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"content": "\u003cp>Odds are, one of the many ads for legalizing sports betting has snagged your attention, given their ubiquity on TV, websites and billboards across California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’d be forgiven, though, for still not having a clear sense of what either of the initiatives \u003cem>do\u003c/em>. Some of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjlQX9ZARlY\">ads don’t mention sports betting at all\u003c/a>, potentially leaving Californians foggy on what exactly it is they’re being asked to decide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ads are “oversimplified to a point of not being fully accurate,” said Mary Beth Moylan, an associate dean and professor at the McGeorge School of Law at University of the Pacific who oversees a journal dedicated to California’s initiatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/propositions/prop-26-sports-betting-tribal-casinos/\">Proposition 26\u003c/a> would legalize sports betting at tribal casinos and at California’s four private horse race tracks. It is being paid for by about a dozen Native American tribes. It would also allow tribes to begin offering roulette and dice games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/propositions/prop-27-sports-betting-online/\">Proposition 27\u003c/a> would legalize online sports betting across the state and is being paid for by a handful of large gaming companies. Under Proposition 27, both gaming companies and tribes could offer online and mobile sports betting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how truthful are the ads? Here’s what you need to know about some of the often-repeated claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-claim-tribal-leaders-support-the-solutions-act-prop-27\">\u003cstrong>Claim:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG9RHlDedQI\">\u003cstrong>“Tribal leaders support the Solutions Act (Prop 27)”\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Leaders from three of \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislators/quad-caucus/list-of-federal-and-state-recognized-tribes.aspx#ca\">California’s 110 federally recognized Native American tribes\u003c/a> — Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe, Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians and Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians\u003cem> \u003c/em>—\u003cem> \u003c/em>support the online sports betting proposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chairman Jose “Moke” Simon III of the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians said in an interview with CalMatters that he supports Proposition 27 because it gives the tribe an opportunity to bring in more funds. The tribe is rural and has a casino about an hour’s drive north of Napa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our brick-and-mortar (casino) is limited by just our area where we’re located and the mobile sports betting would allow us to reach a much broader audience,” said Simon III.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, \u003ca href=\"https://noon27.com/our-coalition-2/\">over 50 tribes and tribal organizations oppose Proposition 27\u003c/a>. They say it would disrupt the gaming that has been operating on tribal lands for decades and would drive business away from Indian casinos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>True? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is true that a few tribal leaders support Proposition 27, but far more tribal leaders oppose the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Claim: Proposition 27 “\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG9RHlDedQI\">\u003cstrong>supports every California tribe, including financially disadvantaged tribes that don’t own big casinos\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>”\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It’s true that every tribe would see some kind of benefit from Proposition 27. Tribes that have compacts with the state of California that allow them to offer gambling could create their own mobile sports betting app or website. Or, they could partner with a gaming company that wants to offer online sports betting in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The initiative also taxes online sports betting and sets aside 15% of the money for tribes that \u003cem>aren’t\u003c/em> involved in sports betting. But, because it’s hard to know exactly how many people will place bets, how many companies and tribes will want to offer sports betting, or how many tax deductions companies will take, it’s impossible to know exactly how much money that will be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>True?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every tribe has the potential to benefit from Proposition 27, yes. It’s unclear to what degree each tribe would benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Claim: Proposition 27 provides “\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoKuFHNnkrU\">\u003cstrong>hundreds of millions in yearly funding to finally address homelessness in California\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>” \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This one is a bit complicated. It’s possible the proposition will generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually to address homelessness, but it’s not guaranteed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each election cycle, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Propositions\">reviews each proposition\u003c/a> and estimates the new costs and revenue each could create for the state. \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/ballot/2022/Prop27-110822.pdf\">They found\u003c/a> that Proposition 27, via taxes and fees, would increase money flowing to the state by “possibly in the hundreds of millions of dollars but likely not more than $500 million annually.” The office didn’t include a lower-end estimate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, that money would be used to cover new costs related to regulating sports betting, which the analysts estimate could reach tens of millions of dollars annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out of the money that remains, 15% would go to tribes that don’t participate in sports betting and 85% would go to homelessness solutions. The Legislature could also choose to direct some of it to gambling-addiction treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>True?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is possible that Proposition 27 would wind up generating hundreds of millions of dollars per year for the state to address homelessness. But if taxes and fees end up bringing in $100 million or $200 million a year — as opposed to $500 million — then it would not. Also, if the Legislature decides to direct a large portion to gambling-addiction treatments, that would reduce the amount that goes to homelessness solutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How does this money fit into what California is already spending to address homelessness? California spent $7.2 billion on homelessness-related programs in the 2021-22 budget year, according to \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4521\">state analysts\u003c/a>. If Proposition 27 added, say, $300 million, that would translate to a 4% boost.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Claim: \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFvi7VZ2uc0\">\u003cstrong>“90% of the profits (of Prop. 27) go to out-of-state corporations”\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This claim is based on the fact that Proposition 27 taxes online sports betting at a rate of 10%. So the question is: Where exactly will the other 90% go? The truth is that it’s impossible to know precisely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Proposition 27 passes, gaming companies headquartered in other states will want to get in on the action, since they are the ones funding the measure. The companies bankrolling the initiative have some of the most popular online sports betting platforms: FanDuel commands 31% of the U.S. market, followed by DraftKings with 26% and BetMGM with 16%, according to Eilers & Krejcik, a research firm focused on gaming. So it’s reasonable to expect their platforms would be popular in California too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does that mean those companies would reap all of the profit? The initiative also allows California tribes to offer mobile and online sports betting on their own. If tribes choose to do that, they’d be earning some of the profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gaming companies headquartered in other states might also wind up needing to spend money in California to do business here. For example, companies will need to make a deal with a tribe in order to legally operate, and that deal could include some kind of payment or revenue sharing. Gaming companies may also need to pay employees or contractors in California to get their business going here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>True?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies funding the campaign are headquartered outside California. What percentage of profits would actually go to them is impossible to know right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Claim: Tribes are “\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://votenoonprop26.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjwyaWZBhBGEiwACslQo8NdwT21DPSaPnLoFgZL0Ak5gnUQ95nq5xXIyewEZBpWGpZlfx_sLRoCtVEQAvD_BwE\">\u003cstrong>pushing Prop 26 to guarantee themselves a virtual monopoly on all gaming in California by giving private trial lawyers the powers of the Attorney General to bury their licensed cardroom competitors with frivolous lawsuits\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>.”\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This argument contains several claims. It’s based on a part of Proposition 26 that allows any person (or organization) that believes someone else is breaking California gambling laws — by offering an illegal game, for example — to sue. Before they could sue, though, they’d need to first ask the state Department of Justice to act, and could only move ahead if the department doesn’t take action, or the department \u003cem>does\u003c/em> file a case and the court rejects the case but allows it to be re-filed. It’s complicated legal stuff. But it’s not a totally novel idea; California has used a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2022/04/california-labor-law/\">similar process to enforce labor laws\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>True?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Buckle up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Are tribes trying to “guarantee themselves a virtual monopoly?” In 2000, Californians voted to \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/ballot/2000/1A_03_2000.html\">allow tribes to offer certain forms of gambling\u003c/a> — including slot machines and card games backed by the casino — that no other entity in California is allowed to offer. Proposition 26 would allow tribes to begin offering roulette and dice games, which no other entity can offer, so long as they renegotiate their agreement with the state. So, the initiative would expand tribes’ exclusive rights to offer certain forms of gambling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Would the new lawsuit process give “private trial lawyers the powers of the Attorney General to bury their licensed cardroom competitors with frivolous lawsuits?” It would allow private attorneys to bring cases that are currently under the purview of government lawyers\u003cem>. \u003c/em>The Proposition 26 campaign hasn’t hidden the fact that tribes intend to sue \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/sports-betting-california/#2ac3276a-bd30-47fa-866c-c325717c7aab\">cardrooms\u003c/a>, which compete with tribal casinos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit process was “crafted to settle the house bank games law that governs cardrooms,” said Kathy Fairbanks, a spokesperson for the Yes on 26 campaign, at a recent debate. The rules over exactly how cardrooms are allowed to offer certain games has long been a source of disagreement between cardrooms and tribes. The tribes don’t have standing to challenge them in court, Fairbanks said, so they want a way to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The notion that this would unlock a slew of meritless lawsuits, though, assumes that courts don’t already have a process in place to handle frivolous lawsuits, said Moylan, the law professor. Courts can sanction lawyers who bring frivolous lawsuits, for example, Moylan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The campaigns for Propositions 26 and 27 on this November’s ballot have made a wide variety of claims, especially about how the money gleaned from sports betting in California will get distributed.",
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"title": "Fact-Checking Ads for California’s Sports Betting Propositions | KQED",
"description": "The campaigns for Propositions 26 and 27 on this November’s ballot have made a wide variety of claims, especially about how the money gleaned from sports betting in California will get distributed.",
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"headline": "Fact-Checking Ads for California’s Sports Betting Propositions",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Odds are, one of the many ads for legalizing sports betting has snagged your attention, given their ubiquity on TV, websites and billboards across California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’d be forgiven, though, for still not having a clear sense of what either of the initiatives \u003cem>do\u003c/em>. Some of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjlQX9ZARlY\">ads don’t mention sports betting at all\u003c/a>, potentially leaving Californians foggy on what exactly it is they’re being asked to decide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ads are “oversimplified to a point of not being fully accurate,” said Mary Beth Moylan, an associate dean and professor at the McGeorge School of Law at University of the Pacific who oversees a journal dedicated to California’s initiatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/propositions/prop-26-sports-betting-tribal-casinos/\">Proposition 26\u003c/a> would legalize sports betting at tribal casinos and at California’s four private horse race tracks. It is being paid for by about a dozen Native American tribes. It would also allow tribes to begin offering roulette and dice games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2022/propositions/prop-27-sports-betting-online/\">Proposition 27\u003c/a> would legalize online sports betting across the state and is being paid for by a handful of large gaming companies. Under Proposition 27, both gaming companies and tribes could offer online and mobile sports betting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But how truthful are the ads? Here’s what you need to know about some of the often-repeated claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-claim-tribal-leaders-support-the-solutions-act-prop-27\">\u003cstrong>Claim:\u003c/strong> \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG9RHlDedQI\">\u003cstrong>“Tribal leaders support the Solutions Act (Prop 27)”\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Leaders from three of \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislators/quad-caucus/list-of-federal-and-state-recognized-tribes.aspx#ca\">California’s 110 federally recognized Native American tribes\u003c/a> — Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe, Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians and Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians\u003cem> \u003c/em>—\u003cem> \u003c/em>support the online sports betting proposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chairman Jose “Moke” Simon III of the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians said in an interview with CalMatters that he supports Proposition 27 because it gives the tribe an opportunity to bring in more funds. The tribe is rural and has a casino about an hour’s drive north of Napa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our brick-and-mortar (casino) is limited by just our area where we’re located and the mobile sports betting would allow us to reach a much broader audience,” said Simon III.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, \u003ca href=\"https://noon27.com/our-coalition-2/\">over 50 tribes and tribal organizations oppose Proposition 27\u003c/a>. They say it would disrupt the gaming that has been operating on tribal lands for decades and would drive business away from Indian casinos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>True? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is true that a few tribal leaders support Proposition 27, but far more tribal leaders oppose the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Claim: Proposition 27 “\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG9RHlDedQI\">\u003cstrong>supports every California tribe, including financially disadvantaged tribes that don’t own big casinos\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>”\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It’s true that every tribe would see some kind of benefit from Proposition 27. Tribes that have compacts with the state of California that allow them to offer gambling could create their own mobile sports betting app or website. Or, they could partner with a gaming company that wants to offer online sports betting in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The initiative also taxes online sports betting and sets aside 15% of the money for tribes that \u003cem>aren’t\u003c/em> involved in sports betting. But, because it’s hard to know exactly how many people will place bets, how many companies and tribes will want to offer sports betting, or how many tax deductions companies will take, it’s impossible to know exactly how much money that will be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>True?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every tribe has the potential to benefit from Proposition 27, yes. It’s unclear to what degree each tribe would benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Claim: Proposition 27 provides “\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoKuFHNnkrU\">\u003cstrong>hundreds of millions in yearly funding to finally address homelessness in California\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>” \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This one is a bit complicated. It’s possible the proposition will generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually to address homelessness, but it’s not guaranteed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each election cycle, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Propositions\">reviews each proposition\u003c/a> and estimates the new costs and revenue each could create for the state. \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/ballot/2022/Prop27-110822.pdf\">They found\u003c/a> that Proposition 27, via taxes and fees, would increase money flowing to the state by “possibly in the hundreds of millions of dollars but likely not more than $500 million annually.” The office didn’t include a lower-end estimate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, that money would be used to cover new costs related to regulating sports betting, which the analysts estimate could reach tens of millions of dollars annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out of the money that remains, 15% would go to tribes that don’t participate in sports betting and 85% would go to homelessness solutions. The Legislature could also choose to direct some of it to gambling-addiction treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>True?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is possible that Proposition 27 would wind up generating hundreds of millions of dollars per year for the state to address homelessness. But if taxes and fees end up bringing in $100 million or $200 million a year — as opposed to $500 million — then it would not. Also, if the Legislature decides to direct a large portion to gambling-addiction treatments, that would reduce the amount that goes to homelessness solutions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How does this money fit into what California is already spending to address homelessness? California spent $7.2 billion on homelessness-related programs in the 2021-22 budget year, according to \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4521\">state analysts\u003c/a>. If Proposition 27 added, say, $300 million, that would translate to a 4% boost.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Claim: \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFvi7VZ2uc0\">\u003cstrong>“90% of the profits (of Prop. 27) go to out-of-state corporations”\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This claim is based on the fact that Proposition 27 taxes online sports betting at a rate of 10%. So the question is: Where exactly will the other 90% go? The truth is that it’s impossible to know precisely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Proposition 27 passes, gaming companies headquartered in other states will want to get in on the action, since they are the ones funding the measure. The companies bankrolling the initiative have some of the most popular online sports betting platforms: FanDuel commands 31% of the U.S. market, followed by DraftKings with 26% and BetMGM with 16%, according to Eilers & Krejcik, a research firm focused on gaming. So it’s reasonable to expect their platforms would be popular in California too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does that mean those companies would reap all of the profit? The initiative also allows California tribes to offer mobile and online sports betting on their own. If tribes choose to do that, they’d be earning some of the profits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gaming companies headquartered in other states might also wind up needing to spend money in California to do business here. For example, companies will need to make a deal with a tribe in order to legally operate, and that deal could include some kind of payment or revenue sharing. Gaming companies may also need to pay employees or contractors in California to get their business going here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>True?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies funding the campaign are headquartered outside California. What percentage of profits would actually go to them is impossible to know right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Claim: Tribes are “\u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://votenoonprop26.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjwyaWZBhBGEiwACslQo8NdwT21DPSaPnLoFgZL0Ak5gnUQ95nq5xXIyewEZBpWGpZlfx_sLRoCtVEQAvD_BwE\">\u003cstrong>pushing Prop 26 to guarantee themselves a virtual monopoly on all gaming in California by giving private trial lawyers the powers of the Attorney General to bury their licensed cardroom competitors with frivolous lawsuits\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>.”\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This argument contains several claims. It’s based on a part of Proposition 26 that allows any person (or organization) that believes someone else is breaking California gambling laws — by offering an illegal game, for example — to sue. Before they could sue, though, they’d need to first ask the state Department of Justice to act, and could only move ahead if the department doesn’t take action, or the department \u003cem>does\u003c/em> file a case and the court rejects the case but allows it to be re-filed. It’s complicated legal stuff. But it’s not a totally novel idea; California has used a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2022/04/california-labor-law/\">similar process to enforce labor laws\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>True?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Buckle up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Are tribes trying to “guarantee themselves a virtual monopoly?” In 2000, Californians voted to \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/ballot/2000/1A_03_2000.html\">allow tribes to offer certain forms of gambling\u003c/a> — including slot machines and card games backed by the casino — that no other entity in California is allowed to offer. Proposition 26 would allow tribes to begin offering roulette and dice games, which no other entity can offer, so long as they renegotiate their agreement with the state. So, the initiative would expand tribes’ exclusive rights to offer certain forms of gambling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Would the new lawsuit process give “private trial lawyers the powers of the Attorney General to bury their licensed cardroom competitors with frivolous lawsuits?” It would allow private attorneys to bring cases that are currently under the purview of government lawyers\u003cem>. \u003c/em>The Proposition 26 campaign hasn’t hidden the fact that tribes intend to sue \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/sports-betting-california/#2ac3276a-bd30-47fa-866c-c325717c7aab\">cardrooms\u003c/a>, which compete with tribal casinos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lawsuit process was “crafted to settle the house bank games law that governs cardrooms,” said Kathy Fairbanks, a spokesperson for the Yes on 26 campaign, at a recent debate. The rules over exactly how cardrooms are allowed to offer certain games has long been a source of disagreement between cardrooms and tribes. The tribes don’t have standing to challenge them in court, Fairbanks said, so they want a way to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The notion that this would unlock a slew of meritless lawsuits, though, assumes that courts don’t already have a process in place to handle frivolous lawsuits, said Moylan, the law professor. Courts can sanction lawyers who bring frivolous lawsuits, for example, Moylan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Drought Enters Fourth Year With Little Respite on the Horizon",
