Google

The tech giant spent $10.7 million lobbying the Legislature and governor from July through September during a media bill fight. It also showered elected officials with $107,500 in campaign cash on one day in September.

State lawmakers give up on bills to force tech companies to pay media outlets for using news. Instead, they agree with Google on a program to help local newsrooms and to explore artificial intelligence.

Silicon Valley's mega-platforms have been getting away with unprecedented control and profit-taking, clearly aiming to control news reporting itself. Two California bills would rightly check their power.

Go big or go home. That seems to be the modus operandi for Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Republican candidates vying to replace him in an all-but-certain recall election. Newsom on Wednesday unveiled a $20 billion proposal to “reimagine” public schools, noting that it represents “the highest level of state school funding in California history.” […]

How the tables have turned for California. The state’s seven-day coronavirus positivity rate fell to 1.2% on Tuesday, the lowest rate in the country. Just four months ago, California’s positivity rate was a staggering 17.1% and hospitalizations were surging to record levels, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a regional stay-at-home order. Contrast that with […]

Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, April 5. CalMatters politics reporter Ben Christopher here, filling in for Emily Hoeven. Emily will be back next week. Rife with indecision and inconsistencies As California nursing homes slowly recover from the COVID-19 siege that killed thousands, the role of state regulators in protecting the frail and elderly has come […]

Lea este artículo en español.  The widespread business closures at the start of the pandemic marked the first time in nearly 20 years that Marcial Delgado couldn’t cook or serve lunch in the cafeteria at Nvidia. He didn’t return to the company’s massive Santa Clara headquarters for nine months, but the single father-of-three still got paid. […]

Para algunos estudiantes, parece que los desafíos se han vuelto aún más difíciles.

One in five children in California lack devices or internet connection necessary for remote learning. Tech companies have so far pledged tens of thousands of devices toward the cause.

The demands of social distancing have revealed the digital divide to be a chasm. California is partnering with Google to close it. Here's what that means.