school. Harris is also incarcerated, which means that she relies on phone calls and electronic messages to stay on top of family responsibilities. Each month, she spends over $400 on…
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CA’s Flawed Primary System Could Result in Deep-Blue State Electing GOP Governor

With just weeks until California voters cast ballots for the next governor in the primary, five candidates are clustered atop the polling, each with at least 10 percent but less than 20 percent support among the electorate. A sixth candidate, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, is at 5 percent and has been gaining visibility in recent weeks. More than a quarter of the electorate has yet to make up its mind.
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Amendments Protecting Pro-Palestine Speech in California Schools Face Backlash

A bill introduced in the California legislature meant to help ensure open discussion in the state’s public schools and protect teachers from attacks is facing intense backlash and demands for its withdrawal from pro-Israel groups. Assembly Bill (AB) 2159 would make targeted amendments to a school discrimination law passed year. That law, AB 715, was championed by California’s Legislative…
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CA Soon May Have Over 300 Data Centers. Locals Worry About Water Supply Threats.

The new data center proposed for a quiet city about 115 miles east of San Diego came across people’s radars in different ways. For patrons of the deli on West Aten Road, it was the white “Not In My Backyard” signs jutting out of lawns. For local irrigation district workers, it was something called an “electric service application.” For Margie Padilla, it was a rant on Facebook.
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California’s $20 Fast Food Wage Hike Didn’t Kill Jobs, New Study Finds

In their third report on the subject and second update of data, University of California researchers reach the same conclusions that have twice bedeviled the anti-wage hike sector of the restaurant industry: California’s $20 an hour fast food minimum wage, instituted in 2024, did not reduce employment. It led to only the most modest of price increases — barely noticeable to a consumer.
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CA Should Send Prisoners Home Instead of Spending Millions on New Facilities

For two years, I walked the lower yard track at San Quentin State Prison, watching construction crews tear down an old furniture factory to build a $239 million Scandinavian-styled learning center. They have now removed the fence blocking the incarcerated population’s view of the new facility. Last week marked the opening of the building, only for incarcerated people who have designated…
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