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"content": "\u003cp>As California’s 2022 water year ends this week, the parched state is bracing for another dry year — its fourth in a row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, in California’s recorded history, six previous droughts have lasted four or more years, two of them in the past 35 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite some rain in September, weather watchers \u003ca href=\"https://drought.ca.gov/media/2022/09/Weekly-CA-Drought-Update-09192022-FINAL.pdf\">expect a hot and dry fall\u003c/a>, and warn that this winter \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/seasonal.php?lead=3\">could bring warm temperatures and below-average precipitation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conditions are shaping up to be a “recipe for drought”: a La Niña climate pattern plus warm temperatures in the western tropical Pacific that could mean that critical rain and snowstorms miss California, according to \u003ca href=\"https://weatherwest.com/about\">Daniel Swain\u003c/a>, a climate scientist with UCLA and The Nature Conservancy.[aside label='Related Articles' tag='water']Swain said California’s fate will depend on how exactly the storm track shifts, and that seasonal forecasts are inherently uncertain. Even so, “I would still put my money on dry, even in the northern third of the state,” he said. “It’s not a guarantee. But if you were to see 50 winters like this one, most of them would be dry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through August, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/cag/statewide/time-series/4/pcp/36/8/1895-2022?base_prd=true&begbaseyear=1895&endbaseyear=2022\">no other three-year period in California history\u003c/a> has been this dry — even during the last historic drought from \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Water-Basics/Drought/Files/Publications-And-Reports/CNRA-Drought-Report-final-March-2021.pdf\">2012 through 2016\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Or did the last drought end? Which is the bigger question,” said \u003ca href=\"https://snri.ucmerced.edu/content/john-abatzoglou\">John Abatzoglou\u003c/a>, professor of climatology at UC Merced. “We’re basically having droughts that are disrupted by wet periods.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has seen lengthy droughts before, including two seven-year droughts that started in the late 1920s and 1940s. A more recent one lasted six years, from 1987 to 1992.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To get these kinds of years, we have to go back to the late 1920s and the 1930s, which were \u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/great-depression-and-world-war-ii-1929-1945/dust-bowl/\">the Dust Bowl years\u003c/a>,” said California state climatologist \u003ca href=\"https://oehha.ca.gov/climate-change/document/climate-change-connections-speaker-biographies\">Michael Anderson\u003c/a>. He tallies far more dry years than wet since the turn of the millennium. “If you look at the 21st century, we really only have a handful of wet years to work with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not just the lack of rain and snow. Warmer temperatures, too, are exacerbating California’s droughts. January through August ranked as \u003ca href=\"https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-sweltered-through-third-hottest-summer-on-record\">California’s fifth-warmest year to date\u003c/a>, following 2021’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.noaa.gov/news/summer-2021-neck-and-neck-with-dust-bowl-summer-for-hottest-on-record\">warmest summer on record\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One thing that is unfortunately becoming easier to anticipate are warmer-than-average conditions due to climate change,” Swain of UCLA said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The heat contributes to a thirstier atmosphere, plants and soils, which increases demand and reduces runoff that flows into reservoirs. “That’s taking what’s already been a really rotten, worst-in-the-instrumental-record precipitation drought, and making it into even a worse drought,” Abatzoglou said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Winter is coming. But will it rain?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What the coming water year, which \u003ca href=\"https://water.usgs.gov/nwc/explain_data.html\">begins October 1\u003c/a>, will bring is still up in the air. But La Niña conditions are highly likely to continue through at least the fall, with \u003ca href=\"https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/september-2022-la-ni%C3%B1a-update-it%E2%80%99s-q-time\">an 80% chance of persisting\u003c/a> through January, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml\">for a third year in a row\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/september-2022-la-ni%C3%B1a-update-it%E2%80%99s-q-time\">“three-peat” La Niña\u003c/a> is rare: It has happened only twice before since record-keeping began. La Niña occurs when ocean temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific are below normal, which can shift the storm track that California depends on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Seeing things that we’ve never seen before is very much on the table,” said John Yarbrough, assistant deputy director of the \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/Programs/State-Water-Project\">State Water Project\u003c/a>, which funnels water from Northern California to 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often La Niña means drier conditions in Southern California, but the effects on Northern California watersheds critical to the state’s water supply can be harder to predict, according to \u003ca href=\"https://cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-welcomes-dr-julie-kalansky/\">Julie Kalansky\u003c/a>, deputy director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11927140\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11927140\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Seasonal-Precipitation-Outlook-800x671.jpg\" alt=\"A map of the United States shows precipitation to be below average across the entire southern United States and almost all of California\" width=\"800\" height=\"671\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Seasonal-Precipitation-Outlook-800x671.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Seasonal-Precipitation-Outlook-1020x855.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Seasonal-Precipitation-Outlook-160x134.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Seasonal-Precipitation-Outlook.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">With below-average precipitation expected through the coming winter, California will see drought conditions for the foreseeable future. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Every year is such a unique story for water, which makes California exciting, but it also makes it hard to predict and say what will happen,” Kalansky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What will ultimately shape the next water year is \u003ca href=\"https://cw3e.ucsd.edu/lack_of_ars_drought/\">the number of storms known as atmospheric rivers\u003c/a> that make landfall, and the amount of precipitation they unleash. The timing, too, will be important, Anderson said: when rain and snow falls can affect how much of California’s precious snowpack rushes into reservoirs or soaks into the soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From the water management standpoint, we’re being mindful that it very well could be dry,” Yarbrough said. “At the same time, we’ve got to be mindful that it could be very wet and you could have flooding. Both of those still are possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dry spells punctuated by wet years are part of “the California story,” Abatzoglou said. “But obviously the last decade has shifted the balance toward more droughts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What about snow?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Snow, too, is difficult to predict for the year ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely more of a guessing game. You’re just sort of crossing your fingers and hoping,” said \u003ca href=\"https://skicalifornia.org/about-ski-california/\">Michael Reitzell\u003c/a>, president of Ski California, a trade association representing resorts in Nevada and California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This past year was a strange one for the ski industry, Reitzell said — marred first by wildfires that \u003ca href=\"https://www.sierraattahoe.com/blog/general/caldor-fire-update/\">damaged the Sierra-at-Tahoe resort\u003c/a>, then by \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Treacherous-blizzard-blowing-around-like-a-16730724.php\">extreme snowstorms at the end of December\u003c/a> that forced some resorts to close.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the holiday period, some resorts lost full days that would have been huge, huge revenue days,” Reitzell said. “That certainly does put a ding in things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2022/April-22/April-2022-Snow-Survey\">snowpack measured at 38% of average statewide\u003c/a>, at a time when it should have been its deepest on April 1. It was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/04/california-sierra-snowpack/\">the worst snowpack in seven years\u003c/a> and the sixth-lowest April measurement in state history. The \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Water-Basics/Drought/Files/Publications-And-Reports/CNRA-Drought-Report-final-March-2021.pdf\">2015 snowpack was the lowest on record\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11927143\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 724px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11927143\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/GettyImages-1332199024.jpg\" alt=\"Lake with dry river banks around low water level and wooded hills in the background. Paved boat ramp in lower right no longer reaches water. Dirt boat ramp provides temporary access. Houseboats moored near swimming platform who's underwater anchor, which should be vertically below platform, lies exposed horizontally on dry shore.\" width=\"724\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/GettyImages-1332199024.jpg 724w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/GettyImages-1332199024-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Low water level at Shasta Lake due to the multiyear drought. The lake provides recreation as well as drinking and irrigation water to locations as far as Los Angeles, 500 miles away. \u003ccite>(Nehring/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The measurement came on the heels of \u003ca href=\"https://drought.ca.gov/media/2022/09/Weekly-CA-Drought-Update-09192022-FINAL.pdf\">a record-setting dry spell from January through March\u003c/a>, with warm temperatures spurring an early season melt. This kind of early melt is difficult to recover from, said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist and station manager at the \u003ca href=\"https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/research-unit/central-sierra-snow-lab\">University of California, Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our soils get dry and soak up any additional rain or snow that comes in, so that doesn’t make it to our reservoirs. And then we get these mass forest die-offs and subsequent forest fires,” Schwartz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He agreed it’s hard to say what La Niña will mean for the Sierra Nevada this winter. He said “some absolutely massive snow years” have happened during La Niña years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But we’ve also had some of the worst years on record happen here. So the La Niña doesn’t look like it’s going to play too much of a role up here, because traditionally it hasn’t,” he said. “With that being said, I’m expecting drier and warmer than average conditions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A deep water deficit\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California is entering the next year with a water deficit unlikely to recover with an average year of precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Groundwater levels in almost two-thirds of wells assessed \u003ca href=\"https://cww.water.ca.gov/service/document/hydroreport?_=1663956947040\">have sunk below average\u003c/a>, and by the end of August, reservoir storage had hit 69% of normal for the date. It’s an improvement over last year, when reservoir levels had dropped \u003ca href=\"https://cww.water.ca.gov/service/document/hydroreport?_=1663956947040\">to just 60% of average\u003c/a> for the date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But reservoirs are still not where they need to be. “We’re still well below average, still well below where we would like to be,” said Yarbrough, of the State Water Project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lake Oroville, \u003ca href=\"https://cdec.water.ca.gov/reportapp/javareports?name=RES\">at 1.24 million acre feet\u003c/a>, remains below the 1.6 million acre-foot threshold that managers would like to see by the end of the year before considering exports. Last year, deliveries from the State Water Project \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2021/March-21/SWP-Allocation-Update-March-23\">dropped to 5% of requested\u003c/a> supplies in March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initial water allocations are expected to be announced December 1, and Yarbrough would not say what they were likely to be. Still, he said, “Do expect it to be on the lower end.”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Ryan Jacobsen, CEO, Fresno County Farm Bureau\"]'We find ourselves going into this year with such a substantial decline over the course of the previous three years that even an average year most likely is going to mean some not good allocations to farmers down here in the Valley.'[/pullquote]The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the Central Valley Project, also would not say how much water its recipients, including Central Valley growers, can expect next year. That announcement will come in February, spokesperson Mary Lee Knecht said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, is not expecting the news to be good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We find ourselves going into this year with such a substantial decline over the course of the previous three years that even an average year most likely is going to mean some not good allocations to farmers down here in the Valley,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jacobsen said local growers already have cut back on plantings for fall and winter crops. He expects even more fields to be fallowed as farmers decide not to plant annual crops like tomatoes, melons and corn to preserve their scarce water supplies for permanent crops like tree nuts and grapes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One source of California’s water supply is in even more dire shape than in previous droughts: the Colorado River, which remained a reliable source of water supply even during California’s 2012-2016 drought. This time the river’s massive reservoirs have hit historic lows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Colorado River system is in deep crisis,” said Alex Hall, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at UCLA. “That means Southern California is in a more difficult position than in the past.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Southern California’s giant water importer, the Metropolitan Water District, issued unprecedented outdoor watering restrictions last spring for the 6 million people in its vast service area that depend on supplies from the parched State Water Project. Over the last three years, the water district has received its lowest total deliveries from Northern California reservoirs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the water importer is weighing how potential future cutbacks on the Colorado River could affect the rest of its customers as California, Arizona and Nevada hash out a deal to conserve the river’s water, said Demetri Polyzos, Metropolitan’s manager of resource planning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are saying, ‘Hey, we’ve gone through this before. California is used to droughts,’” Polyzos said. “That is true. But we’re seeing these things get a lot worse and worse and more difficult to manage through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What is becoming increasingly clear is that the nature of drought in the West is changing from the plural to the singular as it endures for long stretches punctuated by brief spells of wet years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea of drought as a temporary, transient thing is shifting,” Swain said. “We should be thinking more about long-term aridification.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "After its driest stretch on record, California braces for another year with below-average snow and rain.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As California’s 2022 water year ends this week, the parched state is bracing for another dry year — its fourth in a row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, in California’s recorded history, six previous droughts have lasted four or more years, two of them in the past 35 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite some rain in September, weather watchers \u003ca href=\"https://drought.ca.gov/media/2022/09/Weekly-CA-Drought-Update-09192022-FINAL.pdf\">expect a hot and dry fall\u003c/a>, and warn that this winter \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/seasonal.php?lead=3\">could bring warm temperatures and below-average precipitation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conditions are shaping up to be a “recipe for drought”: a La Niña climate pattern plus warm temperatures in the western tropical Pacific that could mean that critical rain and snowstorms miss California, according to \u003ca href=\"https://weatherwest.com/about\">Daniel Swain\u003c/a>, a climate scientist with UCLA and The Nature Conservancy.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Swain said California’s fate will depend on how exactly the storm track shifts, and that seasonal forecasts are inherently uncertain. Even so, “I would still put my money on dry, even in the northern third of the state,” he said. “It’s not a guarantee. But if you were to see 50 winters like this one, most of them would be dry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through August, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/cag/statewide/time-series/4/pcp/36/8/1895-2022?base_prd=true&begbaseyear=1895&endbaseyear=2022\">no other three-year period in California history\u003c/a> has been this dry — even during the last historic drought from \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Water-Basics/Drought/Files/Publications-And-Reports/CNRA-Drought-Report-final-March-2021.pdf\">2012 through 2016\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Or did the last drought end? Which is the bigger question,” said \u003ca href=\"https://snri.ucmerced.edu/content/john-abatzoglou\">John Abatzoglou\u003c/a>, professor of climatology at UC Merced. “We’re basically having droughts that are disrupted by wet periods.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has seen lengthy droughts before, including two seven-year droughts that started in the late 1920s and 1940s. A more recent one lasted six years, from 1987 to 1992.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To get these kinds of years, we have to go back to the late 1920s and the 1930s, which were \u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/great-depression-and-world-war-ii-1929-1945/dust-bowl/\">the Dust Bowl years\u003c/a>,” said California state climatologist \u003ca href=\"https://oehha.ca.gov/climate-change/document/climate-change-connections-speaker-biographies\">Michael Anderson\u003c/a>. He tallies far more dry years than wet since the turn of the millennium. “If you look at the 21st century, we really only have a handful of wet years to work with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not just the lack of rain and snow. Warmer temperatures, too, are exacerbating California’s droughts. January through August ranked as \u003ca href=\"https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-sweltered-through-third-hottest-summer-on-record\">California’s fifth-warmest year to date\u003c/a>, following 2021’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.noaa.gov/news/summer-2021-neck-and-neck-with-dust-bowl-summer-for-hottest-on-record\">warmest summer on record\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One thing that is unfortunately becoming easier to anticipate are warmer-than-average conditions due to climate change,” Swain of UCLA said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The heat contributes to a thirstier atmosphere, plants and soils, which increases demand and reduces runoff that flows into reservoirs. “That’s taking what’s already been a really rotten, worst-in-the-instrumental-record precipitation drought, and making it into even a worse drought,” Abatzoglou said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Winter is coming. But will it rain?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>What the coming water year, which \u003ca href=\"https://water.usgs.gov/nwc/explain_data.html\">begins October 1\u003c/a>, will bring is still up in the air. But La Niña conditions are highly likely to continue through at least the fall, with \u003ca href=\"https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/september-2022-la-ni%C3%B1a-update-it%E2%80%99s-q-time\">an 80% chance of persisting\u003c/a> through January, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml\">for a third year in a row\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/september-2022-la-ni%C3%B1a-update-it%E2%80%99s-q-time\">“three-peat” La Niña\u003c/a> is rare: It has happened only twice before since record-keeping began. La Niña occurs when ocean temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific are below normal, which can shift the storm track that California depends on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Seeing things that we’ve never seen before is very much on the table,” said John Yarbrough, assistant deputy director of the \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/Programs/State-Water-Project\">State Water Project\u003c/a>, which funnels water from Northern California to 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often La Niña means drier conditions in Southern California, but the effects on Northern California watersheds critical to the state’s water supply can be harder to predict, according to \u003ca href=\"https://cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-welcomes-dr-julie-kalansky/\">Julie Kalansky\u003c/a>, deputy director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11927140\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11927140\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Seasonal-Precipitation-Outlook-800x671.jpg\" alt=\"A map of the United States shows precipitation to be below average across the entire southern United States and almost all of California\" width=\"800\" height=\"671\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Seasonal-Precipitation-Outlook-800x671.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Seasonal-Precipitation-Outlook-1020x855.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Seasonal-Precipitation-Outlook-160x134.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Seasonal-Precipitation-Outlook.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">With below-average precipitation expected through the coming winter, California will see drought conditions for the foreseeable future. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Every year is such a unique story for water, which makes California exciting, but it also makes it hard to predict and say what will happen,” Kalansky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What will ultimately shape the next water year is \u003ca href=\"https://cw3e.ucsd.edu/lack_of_ars_drought/\">the number of storms known as atmospheric rivers\u003c/a> that make landfall, and the amount of precipitation they unleash. The timing, too, will be important, Anderson said: when rain and snow falls can affect how much of California’s precious snowpack rushes into reservoirs or soaks into the soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“From the water management standpoint, we’re being mindful that it very well could be dry,” Yarbrough said. “At the same time, we’ve got to be mindful that it could be very wet and you could have flooding. Both of those still are possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dry spells punctuated by wet years are part of “the California story,” Abatzoglou said. “But obviously the last decade has shifted the balance toward more droughts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What about snow?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Snow, too, is difficult to predict for the year ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s definitely more of a guessing game. You’re just sort of crossing your fingers and hoping,” said \u003ca href=\"https://skicalifornia.org/about-ski-california/\">Michael Reitzell\u003c/a>, president of Ski California, a trade association representing resorts in Nevada and California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This past year was a strange one for the ski industry, Reitzell said — marred first by wildfires that \u003ca href=\"https://www.sierraattahoe.com/blog/general/caldor-fire-update/\">damaged the Sierra-at-Tahoe resort\u003c/a>, then by \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Treacherous-blizzard-blowing-around-like-a-16730724.php\">extreme snowstorms at the end of December\u003c/a> that forced some resorts to close.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the holiday period, some resorts lost full days that would have been huge, huge revenue days,” Reitzell said. “That certainly does put a ding in things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2022/April-22/April-2022-Snow-Survey\">snowpack measured at 38% of average statewide\u003c/a>, at a time when it should have been its deepest on April 1. It was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/04/california-sierra-snowpack/\">the worst snowpack in seven years\u003c/a> and the sixth-lowest April measurement in state history. The \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Water-Basics/Drought/Files/Publications-And-Reports/CNRA-Drought-Report-final-March-2021.pdf\">2015 snowpack was the lowest on record\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11927143\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 724px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-11927143\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/GettyImages-1332199024.jpg\" alt=\"Lake with dry river banks around low water level and wooded hills in the background. Paved boat ramp in lower right no longer reaches water. Dirt boat ramp provides temporary access. Houseboats moored near swimming platform who's underwater anchor, which should be vertically below platform, lies exposed horizontally on dry shore.\" width=\"724\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/GettyImages-1332199024.jpg 724w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/GettyImages-1332199024-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Low water level at Shasta Lake due to the multiyear drought. The lake provides recreation as well as drinking and irrigation water to locations as far as Los Angeles, 500 miles away. \u003ccite>(Nehring/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The measurement came on the heels of \u003ca href=\"https://drought.ca.gov/media/2022/09/Weekly-CA-Drought-Update-09192022-FINAL.pdf\">a record-setting dry spell from January through March\u003c/a>, with warm temperatures spurring an early season melt. This kind of early melt is difficult to recover from, said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist and station manager at the \u003ca href=\"https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/research-unit/central-sierra-snow-lab\">University of California, Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our soils get dry and soak up any additional rain or snow that comes in, so that doesn’t make it to our reservoirs. And then we get these mass forest die-offs and subsequent forest fires,” Schwartz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He agreed it’s hard to say what La Niña will mean for the Sierra Nevada this winter. He said “some absolutely massive snow years” have happened during La Niña years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But we’ve also had some of the worst years on record happen here. So the La Niña doesn’t look like it’s going to play too much of a role up here, because traditionally it hasn’t,” he said. “With that being said, I’m expecting drier and warmer than average conditions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A deep water deficit\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California is entering the next year with a water deficit unlikely to recover with an average year of precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Groundwater levels in almost two-thirds of wells assessed \u003ca href=\"https://cww.water.ca.gov/service/document/hydroreport?_=1663956947040\">have sunk below average\u003c/a>, and by the end of August, reservoir storage had hit 69% of normal for the date. It’s an improvement over last year, when reservoir levels had dropped \u003ca href=\"https://cww.water.ca.gov/service/document/hydroreport?_=1663956947040\">to just 60% of average\u003c/a> for the date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But reservoirs are still not where they need to be. “We’re still well below average, still well below where we would like to be,” said Yarbrough, of the State Water Project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lake Oroville, \u003ca href=\"https://cdec.water.ca.gov/reportapp/javareports?name=RES\">at 1.24 million acre feet\u003c/a>, remains below the 1.6 million acre-foot threshold that managers would like to see by the end of the year before considering exports. Last year, deliveries from the State Water Project \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2021/March-21/SWP-Allocation-Update-March-23\">dropped to 5% of requested\u003c/a> supplies in March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initial water allocations are expected to be announced December 1, and Yarbrough would not say what they were likely to be. Still, he said, “Do expect it to be on the lower end.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the Central Valley Project, also would not say how much water its recipients, including Central Valley growers, can expect next year. That announcement will come in February, spokesperson Mary Lee Knecht said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, is not expecting the news to be good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We find ourselves going into this year with such a substantial decline over the course of the previous three years that even an average year most likely is going to mean some not good allocations to farmers down here in the Valley,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jacobsen said local growers already have cut back on plantings for fall and winter crops. He expects even more fields to be fallowed as farmers decide not to plant annual crops like tomatoes, melons and corn to preserve their scarce water supplies for permanent crops like tree nuts and grapes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One source of California’s water supply is in even more dire shape than in previous droughts: the Colorado River, which remained a reliable source of water supply even during California’s 2012-2016 drought. This time the river’s massive reservoirs have hit historic lows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Colorado River system is in deep crisis,” said Alex Hall, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at UCLA. “That means Southern California is in a more difficult position than in the past.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Southern California’s giant water importer, the Metropolitan Water District, issued unprecedented outdoor watering restrictions last spring for the 6 million people in its vast service area that depend on supplies from the parched State Water Project. Over the last three years, the water district has received its lowest total deliveries from Northern California reservoirs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the water importer is weighing how potential future cutbacks on the Colorado River could affect the rest of its customers as California, Arizona and Nevada hash out a deal to conserve the river’s water, said Demetri Polyzos, Metropolitan’s manager of resource planning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are saying, ‘Hey, we’ve gone through this before. California is used to droughts,’” Polyzos said. “That is true. But we’re seeing these things get a lot worse and worse and more difficult to manage through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What is becoming increasingly clear is that the nature of drought in the West is changing from the plural to the singular as it endures for long stretches punctuated by brief spells of wet years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea of drought as a temporary, transient thing is shifting,” Swain said. “We should be thinking more about long-term aridification.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "Newsom Signs Slate of Abortion-Protection Bills",
