CalMatters

Today, as COVID-19 case rates in California have jumped to their highest levels yet — more than six times the peak of the delta variant wave — updated workplace rules are kicking in to better help protect workers vaccinated against COVID-19.

At an emotional legislative hearing Tuesday, lawmakers and critics subjected the Newsom administration to blistering questions about the state’s oversight of nursing homes.

Look no further than your favorite restaurant, your kid’s school or your local hospital to see the effect of California’s latest bout of infections.

The sharp increase in coronavirus cases is again challenging California’s courts, with judges releasing plans this week to scale back some courtroom procedures as the state experiences the largest spike in COVID-19 since January 2021. 

Clogged supply chains. Hiring struggles. New mask rules. A virus that trampled right over return-to-work schedules. Last year was chaotic for many businesses across California.

Despite pressure from experts urging a strong mandate, the order leaves the exact conservation measures up to the urban water providers and major water wholesalers that supply the vast majority of Californians. It does not affect agricultural water providers, or the small water systems that are especially vulnerable to drought. 

California is flush with cash — the state has an estimated budget surplus of $21 billion — and, separately, gas prices are way up. 

​​While COVID-19’s omicron wave appears to have crested, it leaves in its wake sick nurses and burnt out bus drivers,short-staffed hospitals and canceled surgeries, school districts scrambling for substitute teachers and grocery store cashiers forced to choose between their health and their finances.

At 66, Edward El has a new lease on life — literally. In two weeks, he’ll move into his own apartment in Berkeley after spending the better part of the past 16 years homeless.

Painting alarming scenes of fires, floods and economic disruption, the California Legislature’s advisors this week released a series of reports that lays out in stark terms the impacts of climate change across the state.