Apprenticeship gives California health care workers a career boost

Oct 21, 2021
The program helps licensed vocational nurses who work in state prisons to become registered nurses.
A program trains licensed vocational nurses who work in rural areas for the state correctional system to become registered nurses in California's correctional facilities.
Getty Images

What does California's drought mean for the rest of the country?

Oct 20, 2021
For starters, California is the biggest agricultural producer in the U.S.
Dead almond trees lie in a drought-stricken field in Huron, California, in July 2021.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

The challenges of getting oil companies to decommission California's aging offshore oil rigs

Oct 7, 2021
While some lawmakers look to stop new drilling, the existing rigs are continuing to operate.
California brown pelicans fly near offshore oil rigs after sunset on July 21, 2009 near Santa Barbara, California. Shutting down California's offshore oil rigs could prove costly.
David McNew/Getty Images

Owner of child care center hopeful about rebounding from pandemic setbacks

Sep 30, 2021
Milli Pintacsi's child care operation was expanding, and enrollment had reached full capacity. Then the pandemic shut down the business.
Milli Pintacsi, owner of Le Petit Elephant Nursery and Preschool in Napa, California, with her children. "This is our family business," she says. "It feels like we can't fail — we have to make it.”
Courtesy Milli Pintacsi

California hopes for a duplex revolution

Aug 30, 2021
The bill likely to become law would effectively end single-family-only zoning across the state. But will it ease housing prices?
People look at a San Francisco home during an open house in April 2019.  Following a dramatic jump in housing prices over the past year, a California bill that has passed both chambers seeks to effectively end single-family-only zoning.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

Wildfires have given parts of the West some of the worst air quality in the world

Aug 27, 2021
Even the East Coast has had air quality issues due to this summer's wildfire smoke.
The San Francisco skyline is only partially visible through smoky conditions in September 2020. Smoke from recent wildfires have caused Nevada and other parts of California to have unhealthy and hazardous air quality.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

The legacy of Enron in California's power challenges today

Aug 4, 2021
California faces more potential rolling blackouts this year due to a historic drought. But the state's deregulated power system also plays a role, and dates back to the Enron scandal.
A man sits under his umbrella under high tension power lines in California in August 2020, two days after the state ordered rolling power outages.
Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

The looming tomato shortage

Aug 3, 2021
The drought in California — the country’s biggest producer — will make tomato yields short by up to 10%, possibly boosting prices.
The drought in California may reduce the state's tomato yield as much as 10%, frustrating businesses along the supply chain as well as consumers.
Spencer Platt via Getty Images

California labor contract promises raises for child care providers

Aug 3, 2021
The new contract means that more than 40,000 workers will see a bump in pay.
Sylvia Hernandez opened Blossom to Success Child Care in her Los Angeles home in 2007.
Mariana Dale

Lake Mead business struggles to stay afloat as water drops to historic low

Jul 29, 2021
“It’s a tough season this year,” says Lisa Duncan of Temple Bar Marina. Slips are filled, but the boat launch is closed for now.
The closure of Lake Mead’s Temple Bar boat ramp due to low water levels has impacted revenue at the restaurant, hotel and retail store that Lisa Duncan, manages at Temple Bar Marina, she says.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images