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"content": "\u003cp>California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of 12 bills Tuesday, establishing some of the strongest abortion protections in the nation — a direct reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11917776/supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade\"> overturn federal abortion guarantees\u003c/a> earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collectively, the new laws aim to improve access and protect patients and clinicians by strengthening privacy safeguards, ensuring providers and patients cannot be sued or prosecuted, and funding procedures and travel costs for individuals with lower incomes. They also seek to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11917541/californians-ready-to-help-people-from-out-of-state-receive-abortion-care-state-may-offer-money-for-travel-child-care\">shore up the state’s network of abortion clinics\u003c/a> as more patients from states where abortion is now severely limited or banned seek procedures in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“An alarming number of states continue to outlaw abortion and criminalize women, and it’s more important than ever to fight like hell for those who need these essential services,” Newsom said. “Our Legislature has been on the front lines of this fight, and no other legislative body in the country is doing more to protect these fundamental rights. I’m proud to stand with them again and sign these critical bills into law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom first announced the signing privately to stakeholders. Jodi Hicks, CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said many in the virtual room got emotional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a long year of a lot of hard work,” Hicks said. “You could see a lot of emotion and pride.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The package was supported by the California Future of Abortion Council, a 46-member coalition of reproductive rights and health and justice groups convened by Newsom in 2021 to identify abortion-rights shortcomings and recommend policy solutions. Tuesday’s announcement also included Newsom signing a measure making over-the-counter birth control more affordable.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" tag=\"abortion\"]“It is certainly by design that we are leading in this effort and backing up our values,” Hicks said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without the council’s work throughout the legislative session, lawmakers would not have been able to respond so quickly to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Hicks said. Many of the bills included amendments reacting to bans and restrictions announced in other states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My entire generation has lived with Roe v. Wade being the law of the land, so it’s not like we had a map on how to navigate a system without those protections,” Hicks said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really took everyone coming together to design this collection of bills to become a reproductive freedom state and beacon of hope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, an Arizona judge reinstated a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-arizona-legislature-8120658e7f965855fba3f23b950321f0\">near-total abortion ban dating to 1864\u003c/a>, and Southern California abortion clinics are already preparing for an influx of patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/AB-2320-VETO.pdf?emrc=bc17d8\"> vetoed one bill in the package\u003c/a> last week, citing “lower-than-expected revenues” and the need for fiscal responsibility. That bill would have required the state to fund reproductive health pilot programs in five counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although fiercely opposed by a minority of religious groups and conservatives, the measures sailed through the Democratic supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters will decide in November \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11918098/california-lawmakers-place-constitutional-right-to-abortion-on-november-ballot\">whether to add a state constitutional amendment\u003c/a> protecting the right to obtain an abortion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has made abortion a central part of his reelection campaign, drawing on California’s reputation as a reproductive health “safe haven” in his frequent attacks on other states’ politics. Likewise, many Democrats battling for a seat have hopped on abortion as \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2022/05/abortion-rights-california-election/\">the defining issue of the upcoming state and midterm elections\u003c/a>. In June, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11918268/new-state-budget-will-cover-some-abortion-transportation-costs-but-only-for-travel-within-california\">Newsom approved a budget\u003c/a> investing more than $200 million in reproductive health services. He also spent $100,000 in campaign money on \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/15/gavin-newsom-california-abortion-sanctuary-red-state-billboards-00057060\">billboards in conservative states\u003c/a> promoting California as an abortion sanctuary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most contentious pieces of legislation were \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-legislature-bills-passed-2022/#111b3825-c088-4f7d-93f0-6eb9c0c71db7\">Assembly Bill 2223\u003c/a>, by Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks of Oakland, and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-legislature-bills-passed-2022/#bf30180a-e242-47c4-9a0b-3f7a14c1670c\">Senate Bill 1142\u003c/a>, by Democratic senators Anna Caballero of Merced and Nancy Skinner of Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wicks’ measure abolishes the requirement that coroners investigate stillbirths and prohibits the prosecution of anyone who ends their pregnancy even if the abortion is self-induced or happens outside of the medical system. Protesters outside the Capitol and conservative lawmakers claimed the legislation would legalize infanticide, which Wicks has characterized as “disinformation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement following the measure’s signing, Wicks said Californians will no longer have to fear having their “pregnancy policed by state systems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caballero and Skinner’s measure introduced the $20 million Abortion Practical Support Fund to help pregnant people pay for travel, lodging and other expenses that advocates say create access barriers. Although the money was secured in the state budget, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11918268/new-state-budget-will-cover-some-abortion-transportation-costs-but-only-for-travel-within-california\">Newsom restricted its use to California residents\u003c/a>, a move abortion-rights advocates rallied hard to overturn in the final days of the legislative session. Last-minute amendments to the \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB204\">health omnibus budget bill\u003c/a> allow out-of-state patients to receive grants from the fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caballero and Skinner’s measure also required the state to create an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11925505/we-have-your-back-california-launches-online-hub-for-abortion-resources\">abortion information website\u003c/a> detailing state laws and resources, which Newsom launched two weeks ahead of the bill’s signing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://abortion.ca.gov/\">The website\u003c/a> has had immediate impact, Hicks said, adding that colleagues in other states have shared how difficult it is for people seeking an abortion to find information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The website, I tear up every time I look through it. For a patient that doesn’t know where to go or what to do, the impact is immediate and huge,” Hicks said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other measures in the package allow nurse practitioners to perform some abortion procedures without the supervision of a doctor; provide loans and scholarships for clinicians-in-training who commit to providing reproductive health care in underserved areas; and prohibit law enforcement, medical providers and California-based tech companies from cooperating with law enforcement in states where abortion is criminalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins said in a statement that the package will ensure that anyone who comes to California will “receive the essential health care they need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My colleagues and I saw the imminent danger headed for national abortion access more than a year ago and have spent every day since working to not only protect reproductive rights, but expand them,” Atkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11918170/california-fails-to-collect-basic-abortion-data-even-as-it-invites-an-out-of-state-influx\">California does not collect comprehensive abortion data\u003c/a>, an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/06/long-term-decline-us-abortions-reverses-showing-rising-need-abortion-supreme-court\">154,000 abortions were performed in 2020\u003c/a>, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a national reproductive rights think tank that periodically surveys abortion providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guttmacher estimates that California has become the nearest abortion provider for 1.3 million women of reproductive age as other states institute bans. More conservative estimates suggest between \u003ca href=\"https://law.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/PDFs/Center_on_Reproductive_Health/California_Abortion_Estimates.pdf?campaign_id=49&emc=edit_ca_20220627&instance_id=65130&nl=california-today®i_id=76640136&segment_id=96906&te=1&user_id=c120963d91c8afc63788786e6663d8bb\">8,000 and 16,100 more women\u003c/a> will flock to California for abortions, according to UCLA Law’s Center on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of 12 bills Tuesday, establishing some of the strongest abortion protections in the nation — a direct reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11917776/supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade\"> overturn federal abortion guarantees\u003c/a> earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collectively, the new laws aim to improve access and protect patients and clinicians by strengthening privacy safeguards, ensuring providers and patients cannot be sued or prosecuted, and funding procedures and travel costs for individuals with lower incomes. They also seek to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11917541/californians-ready-to-help-people-from-out-of-state-receive-abortion-care-state-may-offer-money-for-travel-child-care\">shore up the state’s network of abortion clinics\u003c/a> as more patients from states where abortion is now severely limited or banned seek procedures in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“An alarming number of states continue to outlaw abortion and criminalize women, and it’s more important than ever to fight like hell for those who need these essential services,” Newsom said. “Our Legislature has been on the front lines of this fight, and no other legislative body in the country is doing more to protect these fundamental rights. I’m proud to stand with them again and sign these critical bills into law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom first announced the signing privately to stakeholders. Jodi Hicks, CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said many in the virtual room got emotional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been a long year of a lot of hard work,” Hicks said. “You could see a lot of emotion and pride.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The package was supported by the California Future of Abortion Council, a 46-member coalition of reproductive rights and health and justice groups convened by Newsom in 2021 to identify abortion-rights shortcomings and recommend policy solutions. Tuesday’s announcement also included Newsom signing a measure making over-the-counter birth control more affordable.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It is certainly by design that we are leading in this effort and backing up our values,” Hicks said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without the council’s work throughout the legislative session, lawmakers would not have been able to respond so quickly to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Hicks said. Many of the bills included amendments reacting to bans and restrictions announced in other states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My entire generation has lived with Roe v. Wade being the law of the land, so it’s not like we had a map on how to navigate a system without those protections,” Hicks said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really took everyone coming together to design this collection of bills to become a reproductive freedom state and beacon of hope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, an Arizona judge reinstated a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-health-arizona-legislature-8120658e7f965855fba3f23b950321f0\">near-total abortion ban dating to 1864\u003c/a>, and Southern California abortion clinics are already preparing for an influx of patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/AB-2320-VETO.pdf?emrc=bc17d8\"> vetoed one bill in the package\u003c/a> last week, citing “lower-than-expected revenues” and the need for fiscal responsibility. That bill would have required the state to fund reproductive health pilot programs in five counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although fiercely opposed by a minority of religious groups and conservatives, the measures sailed through the Democratic supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Voters will decide in November \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11918098/california-lawmakers-place-constitutional-right-to-abortion-on-november-ballot\">whether to add a state constitutional amendment\u003c/a> protecting the right to obtain an abortion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has made abortion a central part of his reelection campaign, drawing on California’s reputation as a reproductive health “safe haven” in his frequent attacks on other states’ politics. Likewise, many Democrats battling for a seat have hopped on abortion as \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2022/05/abortion-rights-california-election/\">the defining issue of the upcoming state and midterm elections\u003c/a>. In June, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11918268/new-state-budget-will-cover-some-abortion-transportation-costs-but-only-for-travel-within-california\">Newsom approved a budget\u003c/a> investing more than $200 million in reproductive health services. He also spent $100,000 in campaign money on \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/15/gavin-newsom-california-abortion-sanctuary-red-state-billboards-00057060\">billboards in conservative states\u003c/a> promoting California as an abortion sanctuary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most contentious pieces of legislation were \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-legislature-bills-passed-2022/#111b3825-c088-4f7d-93f0-6eb9c0c71db7\">Assembly Bill 2223\u003c/a>, by Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks of Oakland, and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-legislature-bills-passed-2022/#bf30180a-e242-47c4-9a0b-3f7a14c1670c\">Senate Bill 1142\u003c/a>, by Democratic senators Anna Caballero of Merced and Nancy Skinner of Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wicks’ measure abolishes the requirement that coroners investigate stillbirths and prohibits the prosecution of anyone who ends their pregnancy even if the abortion is self-induced or happens outside of the medical system. Protesters outside the Capitol and conservative lawmakers claimed the legislation would legalize infanticide, which Wicks has characterized as “disinformation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement following the measure’s signing, Wicks said Californians will no longer have to fear having their “pregnancy policed by state systems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caballero and Skinner’s measure introduced the $20 million Abortion Practical Support Fund to help pregnant people pay for travel, lodging and other expenses that advocates say create access barriers. Although the money was secured in the state budget, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11918268/new-state-budget-will-cover-some-abortion-transportation-costs-but-only-for-travel-within-california\">Newsom restricted its use to California residents\u003c/a>, a move abortion-rights advocates rallied hard to overturn in the final days of the legislative session. Last-minute amendments to the \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB204\">health omnibus budget bill\u003c/a> allow out-of-state patients to receive grants from the fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caballero and Skinner’s measure also required the state to create an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11925505/we-have-your-back-california-launches-online-hub-for-abortion-resources\">abortion information website\u003c/a> detailing state laws and resources, which Newsom launched two weeks ahead of the bill’s signing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://abortion.ca.gov/\">The website\u003c/a> has had immediate impact, Hicks said, adding that colleagues in other states have shared how difficult it is for people seeking an abortion to find information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The website, I tear up every time I look through it. For a patient that doesn’t know where to go or what to do, the impact is immediate and huge,” Hicks said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other measures in the package allow nurse practitioners to perform some abortion procedures without the supervision of a doctor; provide loans and scholarships for clinicians-in-training who commit to providing reproductive health care in underserved areas; and prohibit law enforcement, medical providers and California-based tech companies from cooperating with law enforcement in states where abortion is criminalized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins said in a statement that the package will ensure that anyone who comes to California will “receive the essential health care they need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My colleagues and I saw the imminent danger headed for national abortion access more than a year ago and have spent every day since working to not only protect reproductive rights, but expand them,” Atkins said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11918170/california-fails-to-collect-basic-abortion-data-even-as-it-invites-an-out-of-state-influx\">California does not collect comprehensive abortion data\u003c/a>, an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/06/long-term-decline-us-abortions-reverses-showing-rising-need-abortion-supreme-court\">154,000 abortions were performed in 2020\u003c/a>, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a national reproductive rights think tank that periodically surveys abortion providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guttmacher estimates that California has become the nearest abortion provider for 1.3 million women of reproductive age as other states institute bans. More conservative estimates suggest between \u003ca href=\"https://law.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/PDFs/Center_on_Reproductive_Health/California_Abortion_Estimates.pdf?campaign_id=49&emc=edit_ca_20220627&instance_id=65130&nl=california-today®i_id=76640136&segment_id=96906&te=1&user_id=c120963d91c8afc63788786e6663d8bb\">8,000 and 16,100 more women\u003c/a> will flock to California for abortions, according to UCLA Law’s Center on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>New big rigs and other trucks will have to be zero-emissions in 2040 — ending their decades-long reliance on high-polluting diesel — under a proposed regulation unveiled by the California Air Resources Board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/2022/acf22/isor2.pdf\">the proposal\u003c/a>, manufacturers couldn’t sell new medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks fueled by diesel or gasoline that operate in California, instead turning to electric models. In addition, large trucking companies would have to gradually convert their existing fleets to zero-emissions vehicles, buying more over time until all are zero emissions by 2042.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11923224,news_11925703,news_11923634\"]In another worldwide first, California aims to amp up its efforts to end the use of fossil fuels by setting requirements for clean-burning big rigs, garbage trucks, delivery trucks and other large trucks. Transportation is California’s largest contributor to climate-warming greenhouse gases as well as smog and other air pollutants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Shimoda, a senior vice president at the California Trucking Association, which represents truck drivers, said zero-emissions truck technology has great possibilities, but truckers worry about “the practical unknowns,” such as the high cost of the trucks, a lack of charging stations and the limited range of the vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re flying blind into some pretty major questions about the practicality of actually implementing this rule,” Shimoda said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air board did not include cost estimates for trucking companies and truck drivers in its proposal, only saying that their upfront costs would be high but that they’d save money over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 1.8 million heavy-duty trucks on California’s roads would be affected by the regulation, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed rule could put about 510,000 carbon-free medium- and heavy-duty vehicles on California’s roads in 2035, increasing to 1.2 million in 2045 and nearly 1.6 million in 2050, according to the air board. Currently there are only \u003ca href=\"https://tableau.cnra.ca.gov/t/CNRA_CEC/views/MDHDVehiclesPop/MDHD?%3Adisplay_count=n&%3Aembed=y&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link\">1,943 zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicles\u003c/a> on the state’s roads, and nearly all of them are buses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Chris Shimoda, California Trucking Association\"]‘We’re flying blind into some pretty major questions about the practicality of actually implementing this rule.’[/pullquote]The new truck mandate is “really a critical piece of the state’s climate and clean air objectives,” said Patricio Portillo, a clean transportation advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “A common sight on California’s highways are trucks clogging lanes, blowing thick smoke into the sky while overheated trucks rest at the side. It’s so normal that we stop thinking about it, but that exhaust permeating the air harms our lungs and bodies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air board will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Oct. 27, after a 45-day public comment period. It comes just a few weeks after the air board passed another \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/electric-cars-california-to-phase-out-gas-cars/\">far-reaching mandate\u003c/a> that bans sales of gas-powered cars by 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has been ratcheting down emissions from diesel-powered trucks and buses for decades in an effort to combat the state’s severe air pollution. The new proposal builds on a \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/advanced-clean-trucks\">clean trucks regulation\u003c/a> passed in 2020, which gradually increases the number of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/06/california-zero-emission-trucks/\">zero-emissions trucks\u003c/a> that manufacturers must sell, starting in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The provisions requiring turnover of existing fleets would apply only to federal agencies and so-called “high-priority fleets,” which are owned or operated by companies with 50 or more trucks or with $50 million or more in annual revenue. Included are trucks weighing 10,001 pounds or more and package delivery vehicles of 8,500 lbs or more, including U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, UPS and Amazon fleets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These large companies and federal agencies would have a choice on how to comply: They could purchase only zero-emissions vehicles beginning in 2024 while retiring diesel trucks at the end of their useful life. Or they could phase-in zero-emissions trucks as a percentage of their total fleet, starting with 10% of delivery trucks and other types that are the easiest to electrify in 2025, then ramping up to 100% between 2035 and 2042.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The requirements for converting fleets would not apply to smaller companies, unless they were using a larger company’s trucks. They could keep their trucks as long as they want under the proposal, although their new purchases would have to be zero-emissions by 2040, according to Tony Brasil, chief of the air board’s transportation and technology branch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We also believe that some of the market dynamics will probably encourage fleets to replace their trucks earlier,” Brasil said. “As new zero-emissions trucks become available, the cost of operation is considerably lower.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Working toward the 2040 ban on new diesel and gas trucks, the proposal has other deadlines for phasing in new sales, varying based on the type of truck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drayage trucks — used largely to transport cargo from ports and railways — would have the strictest timeline. New models would be zero-emissions in 2024, while diesel and gas drayage trucks must retire after 18 years to guarantee that they meet a zero-emissions requirement by 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, half of all new trucks purchased by state and local governments would be zero-emissions in 2024, increasing to 100% by 2027. Some exemptions are allowed, if there is a lack of available models. Counties with small populations, including Inyo, Butte, Mendocino and Tuolumne, would be exempt until 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rule banning sale of diesel vehicles would not apply to emergency vehicles, such as ambulances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some manufacturers have already announced plans to ramp up sales of electric truck fleets. Tesla plans to roll out electric semi trucks with 500 miles of range \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1557236629412007937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1557236629412007937%7Ctwgr%5E2977be77fff926169a4689be26070d5de6a85a33%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2F2022%2F8%2Ftesla-elon-musk-semi-truck-2022-cybertruck-2023-production\">later this year\u003c/a>, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.volvotrucks.us/trucks/vnr-electric/\">Volvo Trucks\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://nikolamotor.com/tre-bev\">Nikola Inc.\u003c/a> have launched electric big rigs and other models with ranges of up to 350 miles. Volvo Trucks this year set a global goal that half of its truck sales would be electric by 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are determined to lead the transformation of the transport industry,” Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks, said in a statement. “The interest among customers is high and it’s quickly becoming a competitive advantage for transporters to be able to offer electric, sustainable transports.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11926077\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11926077\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm.jpg\" alt=\"workers at a car factory manufacture an electric truck\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers at a Volvo Trucks’ plant in Sweden assemble an electric truck. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Volvo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But challenges with the transition remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many electric heavy-duty trucks currently on the market still lack the range needed to transport cargo statewide and across state lines. Some vehicles like drayage trucks are better suited for electrification because those vehicles may not need as long of a vehicle range, said Shimoda of the California Trucking Association. But for long-haulers, the mandate could pose serious problems, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long-haul diesel trucks can operate up to 1,000 miles before needing to refill the tank, which takes 10 to 15 minutes to fill up. But electric models have to be charged often because they have “significantly shorter range” and they take hours to charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The charging infrastructure that is necessary to support these trucks is basically non-existent today. Even the fastest available chargers right now are going to take 3 to 4 hours to charge up to a full state,” said Shimoda, who represents California truckers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Todd Spencer, president and CEO of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said charging times of more than two hours could “cause total disruption” of the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Neither the technology nor the interstate infrastructure will be available in the foreseeable future to support a zero-emissions requirement for long-haul interstate trucks,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some new technology, however, has already surfaced that dramatically cuts the charging time. The newest model of the Volvo eVNR tractor-trailer can recharge to 80% \u003ca href=\"https://www.volvotrucks.us/trucks/vnr-electric/\">in just 90 minutes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mandate also would increase demand on the state’s already-fragile electric grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These charging stations are going to be a huge, huge power draw,” Shimoda said. “To put into context, the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on a game day uses around 300 to 350 kilowatts of power. A charging station needed for a big rig is going to be like 30 times larger.