Gov. Newsom offered a confusing response this week on his plans to hire a homelessness czar. Two newspapers reported he’s dropped those plans. Then his spokesman told CapRadio that’s not necessarily the case.

Story by Chris Nichols.

PolitiFact California is tracking the governor’s campaign promises through their Newsom Meter project. For updates, visit PolitiFact.com/California.

(Photo: Verna Vasbinder prepares her new bunk in downtown San Diego's Temporary Bridge Shelter for the homeless in December 2017 as her dog, Lucy Lui, looks on - AP Photo/Gregory Bull/via Politifact.com)

For the first time scientists are discovering plastic the size of grains of rice on Lake Tahoe's beaches. Finding plastic in the ocean is a huge issue, but it's becoming increasingly more of a problem in places like Tahoe, according to UC Davis.

Story by Ezra David Romero.

Check out Capital Public Radio’s TahoeLand podcast all about how climate change is altering Tahoe. Subscribe at capradio.org/tahoeland

(Photo: Ezra David Romero/Capital Public Radio)

The California Legislature’s two fiscal committees churned through more than 650 bills Friday, clearing most for final debates but killing hundreds of others without on-the-record votes.

Story by Ben Adler.

(Photo: Andrew Nixon/CapRadio)

Monday, September 2, 2019

Zoning rules in California’s suburbs, especially those in wealthy areas close to job centers, are severely limiting the growth of multi-family housing projects. That’s according to a Brookings Institution report.

Story by Chris Nichols.

(Photo: A housing project near Broadway in Sacramento - Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio)

More than half of California’s registered voters will cast their ballots under a new election system next year that features more voting by mail and less in person.

Story by Ben Adler.

(Photo by Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio)

Friday, August 30, 2019

Primary caregivers (for children under 18) who are charged with a crime could be allowed to enter a rehabilitation program rather than being locked up under a state bill. The California District Attorneys Association opposes it.

Story by Chris Nichols.

(Photo via Capital Public Radio)

Last month, Californians purchased nearly 24-thousand earthquake insurance policies following two large quakes in Southern California. That's the second-highest monthly increase in new policies in the last two decades.

Story by Scott Rodd.

(Photo: Items are scattered around a kitchen Saturday, July 6, 2019 following an earthquake in Ridgecrest, Calif. The Friday evening quake with a magnitude of about 7.1 jolted much of California - Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP Photo / via Cap Radio)

New research from Pew has found that whites are now a minority in 109 more counties in the U.S., including the California counties of Orange, Riverside, Ventura, Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Stanislaus, Sutter and Yolo.

Story from California County News.

Read the full analysis.

(Photo via California County News)

  Thursday, August 29, 2019

Some California health professionals want to be excluded from a labor-backed bill that would require some businesses to take on independent contractors as employees.

Story by Sammy Caiola.

(Photo: Psychologists and Optometrists want the same exemption to remain contractors - Ken Teegardin [CC BY-SA 2.0])

California public school teachers spend on average more than 650 dollars of their own money on school supplies every year, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Story by Scott Rodd.

(Image credit: Lindsey Balbierz/via NPR)

Monday, Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced a new federal lawsuit challenging the administration’s plan to indefinitely detain migrant families and children.

Story by Nick Miller.

(Photo: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the lawsuit he is co-leading with Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey over the Trump administration's plan to detain immigrant children indefinitely - Rich Pedroncelli/AP/via NPR)

Wednesday, August 28, 2019