CALMATTERS

• Can CA help its workers survive the AI disruption?
  May 22, 2026
  Scheduling note: WhatMatters is taking Memorial Day off and will return to your inboxes on Tuesday. Is artificial intelligence here to save us or destroy us all? Like you, we don’t yet. But we heard […]
• 18 years after California voters approved the bullet train, progress and finances are still stalled
  May 22, 2026
  The bullet train project launched in 2008 with promises of completion by 2020. Now it's mostly concrete supports. No tracks or train.
• The CalPERS gamble: Why the push to invest in private equity alarms public employees
  May 22, 2026
  CalPERS shifted from stable, traditional assets to private equity and a private credit portfolio. Details about their investment risk and fees are secret.
• It’s easier for Californians to escape data brokers following a CalMatters investigation
  May 22, 2026
  CalMatters and The Markup showed how website code could make it harder for Californians to exercise their right to remove personal data. Now much of that code has disappeared.
• California bill moves to make cheaper alternative fuel available to more drivers
  May 21, 2026
  In the face of the nation’s highest gas prices, California lawmakers approved a bill to ease restrictions on E85 conversion kits — devices that let conventional gasoline cars run on a cheaper, mostly ethanol fuel […]
• After AI layoffs, Newsom orders state government to find ways to ease the pain
  May 21, 2026
  In an AI executive order, the governor called on state officials to study everything from job subsidies to stock compensation policies to mitigate tech-driven layoffs.
• They used to battle in CA elections. Now, they back the same candidate
  May 21, 2026
  Which of these is least likely? Kendrick Lamar and Drake squashing their feud? Giants fans and Dodgers fans sharing high-fives?  Or California charter schools endorsing the same candidate for superintendent as the state’s largest teachers’ […]