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanley Young, an Air Resources Board spokesperson, said many concerns over the charging infrastructure are already being addressed under the buildout of the grid outlined in the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/09/california-climate-change-plan/\">proposed scoping plan\u003c/a>, its climate change blueprint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though new model prices are high, electric trucks would need much lower maintenance costs over time compared to fossil-fueled engines and recharging with electricity would save more money than using diesel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shane Levy of Proterra, an electric-vehicle technology company, said the company has rapidly scaled up its battery technology in recent years. It is currently working with more than a dozen manufacturers to electrify medium- and heavy-duty trucks and has delivered battery systems for more than a thousand commercial vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the new rule could accelerate the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Commercial vehicles are ripe for electrification — benefiting not only how we move people around cities and towns, but also how we provide goods and services to the communities we live in,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some \u003ca href=\"https://californiahvip.org/\">state and federal subsidy programs\u003c/a> could also help provide relief to companies and truck drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the board provided no cost data, staff said the long-term economic net benefits are expected to save companies about $22 billion over the life of the regulation and will save more than 5,000 California lives between 2024 and 2050, according to air board staff’s estimates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmental groups say the deadlines should be accelerated by four years — from 2040 to 2036 — for all sales of new zero-emissions trucks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Portillo, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said speeding up the transition would have health benefits for low-income, disadvantaged communities that live near highways, railyards and ports, where trucks spew toxic diesel exhaust and smog-forming pollutants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diesel exhaust is one of the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/overview-diesel-exhaust-and-health\">most harmful pollutants\u003c/a> that threaten Californians’ health, containing more than 40 carcinogens as well as particles that contribute to cardiovascular and respiratory disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>New big rigs and other trucks will have to be zero-emissions in 2040 — ending their decades-long reliance on high-polluting diesel — under a proposed regulation unveiled by the California Air Resources Board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/2022/acf22/isor2.pdf\">the proposal\u003c/a>, manufacturers couldn’t sell new medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks fueled by diesel or gasoline that operate in California, instead turning to electric models. In addition, large trucking companies would have to gradually convert their existing fleets to zero-emissions vehicles, buying more over time until all are zero emissions by 2042.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In another worldwide first, California aims to amp up its efforts to end the use of fossil fuels by setting requirements for clean-burning big rigs, garbage trucks, delivery trucks and other large trucks. Transportation is California’s largest contributor to climate-warming greenhouse gases as well as smog and other air pollutants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Shimoda, a senior vice president at the California Trucking Association, which represents truck drivers, said zero-emissions truck technology has great possibilities, but truckers worry about “the practical unknowns,” such as the high cost of the trucks, a lack of charging stations and the limited range of the vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re flying blind into some pretty major questions about the practicality of actually implementing this rule,” Shimoda said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air board did not include cost estimates for trucking companies and truck drivers in its proposal, only saying that their upfront costs would be high but that they’d save money over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 1.8 million heavy-duty trucks on California’s roads would be affected by the regulation, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed rule could put about 510,000 carbon-free medium- and heavy-duty vehicles on California’s roads in 2035, increasing to 1.2 million in 2045 and nearly 1.6 million in 2050, according to the air board. Currently there are only \u003ca href=\"https://tableau.cnra.ca.gov/t/CNRA_CEC/views/MDHDVehiclesPop/MDHD?%3Adisplay_count=n&%3Aembed=y&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y&%3Aorigin=viz_share_link\">1,943 zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicles\u003c/a> on the state’s roads, and nearly all of them are buses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The new truck mandate is “really a critical piece of the state’s climate and clean air objectives,” said Patricio Portillo, a clean transportation advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “A common sight on California’s highways are trucks clogging lanes, blowing thick smoke into the sky while overheated trucks rest at the side. It’s so normal that we stop thinking about it, but that exhaust permeating the air harms our lungs and bodies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air board will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Oct. 27, after a 45-day public comment period. It comes just a few weeks after the air board passed another \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/08/electric-cars-california-to-phase-out-gas-cars/\">far-reaching mandate\u003c/a> that bans sales of gas-powered cars by 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California has been ratcheting down emissions from diesel-powered trucks and buses for decades in an effort to combat the state’s severe air pollution. The new proposal builds on a \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/advanced-clean-trucks\">clean trucks regulation\u003c/a> passed in 2020, which gradually increases the number of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/06/california-zero-emission-trucks/\">zero-emissions trucks\u003c/a> that manufacturers must sell, starting in 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The provisions requiring turnover of existing fleets would apply only to federal agencies and so-called “high-priority fleets,” which are owned or operated by companies with 50 or more trucks or with $50 million or more in annual revenue. Included are trucks weighing 10,001 pounds or more and package delivery vehicles of 8,500 lbs or more, including U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, UPS and Amazon fleets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These large companies and federal agencies would have a choice on how to comply: They could purchase only zero-emissions vehicles beginning in 2024 while retiring diesel trucks at the end of their useful life. Or they could phase-in zero-emissions trucks as a percentage of their total fleet, starting with 10% of delivery trucks and other types that are the easiest to electrify in 2025, then ramping up to 100% between 2035 and 2042.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The requirements for converting fleets would not apply to smaller companies, unless they were using a larger company’s trucks. They could keep their trucks as long as they want under the proposal, although their new purchases would have to be zero-emissions by 2040, according to Tony Brasil, chief of the air board’s transportation and technology branch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We also believe that some of the market dynamics will probably encourage fleets to replace their trucks earlier,” Brasil said. “As new zero-emissions trucks become available, the cost of operation is considerably lower.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Working toward the 2040 ban on new diesel and gas trucks, the proposal has other deadlines for phasing in new sales, varying based on the type of truck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drayage trucks — used largely to transport cargo from ports and railways — would have the strictest timeline. New models would be zero-emissions in 2024, while diesel and gas drayage trucks must retire after 18 years to guarantee that they meet a zero-emissions requirement by 2035.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, half of all new trucks purchased by state and local governments would be zero-emissions in 2024, increasing to 100% by 2027. Some exemptions are allowed, if there is a lack of available models. Counties with small populations, including Inyo, Butte, Mendocino and Tuolumne, would be exempt until 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rule banning sale of diesel vehicles would not apply to emergency vehicles, such as ambulances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some manufacturers have already announced plans to ramp up sales of electric truck fleets. Tesla plans to roll out electric semi trucks with 500 miles of range \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1557236629412007937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1557236629412007937%7Ctwgr%5E2977be77fff926169a4689be26070d5de6a85a33%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2F2022%2F8%2Ftesla-elon-musk-semi-truck-2022-cybertruck-2023-production\">later this year\u003c/a>, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.volvotrucks.us/trucks/vnr-electric/\">Volvo Trucks\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://nikolamotor.com/tre-bev\">Nikola Inc.\u003c/a> have launched electric big rigs and other models with ranges of up to 350 miles. Volvo Trucks this year set a global goal that half of its truck sales would be electric by 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are determined to lead the transformation of the transport industry,” Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks, said in a statement. “The interest among customers is high and it’s quickly becoming a competitive advantage for transporters to be able to offer electric, sustainable transports.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11926077\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11926077\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm.jpg\" alt=\"workers at a car factory manufacture an electric truck\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1046\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/091422-VOLVO-ELECTRIC-TRUCK-Cm-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers at a Volvo Trucks’ plant in Sweden assemble an electric truck. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Volvo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But challenges with the transition remain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many electric heavy-duty trucks currently on the market still lack the range needed to transport cargo statewide and across state lines. Some vehicles like drayage trucks are better suited for electrification because those vehicles may not need as long of a vehicle range, said Shimoda of the California Trucking Association. But for long-haulers, the mandate could pose serious problems, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Long-haul diesel trucks can operate up to 1,000 miles before needing to refill the tank, which takes 10 to 15 minutes to fill up. But electric models have to be charged often because they have “significantly shorter range” and they take hours to charge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The charging infrastructure that is necessary to support these trucks is basically non-existent today. Even the fastest available chargers right now are going to take 3 to 4 hours to charge up to a full state,” said Shimoda, who represents California truckers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Todd Spencer, president and CEO of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said charging times of more than two hours could “cause total disruption” of the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Neither the technology nor the interstate infrastructure will be available in the foreseeable future to support a zero-emissions requirement for long-haul interstate trucks,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some new technology, however, has already surfaced that dramatically cuts the charging time. The newest model of the Volvo eVNR tractor-trailer can recharge to 80% \u003ca href=\"https://www.volvotrucks.us/trucks/vnr-electric/\">in just 90 minutes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mandate also would increase demand on the state’s already-fragile electric grid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These charging stations are going to be a huge, huge power draw,” Shimoda said. “To put into context, the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on a game day uses around 300 to 350 kilowatts of power. A charging station needed for a big rig is going to be like 30 times larger.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stanley Young, an Air Resources Board spokesperson, said many concerns over the charging infrastructure are already being addressed under the buildout of the grid outlined in the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/09/california-climate-change-plan/\">proposed scoping plan\u003c/a>, its climate change blueprint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though new model prices are high, electric trucks would need much lower maintenance costs over time compared to fossil-fueled engines and recharging with electricity would save more money than using diesel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shane Levy of Proterra, an electric-vehicle technology company, said the company has rapidly scaled up its battery technology in recent years. It is currently working with more than a dozen manufacturers to electrify medium- and heavy-duty trucks and has delivered battery systems for more than a thousand commercial vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the new rule could accelerate the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Commercial vehicles are ripe for electrification — benefiting not only how we move people around cities and towns, but also how we provide goods and services to the communities we live in,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some \u003ca href=\"https://californiahvip.org/\">state and federal subsidy programs\u003c/a> could also help provide relief to companies and truck drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the board provided no cost data, staff said the long-term economic net benefits are expected to save companies about $22 billion over the life of the regulation and will save more than 5,000 California lives between 2024 and 2050, according to air board staff’s estimates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmental groups say the deadlines should be accelerated by four years — from 2040 to 2036 — for all sales of new zero-emissions trucks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Portillo, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said speeding up the transition would have health benefits for low-income, disadvantaged communities that live near highways, railyards and ports, where trucks spew toxic diesel exhaust and smog-forming pollutants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diesel exhaust is one of the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/overview-diesel-exhaust-and-health\">most harmful pollutants\u003c/a> that threaten Californians’ health, containing more than 40 carcinogens as well as particles that contribute to cardiovascular and respiratory disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "many-california-workers-win-judgments-for-wage-theft-but-still-dont-get-paid",
"title": "Many California Workers Win Judgments for Wage Theft — But Still Don't Get Paid",
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"headTitle": "Many California Workers Win Judgments for Wage Theft — But Still Don’t Get Paid | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Manuel Chavez, a former front-desk manager at the Stuart Hotel in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park neighborhood, was elated when he won a wage claim victory of more than $200,000 against his old boss in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s Labor Commissioner ruled Chavez had worked thousands more hours than his employer paid him for over a three-year period — \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Chavez-v-Patel-Labor-Commissioner-ODA.pdf\">a clear case of wage theft\u003c/a>, the state decided after administrative hearings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I felt good, very content, after so much work and so much suffering,” Chavez said about his case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rather than paying Chavez, his former employer countersued, taking the case to appeals courts multiple times and trying and failing to get it heard by the U.S. Supreme Court — twice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chavez hasn’t been compensated. His experience may be unusual, but it underscores a plight common for thousands of California workers who win wage theft claims: Many bosses don’t pay, even after courts order them to.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Paper victories\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Only 1 in 7 employers who were issued court judgments in wage claim cases in 2017 have paid their workers the full amount of the claims five years later, according to data from the Labor Commissioner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s the state’s best estimate; a disclaimer on the agency’s website reads, “Defendants often make payments to claimants directly without the knowledge of the Labor Commissioner’s Office.” In other words, the agency admits it doesn’t always know whether those judgments are paid, although state law says the office “shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that judgments are satisfied.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more, California’s wage claim system is so backlogged it takes nearly four times longer than state law permits for the average case to reach a decision, according to a CalMatters analysis of state data. Most workers drop or settle their claims before a hearing. Judgments are issued if a worker persists and wins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower, through a spokesperson, refused to be interviewed about her office’s work on wage theft, which is the failure to pay employees what they’re legally owed.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>505 days\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Wage theft has been a significant focus of California policymakers for years given \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11906414/did-the-pandemic-create-more-income-inequality-in-california\">the state’s high income inequality\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a worker files a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11920425/heres-how-californians-can-get-their-money-back-when-employers-steal-wages\">wage claim\u003c/a> with the California Department of Industrial Relations, the Labor Commissioner’s Office holds a settlement conference with the employer. If the claim isn’t settled, a deputy commissioner holds a hearing. If they decide the employer owes the worker wages and the employer doesn’t pay or appeal the decision, that debt becomes a judgment filed in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner, whom the governor appoints, does seek payment of wage judgments on behalf of some workers. In general, workers are directed to \u003ca href=\"https://wagetheftisacrime.com/Legal-Tools.html\">collect these debts on their own\u003c/a>, like any other creditor might.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the power disparities between workers and employers means California’s worker-versus-employer claim system is flawed, said UCLA labor researcher Tia Koonse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You cannot play whack-a-mole with wage theft,” Koonse said. “It is not an effective strategy to go after every actor on a complaint basis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Chavez filed his claim in 2015, he was making $425 a week, and working every day at the Stuart Hotel, case records show. It took him 16 months to get his case heard by a Labor Commissioner’s hearing officer and another six months to get a winning decision.\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/10646865/embed\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\nThe wait for the average California worker who files a wage theft claim has grown since then, according to Labor Commissioner data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For workers who didn’t drop or settle their cases, the state averaged 505 days to decide an individual worker’s wage claim, data from 2017 to 2021 shows — a violation of the 135 days’ maximum set by law.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Battling backlogs\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Erika Monterroza, a spokesperson for the Labor Commissioner, told CalMatters last month \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11924013/wage-theft-car-wash-workers-still-await-millions-in-pay-3-years-later\">the office was addressing backlogs and had hired 288 people since January 2021\u003c/a>. She did not say how many people had left the office during that period. Nearly a third of the Labor Commissioner’s 733 positions were vacant as of May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paola Laverde, another spokesperson for the Labor Commissioner, wrote in an email that the office processes claims “diligently.”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Tia Koonse, labor researcher, UCLA\"]‘You cannot play whack-a-mole with wage theft. It is not an effective strategy to go after every actor on a complaint basis.’[/pullquote]During the pandemic, the commissioner’s office closed in-person operations and shifted to virtual hearings, labor advocates said. Workers’ attorneys said the office appears to be increasing the frequency of hearings this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians filed 19,000 individual wage claims against employers last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Koonse and other advocates said an alternative approach to wage theft enforcement may be better for workers than the individual claims route. They said that, since 2016, the Labor Commissioner has partnered with labor and worker groups to initiate \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11924013/wage-theft-car-wash-workers-still-await-millions-in-pay-3-years-later\">company-wide wage investigations\u003c/a> through the agency’s field enforcement division. Advocates say these result in large-scale, sometimes multimillion-dollar citations, sending messages of deterrence to employers in targeted low-wage industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Accident or intent?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Wage claim backlogs in general are a problem for businesses, too, said Jennifer Barrera, chief executive officer of the California Chamber of Commerce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We would like to see claims handled in the most efficient way possible,” Barrera said. “The employer, as well, wants to have these claims resolved and dealt with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aside from wage claims, workers also can file lawsuits against their bosses through California’s Private Attorneys General Act — which gives workers the same powers as the state to sue and recover penalties on behalf of co-workers — and they can file class-action lawsuits and other kinds of suits using California’s regulations.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" tag=\"wage-theft\"]Barrera said only a fraction of California’s employers intentionally steal wages from their employees; many wage claims result from employers misunderstanding California’s evolving labor laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have the most complex labor and employment laws, I would argue, in the country,” Barrera said. “We don’t really do a great job, once the laws are passed, educating employers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those who misinterpret labor laws shouldn’t be considered guilty of wage theft, she said, although their workers should be repaid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The enforcement really should be focused on the bad actors who are intentionally stealing wages from employees,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A bit of satisfaction\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite its hurdles, the individual wage claim system still provides victories for some workers — often in the form of settlements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayra Perez, a former San Francisco office janitor, initially hoped to win a wage theft claim she filed with the state in January 2020 against San Mateo-based Eat My Dust Inc. Perez, an immigrant from El Salvador, claimed more than $38,000 in unpaid hours, untaken breaks, vacation owed, out-of-pocket expenses and other violations for two years and four months that ended May 30, 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its written response to her claim, Eat My Dust contended Perez had refused to use the company’s time-tracking software and that the company had no records of her complaining about not getting breaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the case dragged on for more than two years, Perez settled for $20,000 on June 3 of this year, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An attorney for the company, Jeanine DeBacker, said it was an “amicable resolution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perez said she is satisfied with the money, because she believes she would have gotten less had she joined a class-action suit other workers brought against the company that recently was nearly settled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, she said, she would have liked to have faced her former direct manager at her wage theft hearing, but the pandemic robbed her of that opportunity; her hearing was scheduled as a Zoom call.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I did want to see him and see the expression he had,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11925795\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11925795 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with dark clothing stands out of focus on the right side of the frame with her back to the camera in the middle of a large, mostly dirt lot with small patches of grass. The sun, out of frame to the right, illuminates her brown hair. The woman faces towards toward the backside of a home roughly 100 feet in front of her with a fence blocking the view of the home's first floor. Behind the home, far in the distance, the San Francisco skyline peaks out over the top of the fence. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez.jpg 1980w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayra Perez can see the financial district in San Francisco from outside her home on Treasure Island. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Manager’s hours\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Chavez had no such resolution after winning his case. The 60-year-old immigrant from Mexico had worked and lived at the Stuart Hotel since 2002, first working overnight and evening shifts, before becoming manager and working long days, he told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His duties included sweeping, cleaning rooms, collecting rent, making repairs and dealing with fights between tenants, he told the Labor Commissioner’s Office at his wage claim hearings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent interview, Chavez said there were always loiterers in the building and tenants coming and going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My son would tell me, ‘Don’t be stupid, Dad. You work too much, and they pay you too little, and you never rest,’” Chavez told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Chavez filed his claim, hotel owner Balubhai Patel sued Chavez, accusing him of stealing from the business. Patel later dropped the suit. He said afterward, during a wage claim hearing, that Chavez did not work overtime and often spent time in his room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner in 2017 ordered Patel and his company to pay Chavez $202,000: about $115,000 in wages for about 5,800 overtime hours, plus meal and rest breaks, and the rest in damages and penalties workers can claim under state law. The state also awarded Chavez $33,000 from Stuart Union, a company that managed the hotel for four months before Chavez left.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A cottage industry’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Neither Patel nor Stuart Union paid. Instead, a few months later, Patel and the new manager jointly sued Chavez and the Labor Commissioner in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging false testimony and civil rights violations. They sought $10 million as well as a reversal of the state’s decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent phone interview, Patel said Chavez did not deserve the money because he didn’t work nearly the number of hours he claimed. The money would be a “donation,” Patel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s damn lies,” Patel said. “I’ve been doing business a long time. I never cheat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frank Weiser, a lawyer representing Patel, said his client is a leader among local Indian immigrant motel operators. He also called wage claims a “cottage industry” for workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The laws are so skewed in favor of employees you do see some abuse,” Weiser said, though he acknowledged Chavez had won his case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We lost, fair and square,” Weiser said. Payment is still being disputed in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chavez’s situation demonstrates how some employers choose to fight or ignore Labor Commissioner decisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner asks courts to enforce unpaid wage theft decisions, and the commissioner’s office maintains a public database reporting those judgments.\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/11125127/embed\" width=\"800\" height=\"650\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\nAn analysis of five years of the agency’s public data (2017 through 2021) by CalMatters revealed that 9% of court judgments were recorded as satisfied, or paid in full. Another 16% of those judgments were paid in part or in installments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three-quarters of workers were recorded as receiving no payment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those employers who received judgments against them in 2017 — and therefore had five years to pay workers — paid in full 14% of the time, the data shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commissioner’s office did not answer questions about the database nor about CalMatters’ analysis.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>State’s scorecard\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>State law allows the agency to recover money on behalf of workers but doesn’t require it to do so in every judgment. In 2021, a Labor Commissioner unit dedicated to enforcing court judgments collected $2.8 million in wage claims on behalf of 311 workers, spokesperson Laverde wrote in an email. The same unit collected $6.2 million on behalf of the commissioner’s field enforcement division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By comparison, the state recorded more than 2,300 wage judgments totaling $50.5 million that year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a business does not pay a judgment against it, the Labor Commissioner can file liens on an employer’s property and garnish money from the employer’s bank accounts on behalf of workers. The commissioner last year filed 1,328 levies, Laverde wrote.\u003cbr>\n[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Jan Collatz, staff attorney, Wage Justice Center\"]‘There’s this assumption that once you get a judgment, you’ve won. Ultimately, a judgment is just a piece of paper.’[/pullquote]The commissioner’s office staff informs workers of this option, and they regularly offer assistance filing levies to workers who prevail in the wage claim adjudication process, Laverde wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency also can order a business to stop operating if it doesn’t pay workers. But many businesses would not have the cash or assets to pay workers if they weren’t operating, said Jan Collatz, staff attorney at the Los Angeles-based Wage Justice Center, which assists workers and the Labor Commissioner in collecting wage claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Criminal cases also can complicate collections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eugene Lee, a Los Angeles attorney who represented Chavez, also won wage theft claims for 13 workers at a Los Angeles soccer merchandise store in 2018. Court dockets do not reflect any payments: Neither A-1 Soccer Warehouse, nor its owner, Enyinnaya Ojogho, have paid the workers despite court judgments against both, Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California attorney general’s office has accused Ojogho of \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-becerra-announces-charges-against-business-owner-alleged-tax\">stiffing the state $1.6 million\u003c/a> in a pending felony tax evasion case. Ojogho has pleaded not guilty. His defense attorney Robert Schwartz declined to comment on the wage judgments or on whether his client is in a financial position to pay them.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Fear of law\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The legal system is set up to decide commercial disputes, Collatz said, but it is stacked against people with lower incomes who often can’t afford to pay attorneys or court filing fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s this assumption that once you get a judgment, you’ve won,” Collatz said. “Ultimately, a judgment is just a piece of paper.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Ash Kalra, a San José Democrat who chairs his house’s labor committee, called the low payment of judgments unacceptable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The outcome of that is that employers don’t fear the law,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalra said he supports adding funding to the Labor Commissioner’s Office to increase staff. But in the face of the office’s current backlogs, he said workers may need to rely on local and county governments to enforce judgments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Clara County, for instance, threatened to revoke the food permits of restaurants that haven’t paid judgments. County officials said all eight of the restaurants that were cited have paid or are on a payment plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A life on hold\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the Stuart Hotel case, the years of countersuits and appeals have so far been “a long war of attrition,” said Lee, Chavez’s attorney. Chavez has prevailed in the trial and appellate courts, including getting the civil rights claims dismissed by the superior court. But Patel appealed all the way to the California Supreme Court, which declined to hear that case, and then he appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which also declined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After another round of appeals, the Supreme Court declined to hear another part of Patel’s case this April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in 2017, when Chavez first won his case, he told his son he might buy him a car or take him to Mexico to meet relatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These days he hardly mentions the money, Chavez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently he celebrated his 60th birthday. He lives with his son in Downey and earns a $15-an-hour minimum wage at a temp agency. The appeals have put his entire life on hold, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just start thinking about it and I get sad,” Chavez said, “and then tell myself, ‘Oh, hopefully one day. Hopefully one day.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>CalMatters’ Lil Kalish and CBS News’ Julie Watts contributed reporting to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "California workers filing wage theft claims report months-long delays for hearings, and even after workers are awarded a judgment, many employers ignore the debt or fight back.",
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"title": "Many California Workers Win Judgments for Wage Theft — But Still Don't Get Paid | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Manuel Chavez, a former front-desk manager at the Stuart Hotel in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park neighborhood, was elated when he won a wage claim victory of more than $200,000 against his old boss in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s Labor Commissioner ruled Chavez had worked thousands more hours than his employer paid him for over a three-year period — \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Chavez-v-Patel-Labor-Commissioner-ODA.pdf\">a clear case of wage theft\u003c/a>, the state decided after administrative hearings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I felt good, very content, after so much work and so much suffering,” Chavez said about his case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rather than paying Chavez, his former employer countersued, taking the case to appeals courts multiple times and trying and failing to get it heard by the U.S. Supreme Court — twice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chavez hasn’t been compensated. His experience may be unusual, but it underscores a plight common for thousands of California workers who win wage theft claims: Many bosses don’t pay, even after courts order them to.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Paper victories\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Only 1 in 7 employers who were issued court judgments in wage claim cases in 2017 have paid their workers the full amount of the claims five years later, according to data from the Labor Commissioner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s the state’s best estimate; a disclaimer on the agency’s website reads, “Defendants often make payments to claimants directly without the knowledge of the Labor Commissioner’s Office.” In other words, the agency admits it doesn’t always know whether those judgments are paid, although state law says the office “shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that judgments are satisfied.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more, California’s wage claim system is so backlogged it takes nearly four times longer than state law permits for the average case to reach a decision, according to a CalMatters analysis of state data. Most workers drop or settle their claims before a hearing. Judgments are issued if a worker persists and wins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower, through a spokesperson, refused to be interviewed about her office’s work on wage theft, which is the failure to pay employees what they’re legally owed.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>505 days\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Wage theft has been a significant focus of California policymakers for years given \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11906414/did-the-pandemic-create-more-income-inequality-in-california\">the state’s high income inequality\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a worker files a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11920425/heres-how-californians-can-get-their-money-back-when-employers-steal-wages\">wage claim\u003c/a> with the California Department of Industrial Relations, the Labor Commissioner’s Office holds a settlement conference with the employer. If the claim isn’t settled, a deputy commissioner holds a hearing. If they decide the employer owes the worker wages and the employer doesn’t pay or appeal the decision, that debt becomes a judgment filed in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner, whom the governor appoints, does seek payment of wage judgments on behalf of some workers. In general, workers are directed to \u003ca href=\"https://wagetheftisacrime.com/Legal-Tools.html\">collect these debts on their own\u003c/a>, like any other creditor might.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the power disparities between workers and employers means California’s worker-versus-employer claim system is flawed, said UCLA labor researcher Tia Koonse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You cannot play whack-a-mole with wage theft,” Koonse said. “It is not an effective strategy to go after every actor on a complaint basis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Chavez filed his claim in 2015, he was making $425 a week, and working every day at the Stuart Hotel, case records show. It took him 16 months to get his case heard by a Labor Commissioner’s hearing officer and another six months to get a winning decision.\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/10646865/embed\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\nThe wait for the average California worker who files a wage theft claim has grown since then, according to Labor Commissioner data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For workers who didn’t drop or settle their cases, the state averaged 505 days to decide an individual worker’s wage claim, data from 2017 to 2021 shows — a violation of the 135 days’ maximum set by law.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Battling backlogs\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Erika Monterroza, a spokesperson for the Labor Commissioner, told CalMatters last month \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11924013/wage-theft-car-wash-workers-still-await-millions-in-pay-3-years-later\">the office was addressing backlogs and had hired 288 people since January 2021\u003c/a>. She did not say how many people had left the office during that period. Nearly a third of the Labor Commissioner’s 733 positions were vacant as of May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paola Laverde, another spokesperson for the Labor Commissioner, wrote in an email that the office processes claims “diligently.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>During the pandemic, the commissioner’s office closed in-person operations and shifted to virtual hearings, labor advocates said. Workers’ attorneys said the office appears to be increasing the frequency of hearings this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians filed 19,000 individual wage claims against employers last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Koonse and other advocates said an alternative approach to wage theft enforcement may be better for workers than the individual claims route. They said that, since 2016, the Labor Commissioner has partnered with labor and worker groups to initiate \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11924013/wage-theft-car-wash-workers-still-await-millions-in-pay-3-years-later\">company-wide wage investigations\u003c/a> through the agency’s field enforcement division. Advocates say these result in large-scale, sometimes multimillion-dollar citations, sending messages of deterrence to employers in targeted low-wage industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Accident or intent?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Wage claim backlogs in general are a problem for businesses, too, said Jennifer Barrera, chief executive officer of the California Chamber of Commerce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We would like to see claims handled in the most efficient way possible,” Barrera said. “The employer, as well, wants to have these claims resolved and dealt with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aside from wage claims, workers also can file lawsuits against their bosses through California’s Private Attorneys General Act — which gives workers the same powers as the state to sue and recover penalties on behalf of co-workers — and they can file class-action lawsuits and other kinds of suits using California’s regulations.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Barrera said only a fraction of California’s employers intentionally steal wages from their employees; many wage claims result from employers misunderstanding California’s evolving labor laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have the most complex labor and employment laws, I would argue, in the country,” Barrera said. “We don’t really do a great job, once the laws are passed, educating employers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those who misinterpret labor laws shouldn’t be considered guilty of wage theft, she said, although their workers should be repaid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The enforcement really should be focused on the bad actors who are intentionally stealing wages from employees,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A bit of satisfaction\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite its hurdles, the individual wage claim system still provides victories for some workers — often in the form of settlements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayra Perez, a former San Francisco office janitor, initially hoped to win a wage theft claim she filed with the state in January 2020 against San Mateo-based Eat My Dust Inc. Perez, an immigrant from El Salvador, claimed more than $38,000 in unpaid hours, untaken breaks, vacation owed, out-of-pocket expenses and other violations for two years and four months that ended May 30, 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its written response to her claim, Eat My Dust contended Perez had refused to use the company’s time-tracking software and that the company had no records of her complaining about not getting breaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the case dragged on for more than two years, Perez settled for $20,000 on June 3 of this year, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An attorney for the company, Jeanine DeBacker, said it was an “amicable resolution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perez said she is satisfied with the money, because she believes she would have gotten less had she joined a class-action suit other workers brought against the company that recently was nearly settled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, she said, she would have liked to have faced her former direct manager at her wage theft hearing, but the pandemic robbed her of that opportunity; her hearing was scheduled as a Zoom call.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I did want to see him and see the expression he had,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11925795\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11925795 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with dark clothing stands out of focus on the right side of the frame with her back to the camera in the middle of a large, mostly dirt lot with small patches of grass. The sun, out of frame to the right, illuminates her brown hair. The woman faces towards toward the backside of a home roughly 100 feet in front of her with a fence blocking the view of the home's first floor. Behind the home, far in the distance, the San Francisco skyline peaks out over the top of the fence. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/09/Mayra-Perez.jpg 1980w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayra Perez can see the financial district in San Francisco from outside her home on Treasure Island. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Manager’s hours\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Chavez had no such resolution after winning his case. The 60-year-old immigrant from Mexico had worked and lived at the Stuart Hotel since 2002, first working overnight and evening shifts, before becoming manager and working long days, he told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His duties included sweeping, cleaning rooms, collecting rent, making repairs and dealing with fights between tenants, he told the Labor Commissioner’s Office at his wage claim hearings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent interview, Chavez said there were always loiterers in the building and tenants coming and going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My son would tell me, ‘Don’t be stupid, Dad. You work too much, and they pay you too little, and you never rest,’” Chavez told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Chavez filed his claim, hotel owner Balubhai Patel sued Chavez, accusing him of stealing from the business. Patel later dropped the suit. He said afterward, during a wage claim hearing, that Chavez did not work overtime and often spent time in his room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner in 2017 ordered Patel and his company to pay Chavez $202,000: about $115,000 in wages for about 5,800 overtime hours, plus meal and rest breaks, and the rest in damages and penalties workers can claim under state law. The state also awarded Chavez $33,000 from Stuart Union, a company that managed the hotel for four months before Chavez left.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A cottage industry’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Neither Patel nor Stuart Union paid. Instead, a few months later, Patel and the new manager jointly sued Chavez and the Labor Commissioner in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging false testimony and civil rights violations. They sought $10 million as well as a reversal of the state’s decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent phone interview, Patel said Chavez did not deserve the money because he didn’t work nearly the number of hours he claimed. The money would be a “donation,” Patel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s damn lies,” Patel said. “I’ve been doing business a long time. I never cheat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frank Weiser, a lawyer representing Patel, said his client is a leader among local Indian immigrant motel operators. He also called wage claims a “cottage industry” for workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The laws are so skewed in favor of employees you do see some abuse,” Weiser said, though he acknowledged Chavez had won his case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We lost, fair and square,” Weiser said. Payment is still being disputed in court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chavez’s situation demonstrates how some employers choose to fight or ignore Labor Commissioner decisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner asks courts to enforce unpaid wage theft decisions, and the commissioner’s office maintains a public database reporting those judgments.\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/11125127/embed\" width=\"800\" height=\"650\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\nAn analysis of five years of the agency’s public data (2017 through 2021) by CalMatters revealed that 9% of court judgments were recorded as satisfied, or paid in full. Another 16% of those judgments were paid in part or in installments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three-quarters of workers were recorded as receiving no payment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those employers who received judgments against them in 2017 — and therefore had five years to pay workers — paid in full 14% of the time, the data shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commissioner’s office did not answer questions about the database nor about CalMatters’ analysis.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>State’s scorecard\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>State law allows the agency to recover money on behalf of workers but doesn’t require it to do so in every judgment. In 2021, a Labor Commissioner unit dedicated to enforcing court judgments collected $2.8 million in wage claims on behalf of 311 workers, spokesperson Laverde wrote in an email. The same unit collected $6.2 million on behalf of the commissioner’s field enforcement division.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By comparison, the state recorded more than 2,300 wage judgments totaling $50.5 million that year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a business does not pay a judgment against it, the Labor Commissioner can file liens on an employer’s property and garnish money from the employer’s bank accounts on behalf of workers. The commissioner last year filed 1,328 levies, Laverde wrote.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The commissioner’s office staff informs workers of this option, and they regularly offer assistance filing levies to workers who prevail in the wage claim adjudication process, Laverde wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency also can order a business to stop operating if it doesn’t pay workers. But many businesses would not have the cash or assets to pay workers if they weren’t operating, said Jan Collatz, staff attorney at the Los Angeles-based Wage Justice Center, which assists workers and the Labor Commissioner in collecting wage claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Criminal cases also can complicate collections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eugene Lee, a Los Angeles attorney who represented Chavez, also won wage theft claims for 13 workers at a Los Angeles soccer merchandise store in 2018. Court dockets do not reflect any payments: Neither A-1 Soccer Warehouse, nor its owner, Enyinnaya Ojogho, have paid the workers despite court judgments against both, Lee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California attorney general’s office has accused Ojogho of \u003ca href=\"https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-becerra-announces-charges-against-business-owner-alleged-tax\">stiffing the state $1.6 million\u003c/a> in a pending felony tax evasion case. Ojogho has pleaded not guilty. His defense attorney Robert Schwartz declined to comment on the wage judgments or on whether his client is in a financial position to pay them.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Fear of law\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The legal system is set up to decide commercial disputes, Collatz said, but it is stacked against people with lower incomes who often can’t afford to pay attorneys or court filing fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s this assumption that once you get a judgment, you’ve won,” Collatz said. “Ultimately, a judgment is just a piece of paper.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Ash Kalra, a San José Democrat who chairs his house’s labor committee, called the low payment of judgments unacceptable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The outcome of that is that employers don’t fear the law,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalra said he supports adding funding to the Labor Commissioner’s Office to increase staff. But in the face of the office’s current backlogs, he said workers may need to rely on local and county governments to enforce judgments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Clara County, for instance, threatened to revoke the food permits of restaurants that haven’t paid judgments. County officials said all eight of the restaurants that were cited have paid or are on a payment plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A life on hold\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the Stuart Hotel case, the years of countersuits and appeals have so far been “a long war of attrition,” said Lee, Chavez’s attorney. Chavez has prevailed in the trial and appellate courts, including getting the civil rights claims dismissed by the superior court. But Patel appealed all the way to the California Supreme Court, which declined to hear that case, and then he appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which also declined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After another round of appeals, the Supreme Court declined to hear another part of Patel’s case this April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in 2017, when Chavez first won his case, he told his son he might buy him a car or take him to Mexico to meet relatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These days he hardly mentions the money, Chavez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently he celebrated his 60th birthday. He lives with his son in Downey and earns a $15-an-hour minimum wage at a temp agency. The appeals have put his entire life on hold, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just start thinking about it and I get sad,” Chavez said, “and then tell myself, ‘Oh, hopefully one day. Hopefully one day.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "California Expands Education Program Granting $2,500 for Workers Who Lost Jobs During the Pandemic",
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"content": "\u003cp>Living through a pandemic sucks, but for Diana McLaughlin, early 2020 was especially bad: a divorce in February 2020, societal shutdown in March and, as part of the COVID-19 economic fallout, losing her job in April, returning to full-time work only 18 months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California lawmakers had economically distressed folks like McLaughlin in mind last year when they approved half a billion dollars in education grants worth $2,500 each to help workers displaced by the pandemic acquire new job-related skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11922059,news_11914291\"]McLaughlin is among the first 3,000 or so recipients of this grant, adult learners who were issued checks in a pilot program this spring and summer. Now the state is opening the grant to a wide range of adults with lower incomes who lost their jobs or saw their hours severely cut during the pandemic. Half of the grant funds are reserved for displaced workers with children under 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials expect to reach 190,000 people with this money, called the \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/golden-state-education-and-training-grant-gsetg\">Golden State Education and Training Grant Program\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the few stipulations for receiving the grant, candidates must fill out a short application and attest that they lost a job or hours after March 4, 2020, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/3.4.20-Coronavirus-SOE-Proclamation.pdf\">Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency\u003c/a>. Applicants also must affirm that they weren’t enrolled in an educational or job-training program when they lost their jobs. There’s an income threshold as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of what makes the application quick to complete — about 10 minutes — is how little it asks. Unlike other grant applications for college, this one is self-reported and self-certified, wrote Judith Gutierrez, spokesperson for \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/\">the state financial aid agency running the grant\u003c/a>, in an email. “We are not requesting any documentation,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Diana McLaughlin, grant recipient\"]'I feel that it's showing [my son] how important an education is and to never give up because here I am, 47, and in college.'[/pullquote]McLaughlin wasted no time once she received her grant in June 2022. After taking courses part-time at American River College, a community college in Sacramento, starting in October of 2020, she decided to go full-time to pursue her first-ever degree this fall and chose accounting as her major.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $2,500 is paying for her textbooks, software required for schoolwork and other supplies. Anything remaining she’s putting in a personal education account. Though she receives tuition waivers as part of a state financial aid program and additional dollars through a \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/cal-grants\">Cal Grant\u003c/a>, the Golden State grant gives her extra confidence that she can afford an education while earning around $38,000 a year as an accountant for a fencing company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I spend my lunch break doing schoolwork,” she said. After returning from the office, she takes her associate's degree courses online. McLaughlin’s younger son is a virtual charter school student, so the two complete their homework side by side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel that it’s showing him how important an education is and to never give up because here I am, 47, and in college,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Expanding financial aid in California\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At first blush, the Golden State Education and Training Grant Program, which will last through 2024 and is funded mostly through \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/gsa_2022-16.pdf?1647468422\">one-time federal stimulus funds\u003c/a>, is yet another example of the state’s growing effort to lower the cost of college for adults and bring more Californians into college classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the past two years, \u003ca href=\"https://ebudget.ca.gov/2022-23/pdf/Enacted/GovernorsBudget/6000/6980.pdf\">public funding grew by nearly 50%\u003c/a> for the California Student Aid Commission, which oversees most of the higher-education grant aid to students. That growth, to a total of nearly $3.6 billion, includes \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2022/07/student-housing-affordable-dorms/#:~:text=The%20building%20splurge%20adds%20to%20the%20hundreds%20of%20millions%20in%20new%20spending%20on%20financial%20aid%20that%20lawmakers%20approved%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20including\">more tuition and cash support for community college students\u003c/a>, middle-class students at the University of California and California State University, students formerly in foster care, students raising children and the Golden State training grant, among others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the Golden State grant’s eligibility rules start where other state and federal grants drop off, extending cash assistance to would-be students who otherwise wouldn’t be eligible for traditional college financial aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Golden State grant can cover education programs that are shorter than about four months — something the federal Pell and state Cal Grant do not. Students receiving the Golden State grant may also use the money for extension and so-called noncredit programs, such as English-as-a-second-language courses, bicycle repair and various landscaping certificates. There’s no minimum program length for this grant — and because state dollars cover some of the grant costs, undocumented students also are eligible for the $2,500. Anyone getting the grant just needs to already know which training program they plan to pursue.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Getting the word out\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>So that displaced workers with no ties to a college also apply, the Student Aid Commission is working with regional workforce boards, the California Workforce Development Board and other agencies to get the word out about the grant, said Jake Brymner, director of governmental relations for the Student Aid Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant recipients can also use the funds if they enroll in certain workforce training and apprenticeship programs unaffiliated with colleges or universities. The Student Aid Commission is reviewing which workforce training programs are eligible and will soon add those to the approved list on the grant application. Students will only be able to use their grants at California public colleges, universities and these approved workforce training programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the pilot when only public colleges and universities were eligible, 84% of the grant applicants sought educations at community colleges, data from the Student Aid Commission shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This specific grant has great potential,” said Daisy Gonzales, interim chancellor of the California Community Colleges. “What it does is it provides an entry point to our colleges for students that may not know about us.” Students with no exposure to community colleges can gain access to food pantries and \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2022/california-colleges-now-have-centers-to-help-students-with-basic-needs-like-food-and-housing/676568\">coordinators who are familiar with other state and local social services\u003c/a> for which students could qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s also hopeful the grant may help to recover \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2022/03/community-college-enrollment/\">some of the colossal enrollment loss\u003c/a> the system suffered in the past two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Grant can combine with other student aid\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even if grant recipients qualify for free tuition, especially at community colleges where nearly half of learners attend for free, they can use the money to cover gas, housing, food and other expenses. It’s an added perk for learners who have no spare dollars to afford an internet connection or other expenses associated with attaining a degree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Muideen Olawoyin was one class away from earning an associate's degree in human services, a stepping stone toward social work. But a series of bad breaks and a long-term injury left him cash-dry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I [couldn’t] even afford internet then, it was so hard,” he said. When he picked up the Golden State check from his school, Cosumnes River College, he was able to get back online, enroll in that final course and earn his degree this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average income of the roughly 3,000 grant recipients was about $22,000 when they first applied, according to California Student Aid Commission data provided to CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Some degrees don't boost wages\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Not all training and education programs are made equal, however. Some research shows that shorter-term college certificates — like the kind in which students with this grant can enroll — have a mixed record of boosting the earning power of graduates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, these certificates lead to higher wages, but noncredit programs are less remunerative than traditional for-credit certificates. Still, \u003ca href=\"https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/103370/should-the-federal-government-fund-short-term-postsecondary-certificate-programs_0_0.pdf#page=7\">associate's and bachelor’s degrees lead to even higher wage gains\u003c/a> for graduates, according to a 2020 Urban Institute study. Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/04/30/certificate-programs-cutting-federal-funding/#:~:text=A%20Hechinger%20Report%20analysis%20of%20the%20most%20recent%20Education%20Department%20data%2C%20which%20was%20released%20in%20March%2C%20found%20that%2020%20percent%20of%20public\">a fifth of certificate programs at public colleges and universities lead to lower wages than what workers with high school diplomas earn\u003c/a>, a Hechinger Report analysis of national data showed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s foray into funding short-term credentials could inform the national conversation on whether to permit federal grant aid to pay for educations that are shorter than four months. For a few years now, advocates have been trying to introduce “short-term” Pell grants, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.highereddive.com/news/short-term-pell-didnt-make-it-into-augusts-chips-act-where-does-it-go-fr/631319/\">the idea hasn’t won over enough lawmakers yet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the four Golden State training grant recipients CalMatters spoke with were pursuing short-term credentials — all wanted an associate's degree. McLaughlin is dreaming bigger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her goal is to transfer to Sacramento State to earn a bachelor’s — something her current employer encouraged her to pursue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want people to know you’re never too old for school,” McLaughlin said. “And to never stop trying to reach your goals.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>McLaughlin is among the first 3,000 or so recipients of this grant, adult learners who were issued checks in a pilot program this spring and summer. Now the state is opening the grant to a wide range of adults with lower incomes who lost their jobs or saw their hours severely cut during the pandemic. Half of the grant funds are reserved for displaced workers with children under 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials expect to reach 190,000 people with this money, called the \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/golden-state-education-and-training-grant-gsetg\">Golden State Education and Training Grant Program\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the few stipulations for receiving the grant, candidates must fill out a short application and attest that they lost a job or hours after March 4, 2020, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/3.4.20-Coronavirus-SOE-Proclamation.pdf\">Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency\u003c/a>. Applicants also must affirm that they weren’t enrolled in an educational or job-training program when they lost their jobs. There’s an income threshold as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>McLaughlin wasted no time once she received her grant in June 2022. After taking courses part-time at American River College, a community college in Sacramento, starting in October of 2020, she decided to go full-time to pursue her first-ever degree this fall and chose accounting as her major.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $2,500 is paying for her textbooks, software required for schoolwork and other supplies. Anything remaining she’s putting in a personal education account. Though she receives tuition waivers as part of a state financial aid program and additional dollars through a \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/cal-grants\">Cal Grant\u003c/a>, the Golden State grant gives her extra confidence that she can afford an education while earning around $38,000 a year as an accountant for a fencing company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I spend my lunch break doing schoolwork,” she said. After returning from the office, she takes her associate's degree courses online. McLaughlin’s younger son is a virtual charter school student, so the two complete their homework side by side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel that it’s showing him how important an education is and to never give up because here I am, 47, and in college,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Expanding financial aid in California\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At first blush, the Golden State Education and Training Grant Program, which will last through 2024 and is funded mostly through \u003ca href=\"https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/gsa_2022-16.pdf?1647468422\">one-time federal stimulus funds\u003c/a>, is yet another example of the state’s growing effort to lower the cost of college for adults and bring more Californians into college classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the past two years, \u003ca href=\"https://ebudget.ca.gov/2022-23/pdf/Enacted/GovernorsBudget/6000/6980.pdf\">public funding grew by nearly 50%\u003c/a> for the California Student Aid Commission, which oversees most of the higher-education grant aid to students. That growth, to a total of nearly $3.6 billion, includes \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2022/07/student-housing-affordable-dorms/#:~:text=The%20building%20splurge%20adds%20to%20the%20hundreds%20of%20millions%20in%20new%20spending%20on%20financial%20aid%20that%20lawmakers%20approved%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20including\">more tuition and cash support for community college students\u003c/a>, middle-class students at the University of California and California State University, students formerly in foster care, students raising children and the Golden State training grant, among others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the Golden State grant’s eligibility rules start where other state and federal grants drop off, extending cash assistance to would-be students who otherwise wouldn’t be eligible for traditional college financial aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Golden State grant can cover education programs that are shorter than about four months — something the federal Pell and state Cal Grant do not. Students receiving the Golden State grant may also use the money for extension and so-called noncredit programs, such as English-as-a-second-language courses, bicycle repair and various landscaping certificates. There’s no minimum program length for this grant — and because state dollars cover some of the grant costs, undocumented students also are eligible for the $2,500. Anyone getting the grant just needs to already know which training program they plan to pursue.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Getting the word out\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>So that displaced workers with no ties to a college also apply, the Student Aid Commission is working with regional workforce boards, the California Workforce Development Board and other agencies to get the word out about the grant, said Jake Brymner, director of governmental relations for the Student Aid Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant recipients can also use the funds if they enroll in certain workforce training and apprenticeship programs unaffiliated with colleges or universities. The Student Aid Commission is reviewing which workforce training programs are eligible and will soon add those to the approved list on the grant application. Students will only be able to use their grants at California public colleges, universities and these approved workforce training programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the pilot when only public colleges and universities were eligible, 84% of the grant applicants sought educations at community colleges, data from the Student Aid Commission shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This specific grant has great potential,” said Daisy Gonzales, interim chancellor of the California Community Colleges. “What it does is it provides an entry point to our colleges for students that may not know about us.” Students with no exposure to community colleges can gain access to food pantries and \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2022/california-colleges-now-have-centers-to-help-students-with-basic-needs-like-food-and-housing/676568\">coordinators who are familiar with other state and local social services\u003c/a> for which students could qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s also hopeful the grant may help to recover \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2022/03/community-college-enrollment/\">some of the colossal enrollment loss\u003c/a> the system suffered in the past two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Grant can combine with other student aid\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Even if grant recipients qualify for free tuition, especially at community colleges where nearly half of learners attend for free, they can use the money to cover gas, housing, food and other expenses. It’s an added perk for learners who have no spare dollars to afford an internet connection or other expenses associated with attaining a degree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Muideen Olawoyin was one class away from earning an associate's degree in human services, a stepping stone toward social work. But a series of bad breaks and a long-term injury left him cash-dry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I [couldn’t] even afford internet then, it was so hard,” he said. When he picked up the Golden State check from his school, Cosumnes River College, he was able to get back online, enroll in that final course and earn his degree this summer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average income of the roughly 3,000 grant recipients was about $22,000 when they first applied, according to California Student Aid Commission data provided to CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Some degrees don't boost wages\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Not all training and education programs are made equal, however. Some research shows that shorter-term college certificates — like the kind in which students with this grant can enroll — have a mixed record of boosting the earning power of graduates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, these certificates lead to higher wages, but noncredit programs are less remunerative than traditional for-credit certificates. Still, \u003ca href=\"https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/103370/should-the-federal-government-fund-short-term-postsecondary-certificate-programs_0_0.pdf#page=7\">associate's and bachelor’s degrees lead to even higher wage gains\u003c/a> for graduates, according to a 2020 Urban Institute study. Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/04/30/certificate-programs-cutting-federal-funding/#:~:text=A%20Hechinger%20Report%20analysis%20of%20the%20most%20recent%20Education%20Department%20data%2C%20which%20was%20released%20in%20March%2C%20found%20that%2020%20percent%20of%20public\">a fifth of certificate programs at public colleges and universities lead to lower wages than what workers with high school diplomas earn\u003c/a>, a Hechinger Report analysis of national data showed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s foray into funding short-term credentials could inform the national conversation on whether to permit federal grant aid to pay for educations that are shorter than four months. For a few years now, advocates have been trying to introduce “short-term” Pell grants, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.highereddive.com/news/short-term-pell-didnt-make-it-into-augusts-chips-act-where-does-it-go-fr/631319/\">the idea hasn’t won over enough lawmakers yet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of the four Golden State training grant recipients CalMatters spoke with were pursuing short-term credentials — all wanted an associate's degree. McLaughlin is dreaming bigger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her goal is to transfer to Sacramento State to earn a bachelor’s — something her current employer encouraged her to pursue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want people to know you’re never too old for school,” McLaughlin said. “And to never stop trying to reach your goals.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "why-california-is-facing-a-mental-health-care-worker-shortage",
"title": "Why California Is Facing a Mental Health Care Worker Shortage",
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"headTitle": "Why California Is Facing a Mental Health Care Worker Shortage | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>The need for therapists, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists is greater than ever. Under relentless pressure from the pandemic and inflation, wildfires, gun violence, racism and war, Californians are crying out for help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that doesn’t mean they can get it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In every corner of mental health right now, a similar story is being told: There simply aren’t enough providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patients receive lists of names from their insurers, only to learn none of the therapists on these so-called “ghost lists” will see them. Clinicians who do offer a spot often only accept cash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonprofit mental health care providers report needing to have an offer letter ready at a job interview, fearing applicants will take another position if they wait.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser mental health care clinicians have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923034/were-drowning-why-kaiser-mental-health-workers-are-striking\">out on strike for weeks\u003c/a> now in Northern California, describing exhausting working conditions and long delays in care for their patients. Kaiser, for its part, points a finger at a familiar culprit: the mental health care provider shortage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalMatters spoke with more than two dozen mental health experts, public officials and providers around California to ask about the impacts of the mental health care provider shortage, and what can be done about it. Their responses ranged from desperate to hopeful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All agree we are at a pivotal movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In part, that’s because Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is investing heavily in overhauling the state’s mental health care system. At the same time, the state recently enacted laws requiring insurers to provide timely access to mental health care. Some worry a lack of providers could jeopardize these bold new initiatives. Others see this as an opportunity to reimagine how mental health care in the state is delivered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what the experts had to say:\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How big is the provider shortage problem?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It depends on what part of the elephant you’re looking at, said Catherine Teare, associate director of the California Health Care Foundation’s People-Centered Care team. County mental health departments are struggling to hire. So are commercial health plans. So are nonprofits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, she said, “the level of mental distress is increased.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For children or adults who need a lot, or need it urgently, it’s a scary time,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, told CalMatters that the number of licensed behavioral health care providers in the state increased by 20% between 2016 and 2020. But, that’s been offset by an increase in demand he calls “really unprecedented.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For patients, how bad the shortage is depends, in part, on where you live, your insurance, your income, your age, the care you need and whether you want a clinician of color or one who speaks a language other than English.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/publication/californias-current-future-behavioral-health-workforce/\">A report\u003c/a> published by the University of California, San Francisco in 2018 — even before the \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/HMA-NCMW-Issue-Brief-10-27-21.pdf\">pandemic sent need skyrocketing\u003c/a> — predicted that by 2028, demand for psychologists and other therapists would be 40% more than supply. For kids, the shortage is especially dire: Close to a third of California’s 58 counties have \u003ca href=\"https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Advocacy/Federal_and_State_Initiatives/Workforce_Maps/Home.aspx\">no child and adolescent psychiatrists at all\u003c/a>, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11924343,news_11924117,news_11923034\"]\u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MentalHealthAlmanac2022.pdf\">A new report\u003c/a> from the California Health Care Foundation shows that the Bay Area has 19 licensed psychiatrists and 73 licensed psychologists per 100,000 people — significantly more than the state averages of 12 and 44. At the other end of the spectrum, the San Joaquin Valley has six psychiatrists and 16 psychologists for the equivalent number of people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jessica Dominguez, a licensed marriage and family therapist at Kaiser Richmond who is currently on strike, said the Bay Area has plenty of providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Throw a rock, you’re going to hit a therapist,” said Dominguez, who said she plans to leave the organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others who work in the region, including Matthew Madaus, executive director of the Behavioral Health Collaborative of Alameda County, said “100% absolutely” there’s a shortage even in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you search for a behavioral health clinician on Indeed.com, Madaus said, it comes up with thousands of open positions within a 25-mile radius.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s extraordinary the level of demand,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One problem: It’s difficult to capture how many clinicians don’t accept any insurance at all, and thus aren’t accessible to the vast majority of patients who can’t pay out of pocket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What we do know: We need more and better data. For instance, some experts say the increase described by Ghaly does not reflect how many licensed providers are actually seeing patients, nor does it capture how many are seeing people who are uninsured or on Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco authored\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB964\"> a bill\u003c/a> this year that would require the Department of Health Care Access and Information to prepare a report for the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2024, describing the state of California’s behavioral health workforce, and how best to address the shortage. Senate Bill 964 is on the governor’s desk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://workforce.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/San-Diego-Behavioral-Health-Workforce-Report-.pdf\">San Diego County has already researched the shortage.\u003c/a> Officials there estimate they currently have 17,000 behavioral health care workers and need an additional 8,100 to meet current demand. In the next five years, they anticipate needing another 10,000 workers, in part because so many will be retiring.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s causing the shortage?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mental health care leaders will tell you the shortage itself is nothing new. But the pandemic has aggravated the problems. More providers have left their jobs, citing burnout. Or they’ve left the state, citing cost of living. New telehealth start-ups specializing in mental health treatment offer good pay and flexible hours; many experts said they have added to the demand by siphoning off providers from the public sector.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Catherine Teare, associate director of People-Centered Care, California Health Care Foundation\"]‘For children or adults who need a lot, or need it urgently, it’s a scary time.’[/pullquote]In a 2018 report on the \u003ca href=\"https://healthforce.ucsf.edu/publications/california-s-current-and-future-behavioral-health-workforce\">behavioral health workforce shortage\u003c/a>, Janet Coffman of UCSF also raised the concern that 45% of psychiatrists and 37% of psychologists would likely be retiring within a decade. The pandemic has accelerated this trend, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many clinicians say they’re simply exhausted. It’s not just that more people need help, but that many of them are coming in sicker, with mental health issues that have gone untreated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our patient population has become so much more difficult to work with than it used to be a decade ago,” said Randall Hagar, legislative advocate and policy consultant for the Psychiatric Physicians Alliance of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As openings go unfilled, those who remain are left to carry more of the weight, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another problem Hagar and others mention: paperwork. Doctors spend some 40% of their time on paperwork, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many clinicians, especially providers of color, also say they are simply not getting enough emotional support from their employers. Dominguez, the Kaiser therapist, said she founded La Clinica, a nationally recognized pilot program to serve Spanish-speaking clients, in 2016. When tragedies happen in the community, she said, they affect clinicians, too. But, “you’re just expected to plug along and keep going,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Continually witnessing trauma can be exhausting, said Jeff Capps, a social worker with Pacific Clinics in Los Angeles. He emphasizes the need to make the work more sustainable for clinicians. That includes better pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes in our field, the assumption is that since you get value out of your work, you don’t need to be as compensated,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 2019 report by the health care consulting firm Milliman found that commercial plans in California, when setting rates, \u003ca href=\"https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/addiction-and-mental-health-vs-physical-health-widening-disparities-in-network-use-and-p\">pay primary care providers an average 15% more\u003c/a> than they pay behavioral health care providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luke Bergmann, San Diego County’s director of behavioral health, said his county’s report on the provider shortage showed that, in some cases, people chose to work at Panda Express instead of substance use disorder clinics “because they simply cannot make as much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People talk about loving the work,” he said. “For people to leave this work is an incredible emotional sacrifice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Candy Curiel, clinical director of Pacific Clinics for the Inland Empire, said inflation is making the situation even worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything is so costly at this point, people feel they need to seek more money,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Everyone is competing with everyone else. Is this a zero-sum game?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Michelle Cabrera, executive director of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, said the state’s mental health care system is so overwhelmed, everyone is poaching from each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let me be clear: It is a zero-sum game,” she said. “There’s only so many licensed or competent professionals in the state of California to do these jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In August, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced that he had secured funding to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr22/yr22rel39.asp\">hire 10,000 additional mental health clinicians\u003c/a> to serve the state’s students. That effort is key to the Department of Education’s push to increase mental health care provided in schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adrienne Shilton, senior policy advocate for the California Alliance of Child and Family Services, called the $200 million to establish a new scholarship program for master’s-level clinicians “a big win.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for Cabrera, the announcement “just puts fear at the heart of county behavioral health.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She wonders how counties can possibly compete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know that we’ve really had a reckoning yet on the degree to which demand so far exceeds the available supply of providers in our state,” she said.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Karen Larsen, CEO, Steinberg Institute\"]‘We finally have all of this money and transformation coming. All these amazing things … and it couldn’t come at a worse time in terms of our workforce.’[/pullquote]This is the vicious circle for workers who are salaried. Nonprofit providers often pay less than schools and counties. Schools and counties, in turn, pay less than Kaiser and some of the new telehealth start-ups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonprofit jobs that used to attract 40 or 50 applicants might only get two or three now, said Madaus, of the Behavioral Health Collaborative of Alameda County. Some nonprofits are looking at the possibility of providing free housing as an incentive, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as it contributes to burnout, the increasing demand has, in some ways, opened new doors for clinicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Torres, child and family clinical psychologist for Kaiser in San Leandro who is currently on strike, said that of 15 people on his team, six have left in the past year. Some are leaving to do telehealth, or to work in the private sector. Those positions can offer better work-life balance and more flexibility, he said. They also allow clinicians to see patients weekly or biweekly, he said, instead of every four to six weeks as often happens at Kaiser.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11923074\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11923074\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt='people in red shirts carrying signs that read \"patients over profits\"' width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaiser mental health care workers and supporters march from Oakland Kaiser Medical Center to Kaiser’s corporate headquarters on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, the fifth day of an open-ended strike. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>How will the provider shortage affect the Newsom administration’s big mental health care initiatives?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Coming into office, Newsom made clear that he wanted to prioritize mental health. Over the past few years, his administration has championed a number of bold new initiatives. These include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.chhs.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Children-and-Youth-Behavioral-Health-Initiative-Brief.pdf\">Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/KidsMentalHealthMasterPlan_8.18.22.pdf?emrc=6d3847\">$4.7 billion investment\u003c/a> meant to transform the children’s mental health care system.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>CalAIM, a major transformation of the state’s Medi-Cal system.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11924117/governors-care-court-plan-passes-assembly-clearing-way-to-become-law\">CARE Court\u003c/a>, a controversial proposal to compel people with serious mental illness into care and housing.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Lawmakers in recent years strengthened requirements that private insurers adhere to federal and state mental health parity laws — which require equal treatment of mental and physical health concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many of those tasked with implementing these efforts say they are worried.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have that conversation all the time,” said Madaus, of the Behavioral Health Collaborative of Alameda County. As new funding sources come online, he said, nonprofit executives consistently tell him: “I can’t take any more funding because I can’t hire more staff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Karen Larsen, chief executive officer of the Steinberg Institute, a nonprofit that advocates on mental health care policy, is also concerned. Prior to assuming her current role, Larsen spent two decades as head of Yolo County’s behavioral health department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We finally have all of this money and transformation coming,” she said. “All these amazing things … and it couldn’t come at a worse time in terms of our workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ghaly says he shares that concern. But he adds that “incredible investments have been made,” not just in innovative programs, but in addressing the workforce shortage head-on.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How do we increase the number of providers?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, Josh Leonard, executive director of the East Bay Agency for Children, was struggling to fill openings for mental health clinicians. Over several months, the nonprofit — anticipating a bump in its contract with Alameda County — raised all clinicians’ salaries by at least 15%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It worked. At least for now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Leonard’s not considering the workforce crisis over, he knows that decision was important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jessica Hernandez, a clinician there, agrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For me it has helped out tremendously,” she said. “Now I want to stay longer.”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Janet Coffman, University of California San Francisco\"]‘We’re making much bigger investments in the behavioral health workforce than we have since I started engaging in this field in the ’90s.’[/pullquote]To make the work more appealing and sustainable, providers say a lot needs to change. Besides pay, other factors are also critical, including reducing paperwork, offering more flexibility and providing more support to therapists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That last one has been key for Hernandez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re acknowledging that it’s really, really tough,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To meet growing need, new providers also must be brought in. Scholarships and loan repayment programs are helpful, but universities need more spots to train new clinicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coffman, of UCSF, calls herself “cautiously optimistic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re making much bigger investments in the behavioral health workforce than we have since I started engaging in this field in the ’90s,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s budget allocates more than $360 million for the state to spend over the next three years on everything from recruiting high schoolers into behavioral health to expanding social work slots at public universities and helping psychiatry students with loan repayment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Newsom also emphasized workforce development in his recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/KidsMentalHealthMasterPlan_8.18.22.pdf?emrc=6d3847\">master plan for kids’ mental health\u003c/a>. Some of the $4.7 billion will go toward bringing in 40,000 new mental health care workers, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Can we reimagine how mental health care is provided?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, getting mental health care to everyone who needs it is going to require both expanding our idea of who should provide that care — and how they should do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you only see the system in the context of what it currently is, yeah, we’re stuck by the provider shortage,” said Alex Briscoe, head of California Children’s Trust, an initiative to change the state’s mental health care system for children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But I would say that we can’t let that stop us, and I actually think it represents an opportunity,” Briscoe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Briscoe, this includes team-based models — already used by some nonprofits — involving a therapist, a case worker, a parenting coach or housing or employment specialist, and a peer provider who has lived with mental illness and is uniquely positioned to support others in crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It includes more people with shared life experiences and those who live in the local community, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mental health care workers are often middle-class white women, while many of the people they serve — especially on Medi-Cal — are lower-income people of color, said Dr. Rhea Boyd, a pediatrician and public health advocate who works with Briscoe at the California Children’s Trust. She wonders: What if we expanded the provider class so that it included the people who cut or braid your hair? What if the people who offered you mental health care lived on your block?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of these things already exist informally, she said. What’s needed is a way to pay for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s starting to emerge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, the state finally authorized a pathway to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2020/09/california-peer-mental-health/\">certify peer providers\u003c/a>, allowing organizations that employ them to bill Medi-Cal. California was the 49th state to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other new categories of workers are also being proposed. CalAIM created a job description called “community health workers,” trusted residents who do outreach in their own communities. And the state’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative is developing the role of behavioral health coaches, who work with young people on school campuses. Both would work in team-based models under the supervision of licensed providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coffman and others say it’s also important to invest in career ladders, so people who enter the field as peer providers have the option to earn more advanced degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the opportunity California has in front of it,” said Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency. “And it’s going to start by how transformative, innovative and successful we are in creating not just the workforce that we know but the workforce that we’ve yet to discover.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The need for therapists, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists is greater than ever. Under relentless pressure from the pandemic and inflation, wildfires, gun violence, racism and war, Californians are crying out for help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that doesn’t mean they can get it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In every corner of mental health right now, a similar story is being told: There simply aren’t enough providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patients receive lists of names from their insurers, only to learn none of the therapists on these so-called “ghost lists” will see them. Clinicians who do offer a spot often only accept cash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonprofit mental health care providers report needing to have an offer letter ready at a job interview, fearing applicants will take another position if they wait.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaiser mental health care clinicians have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923034/were-drowning-why-kaiser-mental-health-workers-are-striking\">out on strike for weeks\u003c/a> now in Northern California, describing exhausting working conditions and long delays in care for their patients. Kaiser, for its part, points a finger at a familiar culprit: the mental health care provider shortage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CalMatters spoke with more than two dozen mental health experts, public officials and providers around California to ask about the impacts of the mental health care provider shortage, and what can be done about it. Their responses ranged from desperate to hopeful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All agree we are at a pivotal movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In part, that’s because Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is investing heavily in overhauling the state’s mental health care system. At the same time, the state recently enacted laws requiring insurers to provide timely access to mental health care. Some worry a lack of providers could jeopardize these bold new initiatives. Others see this as an opportunity to reimagine how mental health care in the state is delivered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what the experts had to say:\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How big is the provider shortage problem?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It depends on what part of the elephant you’re looking at, said Catherine Teare, associate director of the California Health Care Foundation’s People-Centered Care team. County mental health departments are struggling to hire. So are commercial health plans. So are nonprofits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, she said, “the level of mental distress is increased.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For children or adults who need a lot, or need it urgently, it’s a scary time,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, told CalMatters that the number of licensed behavioral health care providers in the state increased by 20% between 2016 and 2020. But, that’s been offset by an increase in demand he calls “really unprecedented.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For patients, how bad the shortage is depends, in part, on where you live, your insurance, your income, your age, the care you need and whether you want a clinician of color or one who speaks a language other than English.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/publication/californias-current-future-behavioral-health-workforce/\">A report\u003c/a> published by the University of California, San Francisco in 2018 — even before the \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/HMA-NCMW-Issue-Brief-10-27-21.pdf\">pandemic sent need skyrocketing\u003c/a> — predicted that by 2028, demand for psychologists and other therapists would be 40% more than supply. For kids, the shortage is especially dire: Close to a third of California’s 58 counties have \u003ca href=\"https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Advocacy/Federal_and_State_Initiatives/Workforce_Maps/Home.aspx\">no child and adolescent psychiatrists at all\u003c/a>, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MentalHealthAlmanac2022.pdf\">A new report\u003c/a> from the California Health Care Foundation shows that the Bay Area has 19 licensed psychiatrists and 73 licensed psychologists per 100,000 people — significantly more than the state averages of 12 and 44. At the other end of the spectrum, the San Joaquin Valley has six psychiatrists and 16 psychologists for the equivalent number of people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jessica Dominguez, a licensed marriage and family therapist at Kaiser Richmond who is currently on strike, said the Bay Area has plenty of providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Throw a rock, you’re going to hit a therapist,” said Dominguez, who said she plans to leave the organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others who work in the region, including Matthew Madaus, executive director of the Behavioral Health Collaborative of Alameda County, said “100% absolutely” there’s a shortage even in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you search for a behavioral health clinician on Indeed.com, Madaus said, it comes up with thousands of open positions within a 25-mile radius.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s extraordinary the level of demand,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One problem: It’s difficult to capture how many clinicians don’t accept any insurance at all, and thus aren’t accessible to the vast majority of patients who can’t pay out of pocket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What we do know: We need more and better data. For instance, some experts say the increase described by Ghaly does not reflect how many licensed providers are actually seeing patients, nor does it capture how many are seeing people who are uninsured or on Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco authored\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB964\"> a bill\u003c/a> this year that would require the Department of Health Care Access and Information to prepare a report for the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2024, describing the state of California’s behavioral health workforce, and how best to address the shortage. Senate Bill 964 is on the governor’s desk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://workforce.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/San-Diego-Behavioral-Health-Workforce-Report-.pdf\">San Diego County has already researched the shortage.\u003c/a> Officials there estimate they currently have 17,000 behavioral health care workers and need an additional 8,100 to meet current demand. In the next five years, they anticipate needing another 10,000 workers, in part because so many will be retiring.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s causing the shortage?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mental health care leaders will tell you the shortage itself is nothing new. But the pandemic has aggravated the problems. More providers have left their jobs, citing burnout. Or they’ve left the state, citing cost of living. New telehealth start-ups specializing in mental health treatment offer good pay and flexible hours; many experts said they have added to the demand by siphoning off providers from the public sector.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In a 2018 report on the \u003ca href=\"https://healthforce.ucsf.edu/publications/california-s-current-and-future-behavioral-health-workforce\">behavioral health workforce shortage\u003c/a>, Janet Coffman of UCSF also raised the concern that 45% of psychiatrists and 37% of psychologists would likely be retiring within a decade. The pandemic has accelerated this trend, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many clinicians say they’re simply exhausted. It’s not just that more people need help, but that many of them are coming in sicker, with mental health issues that have gone untreated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our patient population has become so much more difficult to work with than it used to be a decade ago,” said Randall Hagar, legislative advocate and policy consultant for the Psychiatric Physicians Alliance of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As openings go unfilled, those who remain are left to carry more of the weight, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another problem Hagar and others mention: paperwork. Doctors spend some 40% of their time on paperwork, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many clinicians, especially providers of color, also say they are simply not getting enough emotional support from their employers. Dominguez, the Kaiser therapist, said she founded La Clinica, a nationally recognized pilot program to serve Spanish-speaking clients, in 2016. When tragedies happen in the community, she said, they affect clinicians, too. But, “you’re just expected to plug along and keep going,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Continually witnessing trauma can be exhausting, said Jeff Capps, a social worker with Pacific Clinics in Los Angeles. He emphasizes the need to make the work more sustainable for clinicians. That includes better pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes in our field, the assumption is that since you get value out of your work, you don’t need to be as compensated,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 2019 report by the health care consulting firm Milliman found that commercial plans in California, when setting rates, \u003ca href=\"https://www.milliman.com/en/insight/addiction-and-mental-health-vs-physical-health-widening-disparities-in-network-use-and-p\">pay primary care providers an average 15% more\u003c/a> than they pay behavioral health care providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luke Bergmann, San Diego County’s director of behavioral health, said his county’s report on the provider shortage showed that, in some cases, people chose to work at Panda Express instead of substance use disorder clinics “because they simply cannot make as much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People talk about loving the work,” he said. “For people to leave this work is an incredible emotional sacrifice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Candy Curiel, clinical director of Pacific Clinics for the Inland Empire, said inflation is making the situation even worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything is so costly at this point, people feel they need to seek more money,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Everyone is competing with everyone else. Is this a zero-sum game?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Michelle Cabrera, executive director of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, said the state’s mental health care system is so overwhelmed, everyone is poaching from each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let me be clear: It is a zero-sum game,” she said. “There’s only so many licensed or competent professionals in the state of California to do these jobs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In August, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced that he had secured funding to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr22/yr22rel39.asp\">hire 10,000 additional mental health clinicians\u003c/a> to serve the state’s students. That effort is key to the Department of Education’s push to increase mental health care provided in schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adrienne Shilton, senior policy advocate for the California Alliance of Child and Family Services, called the $200 million to establish a new scholarship program for master’s-level clinicians “a big win.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for Cabrera, the announcement “just puts fear at the heart of county behavioral health.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She wonders how counties can possibly compete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know that we’ve really had a reckoning yet on the degree to which demand so far exceeds the available supply of providers in our state,” she said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>This is the vicious circle for workers who are salaried. Nonprofit providers often pay less than schools and counties. Schools and counties, in turn, pay less than Kaiser and some of the new telehealth start-ups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonprofit jobs that used to attract 40 or 50 applicants might only get two or three now, said Madaus, of the Behavioral Health Collaborative of Alameda County. Some nonprofits are looking at the possibility of providing free housing as an incentive, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as it contributes to burnout, the increasing demand has, in some ways, opened new doors for clinicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Torres, child and family clinical psychologist for Kaiser in San Leandro who is currently on strike, said that of 15 people on his team, six have left in the past year. Some are leaving to do telehealth, or to work in the private sector. Those positions can offer better work-life balance and more flexibility, he said. They also allow clinicians to see patients weekly or biweekly, he said, instead of every four to six weeks as often happens at Kaiser.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11923074\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11923074\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt='people in red shirts carrying signs that read \"patients over profits\"' width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/RS57894_032_KQED_KaiserStrikeOakland_08192022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaiser mental health care workers and supporters march from Oakland Kaiser Medical Center to Kaiser’s corporate headquarters on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, the fifth day of an open-ended strike. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>How will the provider shortage affect the Newsom administration’s big mental health care initiatives?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Coming into office, Newsom made clear that he wanted to prioritize mental health. Over the past few years, his administration has championed a number of bold new initiatives. These include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.chhs.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Children-and-Youth-Behavioral-Health-Initiative-Brief.pdf\">Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/KidsMentalHealthMasterPlan_8.18.22.pdf?emrc=6d3847\">$4.7 billion investment\u003c/a> meant to transform the children’s mental health care system.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>CalAIM, a major transformation of the state’s Medi-Cal system.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11924117/governors-care-court-plan-passes-assembly-clearing-way-to-become-law\">CARE Court\u003c/a>, a controversial proposal to compel people with serious mental illness into care and housing.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Lawmakers in recent years strengthened requirements that private insurers adhere to federal and state mental health parity laws — which require equal treatment of mental and physical health concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many of those tasked with implementing these efforts say they are worried.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have that conversation all the time,” said Madaus, of the Behavioral Health Collaborative of Alameda County. As new funding sources come online, he said, nonprofit executives consistently tell him: “I can’t take any more funding because I can’t hire more staff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Karen Larsen, chief executive officer of the Steinberg Institute, a nonprofit that advocates on mental health care policy, is also concerned. Prior to assuming her current role, Larsen spent two decades as head of Yolo County’s behavioral health department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We finally have all of this money and transformation coming,” she said. “All these amazing things … and it couldn’t come at a worse time in terms of our workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ghaly says he shares that concern. But he adds that “incredible investments have been made,” not just in innovative programs, but in addressing the workforce shortage head-on.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How do we increase the number of providers?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, Josh Leonard, executive director of the East Bay Agency for Children, was struggling to fill openings for mental health clinicians. Over several months, the nonprofit — anticipating a bump in its contract with Alameda County — raised all clinicians’ salaries by at least 15%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It worked. At least for now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Leonard’s not considering the workforce crisis over, he knows that decision was important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jessica Hernandez, a clinician there, agrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For me it has helped out tremendously,” she said. “Now I want to stay longer.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>To make the work more appealing and sustainable, providers say a lot needs to change. Besides pay, other factors are also critical, including reducing paperwork, offering more flexibility and providing more support to therapists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That last one has been key for Hernandez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re acknowledging that it’s really, really tough,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To meet growing need, new providers also must be brought in. Scholarships and loan repayment programs are helpful, but universities need more spots to train new clinicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coffman, of UCSF, calls herself “cautiously optimistic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re making much bigger investments in the behavioral health workforce than we have since I started engaging in this field in the ’90s,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s budget allocates more than $360 million for the state to spend over the next three years on everything from recruiting high schoolers into behavioral health to expanding social work slots at public universities and helping psychiatry students with loan repayment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Newsom also emphasized workforce development in his recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/KidsMentalHealthMasterPlan_8.18.22.pdf?emrc=6d3847\">master plan for kids’ mental health\u003c/a>. Some of the $4.7 billion will go toward bringing in 40,000 new mental health care workers, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Can we reimagine how mental health care is provided?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, getting mental health care to everyone who needs it is going to require both expanding our idea of who should provide that care — and how they should do it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you only see the system in the context of what it currently is, yeah, we’re stuck by the provider shortage,” said Alex Briscoe, head of California Children’s Trust, an initiative to change the state’s mental health care system for children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But I would say that we can’t let that stop us, and I actually think it represents an opportunity,” Briscoe said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Briscoe, this includes team-based models — already used by some nonprofits — involving a therapist, a case worker, a parenting coach or housing or employment specialist, and a peer provider who has lived with mental illness and is uniquely positioned to support others in crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It includes more people with shared life experiences and those who live in the local community, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mental health care workers are often middle-class white women, while many of the people they serve — especially on Medi-Cal — are lower-income people of color, said Dr. Rhea Boyd, a pediatrician and public health advocate who works with Briscoe at the California Children’s Trust. She wonders: What if we expanded the provider class so that it included the people who cut or braid your hair? What if the people who offered you mental health care lived on your block?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of these things already exist informally, she said. What’s needed is a way to pay for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s starting to emerge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, the state finally authorized a pathway to \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2020/09/california-peer-mental-health/\">certify peer providers\u003c/a>, allowing organizations that employ them to bill Medi-Cal. California was the 49th state to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other new categories of workers are also being proposed. CalAIM created a job description called “community health workers,” trusted residents who do outreach in their own communities. And the state’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative is developing the role of behavioral health coaches, who work with young people on school campuses. Both would work in team-based models under the supervision of licensed providers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coffman and others say it’s also important to invest in career ladders, so people who enter the field as peer providers have the option to earn more advanced degrees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the opportunity California has in front of it,” said Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency. “And it’s going to start by how transformative, innovative and successful we are in creating not just the workforce that we know but the workforce that we’ve yet to discover.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Shasta County in rural Northern California has one of the state’s highest incarceration rates. Ask Robert Bowman what’s going on, and he takes a long, deep sigh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a perfect storm of bad,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bowman, director of the county’s program that helps formerly incarcerated people transition back to life outside, identifies three main drivers of crime in Shasta County: high housing costs, untreated mental illness and drug trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those are some of the same factors blamed for crime in other California counties that rank among the highest for incarcerated people, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.prisonpolicy.org/origin/ca/2020/report.html\">a report released this morning\u003c/a> by the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit that seeks to end mass incarceration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report takes newly available data from California prisons to show where incarcerated people come from — not just their home counties, but their neighborhoods. The group’s stated intent is to show lawmakers where they can better direct public dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The neighborhoods where incarcerated people come from often have a higher percentage of Black and Latino residents than the state average, according to the report, while the counties that host the prisons are predominantly white.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The effect has been “the siphoning of political power from disproportionately Black and Latino communities to pad out the mostly rural and often predominantly white regions where prisons are located,” the study found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unsurprisingly, the most populous counties send the most people to state prison. Los Angeles County had the most people incarcerated, followed by Riverside and San Diego counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in some counties, though they have fewer total people in state prisons, the rate of incarceration is much higher than the statewide average of 310 per 100,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tiny Kings County in the San Joaquin Valley has the state’s highest incarceration rate at 666 per 100,000, the study found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shasta County ranked second among counties that send people to prison, with 663 county residents incarcerated per 100,000 people. The county of fewer than 200,000 is framed by mountains to its north, west and east. People move there for cheap land and open spaces, or burrow further into its hills to escape creeping modernity, Bowman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then we have those who have moved up here for political reasons and I’ll just leave it at that,” Bowman said with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one Shasta County census tract that encompasses most of the city of Redding, more than one in every 100 people is in a state prison.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Robert Bowman, director, STEP-UP\"]‘If you have billions of dollars to spend, but yet your community is overwhelmingly ‘not in my backyard,’ then you can get nothing done.’[/pullquote] Disparities also persist in cities like Los Angeles, where the neighborhoods of Watts and Crenshaw have \u003ca href=\"https://www.prisonpolicy.org/origin/ca/2020/la_neighborhood.html\">more than five times\u003c/a> the incarceration rate of Bel-Air and Brentwood, according to the study’s calculations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s fewer Beverly Hills in our community,” Bowman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many of the same issues that crop up in Los Angeles and San Francisco are true in far Northern California: homelessness, untreated mental illness and a resistance among locals to new construction or lower-income housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bowman points to a proposed micro-shelter at a Lutheran church in Redding that would serve as transitional housing for up to five people. Neighbors hung a sign on a chain link fence: “Tiny Houses = Big Problems.” The shelter is \u003ca href=\"https://www.redding.com/story/news/2022/05/20/homeless-housing-units-could-open-fall-after-getting-reddings-ok/9843183002/\">expected to open this fall\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you have billions of dollars to spend, but yet your community is overwhelmingly ‘not in my backyard,’ then you can get nothing done,” Bowman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Prison Policy Initiative report is based on numbers provided by the state of California, which, for the first time in its 2020 census, counted incarcerated people in their home districts instead of the cities and counties where they’re incarcerated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea was to end what opponents called “prison gerrymandering,” which counted incarcerated people as residents of their prison’s county. California ended that practice in 2011 with \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_0401-0450/ab_420_bill_20110822_amended_sen_v93.pdf\">AB 420\u003c/a>, signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown, but the law did not take effect until 2020. Ten other states have taken similar steps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s redistricting maps were the first to count incarcerated people in their home districts. The process toward final approval by a state independent commission was\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/12/california-redistricting-final-maps/\"> fraught and messy\u003c/a>, but has so far survived without a legal challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our hope is really that policymakers and service providers will use this data to kind of direct some of their thinking on how they make choices about the people that they serve,” said Prison Policy Initiative spokesperson Mike Wessler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For lawmakers, we hope that they’ll take a look at how many people in their own communities are lost to incarceration every single day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Prison Policy Initiative study was taken from a snapshot of the 122,000 people in state prisons on April 1, 2020. It doesn’t count people in federal prison or immigration detention, nor does it count those who were identified in court proceedings as unhoused. [pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Mike Wessler, spokesperson, Prison Policy Initiative\"]‘A lot of these rural areas are also facing significant economic challenges.’[/pullquote]Among cities with at least 20,000 people, Compton in Los Angeles County had the highest rate of incarceration, with 979 people incarcerated per 100,000 residents. It also has a higher Black and Latino population than the state average, which the report’s authors say mirrors a national trend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This suggests that policing, arrests and incarceration are disproportionately concentrated in a handful of Black communities across the county, such as Compton with its large Black population,” wrote the report’s authors, Emily Widra and Felicia Gomez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://censusreporter.org/profiles/14000US06029001500-census-tract-15-kern-ca/\">One census tract\u003c/a> in Kern County stands out. Just east of downtown Bakersfield, the 1-square-mile tract had 2,944 residents and 74 people in state prisons, or more than two out of every 100 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kern County also leads the state in homicide rate, a statistic the county’s residents and law enforcement struggle to explain. For the sixth consecutive year, the county led the state with a homicide rate of 13.7 homicides per 100,000 people. The statewide average is six homicides per 100,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of the smaller rural counties often are overlooked but actually have some of the highest incarceration rates in the entire state,” Wessler said. “A lot of these rural areas are also facing significant economic challenges.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You don’t have to remind Bowman, of the Shasta County STEP-UP program for those recently released from incarceration. First, in 2018, the Carr Fire \u003ca href=\"https://opr.ca.gov/docs/20220817-Shasta_County_Case_Study.pdf\">displaced thousands of people\u003c/a> in an area that was already struggling to control housing costs. Then, during the pandemic, wealthier residents of the Bay Area and Sacramento Valley started moving north, pushing up rents and home values. People already on the economic fringe were pushed to its edge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because now, landlords could charge whatever they want and there’s no reason for them to open up their homes” to affordable housing programs, Bowman said. “They can get someone who is displaced while their home’s being rebuilt (and) they can get a higher rent from that individual or family. So that’s a huge issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He is, however, ultimately optimistic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that there are a lot of good people that are trying to do the very best they can,” Bowman said. “It just takes time for the numbers to come down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/justice/2022/08/california-incarceration-rates-rural/\">This story was originally published in CalMatters.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Shasta County in rural Northern California has one of the state’s highest incarceration rates. Ask Robert Bowman what’s going on, and he takes a long, deep sigh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a perfect storm of bad,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bowman, director of the county’s program that helps formerly incarcerated people transition back to life outside, identifies three main drivers of crime in Shasta County: high housing costs, untreated mental illness and drug trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those are some of the same factors blamed for crime in other California counties that rank among the highest for incarcerated people, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.prisonpolicy.org/origin/ca/2020/report.html\">a report released this morning\u003c/a> by the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit that seeks to end mass incarceration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The report takes newly available data from California prisons to show where incarcerated people come from — not just their home counties, but their neighborhoods. The group’s stated intent is to show lawmakers where they can better direct public dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The neighborhoods where incarcerated people come from often have a higher percentage of Black and Latino residents than the state average, according to the report, while the counties that host the prisons are predominantly white.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The effect has been “the siphoning of political power from disproportionately Black and Latino communities to pad out the mostly rural and often predominantly white regions where prisons are located,” the study found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unsurprisingly, the most populous counties send the most people to state prison. Los Angeles County had the most people incarcerated, followed by Riverside and San Diego counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in some counties, though they have fewer total people in state prisons, the rate of incarceration is much higher than the statewide average of 310 per 100,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tiny Kings County in the San Joaquin Valley has the state’s highest incarceration rate at 666 per 100,000, the study found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shasta County ranked second among counties that send people to prison, with 663 county residents incarcerated per 100,000 people. The county of fewer than 200,000 is framed by mountains to its north, west and east. People move there for cheap land and open spaces, or burrow further into its hills to escape creeping modernity, Bowman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then we have those who have moved up here for political reasons and I’ll just leave it at that,” Bowman said with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one Shasta County census tract that encompasses most of the city of Redding, more than one in every 100 people is in a state prison.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> Disparities also persist in cities like Los Angeles, where the neighborhoods of Watts and Crenshaw have \u003ca href=\"https://www.prisonpolicy.org/origin/ca/2020/la_neighborhood.html\">more than five times\u003c/a> the incarceration rate of Bel-Air and Brentwood, according to the study’s calculations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s fewer Beverly Hills in our community,” Bowman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many of the same issues that crop up in Los Angeles and San Francisco are true in far Northern California: homelessness, untreated mental illness and a resistance among locals to new construction or lower-income housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bowman points to a proposed micro-shelter at a Lutheran church in Redding that would serve as transitional housing for up to five people. Neighbors hung a sign on a chain link fence: “Tiny Houses = Big Problems.” The shelter is \u003ca href=\"https://www.redding.com/story/news/2022/05/20/homeless-housing-units-could-open-fall-after-getting-reddings-ok/9843183002/\">expected to open this fall\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you have billions of dollars to spend, but yet your community is overwhelmingly ‘not in my backyard,’ then you can get nothing done,” Bowman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Prison Policy Initiative report is based on numbers provided by the state of California, which, for the first time in its 2020 census, counted incarcerated people in their home districts instead of the cities and counties where they’re incarcerated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea was to end what opponents called “prison gerrymandering,” which counted incarcerated people as residents of their prison’s county. California ended that practice in 2011 with \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_0401-0450/ab_420_bill_20110822_amended_sen_v93.pdf\">AB 420\u003c/a>, signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown, but the law did not take effect until 2020. Ten other states have taken similar steps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s redistricting maps were the first to count incarcerated people in their home districts. The process toward final approval by a state independent commission was\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/12/california-redistricting-final-maps/\"> fraught and messy\u003c/a>, but has so far survived without a legal challenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our hope is really that policymakers and service providers will use this data to kind of direct some of their thinking on how they make choices about the people that they serve,” said Prison Policy Initiative spokesperson Mike Wessler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For lawmakers, we hope that they’ll take a look at how many people in their own communities are lost to incarceration every single day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Prison Policy Initiative study was taken from a snapshot of the 122,000 people in state prisons on April 1, 2020. It doesn’t count people in federal prison or immigration detention, nor does it count those who were identified in court proceedings as unhoused. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Among cities with at least 20,000 people, Compton in Los Angeles County had the highest rate of incarceration, with 979 people incarcerated per 100,000 residents. It also has a higher Black and Latino population than the state average, which the report’s authors say mirrors a national trend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This suggests that policing, arrests and incarceration are disproportionately concentrated in a handful of Black communities across the county, such as Compton with its large Black population,” wrote the report’s authors, Emily Widra and Felicia Gomez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://censusreporter.org/profiles/14000US06029001500-census-tract-15-kern-ca/\">One census tract\u003c/a> in Kern County stands out. Just east of downtown Bakersfield, the 1-square-mile tract had 2,944 residents and 74 people in state prisons, or more than two out of every 100 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kern County also leads the state in homicide rate, a statistic the county’s residents and law enforcement struggle to explain. For the sixth consecutive year, the county led the state with a homicide rate of 13.7 homicides per 100,000 people. The statewide average is six homicides per 100,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of the smaller rural counties often are overlooked but actually have some of the highest incarceration rates in the entire state,” Wessler said. “A lot of these rural areas are also facing significant economic challenges.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You don’t have to remind Bowman, of the Shasta County STEP-UP program for those recently released from incarceration. First, in 2018, the Carr Fire \u003ca href=\"https://opr.ca.gov/docs/20220817-Shasta_County_Case_Study.pdf\">displaced thousands of people\u003c/a> in an area that was already struggling to control housing costs. Then, during the pandemic, wealthier residents of the Bay Area and Sacramento Valley started moving north, pushing up rents and home values. People already on the economic fringe were pushed to its edge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because now, landlords could charge whatever they want and there’s no reason for them to open up their homes” to affordable housing programs, Bowman said. “They can get someone who is displaced while their home’s being rebuilt (and) they can get a higher rent from that individual or family. So that’s a huge issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He is, however, ultimately optimistic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that there are a lot of good people that are trying to do the very best they can,” Bowman said. “It just takes time for the numbers to come down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Wage Theft: Car Wash Workers Still Await Millions in Pay, 3 Years Later",
"publishDate": 1661888825,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "Wage Theft: Car Wash Workers Still Await Millions in Pay, 3 Years Later | KQED",
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"term": 18481,
"site": "news"
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Lea este artículo \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/calmatters-en-espanol/2022/08/robo-de-salarios-trabajadores-de-lavado-de-autos-en-caso-de-2-3-millones-aun-esperan-su-pago-luego-de-3-anos/\">en español\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Antonio Dominguez had never seen a car wash before moving to Los Angeles from Mexico in 1997. As a 24-year-old day laborer, he’d walk home each day, stop along a palm-lined boulevard and watch a team of mostly Mexican workers sponge, rinse, dry and polish a line of cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was charmed by the waiting customers who seemed pleased with how their vehicles were left gleaming. And he simply loved the cars. In his Mexican hometown, there were few paved roads and cars were luxuries. “I just wanted to touch those cars, those new cars,” Dominguez said. “They came out so pretty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11906889,news_11916303,news_11920425\"]Dominguez worked five years at his first car wash job, earning only cash tips, and then was put on the payroll, though his weekly check often didn’t pay him for all of his hours, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his next job, at the Playa Vista Car Wash in Culver City, sometimes Dominguez and the other workers were told to wait in an alley for hours, uncompensated, or they were sent home with no pay, he and the state of California have said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019 the state Labor Commissioner’s office found Playa Vista had shortchanged Dominguez and 63 other workers in wages. It said it was fining the company more than $2.3 million in wage theft violations and penalties, its largest fine ever issued against a car wash business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years later, those workers have not been paid. Playa Vista appealed the fine. Last week the Labor Commissioner said both sides had reached a settlement agreement in principle, without describing the details.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An exercise in frustration\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Playa Vista’s owner, Hooman Nissani, in his appeal of the fines and citations has said the investigation was flawed and that an audit his company paid for indicates the car wash overpaid some of the staff. Through an attorney, he declined to comment to CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s enforcement of wage theft laws remains an exercise in frustration for workers and businesses alike, despite years of legislative efforts, some of America’s toughest labor laws, and some of the nation’s highest levels of \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/income-inequality-in-california/\">income inequality\u003c/a>, many experts and advocates said. In California’s wage theft cases, workers can wait months or years to be repaid lost or stolen wages — even when state regulators step in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year California workers filed nearly 19,000 individual stolen wage claims totaling more than $338 million, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/when-employers-steal-wages-from-workers/\">database\u003c/a> provided to CalMatters by the Labor Commissioner’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many claims did settle, the average case filed last year that got to a decision was 334 days old — well over the 135-day limit set by law — and thousands of cases filed in 2021 remain pending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the timeline for investigations can be lengthy, improvements in our laws have given the Labor Commissioner’s Office … new tools to assist workers in recovering stolen wages,” said Erika Monterroza, a spokesperson, adding the state has made progress on hiring people to help enforce those laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Antonio Dominguez, car wash worker\"]‘I would tell myself that in this country, I was nobody.’[/pullquote]She did not comment on the Playa Vista car wash case. The Playa Vista action was brought not by individual workers but by a state enforcement office, yet it is involved, years later, in a quasi-judicial and a civil litigation process, according to state documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is one of many investigations aimed at targeting wage theft in specific industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The most vulnerable\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Wage theft — or the failure by employers to pay employees what they are owed — typically affects the most vulnerable: people with the least education and financial means and fewest legal protections. Often they are immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924034\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924034\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12.jpg\" alt=\"A portrait of a Latino man in a beige polo shirt\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Antonio Dominguez, 48, started CleanWash Mobile with other car wash workers in Los Angeles. Nearby, the CLEAN Car Wash Center, a nonprofit, provides peer training, an auto detail program and information about health, safety and labor protections. ‘When one comes to this country, one thinks that it is normal to not be paid justly,’ said Dominguez, who has worked in the car wash industry for 23 years. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dominguez said he believes he was taken advantage of because he was ignorant of his rights. “I would tell myself that in this country, I was nobody,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now 48, Dominguez has graying black hair, bags under his eyes, deep wrinkles and a weary smile. He has described his experiences working at car washes to state investigators, in testimony and in interviews with CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He grew up the son of a small-plot farmer in the Mexican village of Molcaxac, which he said means “bird’s nest” in Náhuatl, the Aztec language. Dominguez remembers the countryside, situated in the central state of Puebla, as a semi-desert marvel of jaguars, eagles, coyotes, cacti, oak trees and cascading waterfalls. His childhood home was a sheet-metal house, and his father wore huaraches, a type of leather sandal, instead of shoes. They could only get by and never get ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had nothing,” Dominguez said. “We were poor by nature. There was only enough to eat, and just the essentials.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dominguez migrated to Los Angeles, finding himself in Mar Vista, a neighborhood of midcentury homes and cramped apartment complexes east of Venice Beach. With few connections, Dominguez first found work as a day laborer. On his walk home each day, he passed a large full-service car wash. He got a job there, he said, after striking up a conversation with a car wash worker who coincidentally was from his village.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A low-paying industry\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dominguez said he worked at that car wash from about 1997 to 2005. For the first five years, he said, he made tips only, often little more than $15 a day, and in his final years he was paid with weekly checks that barely were enough to cover his expenses and send some money home to his family in Mexico, chiefly his mother and sister.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dominguez advanced in his car-washing skills, learning all aspects of the business, he said. But in 2005 he returned to Mexico after longing for home and feeling disillusioned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You arrive at that moment where you say, ‘What am I doing here?’” Dominguez said. “Why suffer here if you’re better off over there?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around the same time that Dominguez began working in the car wash industry, Victor Narro, now a law professor and project director at the UCLA Labor Center, began researching low-wage workers as an advocate for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles nonprofit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups\" layout=\"responsive\" frameborder=\"0\" resizable src=\"https://calmatters-car-wash.netlify.app/industry-stats\" class=\"i-amphtml-layout-responsive i-amphtml-layout-size-defined\" role=\"button\" scrolling=\"yes\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2002, Narro helped UCLA law students interview 23 car wash workers for one of the earliest research papers on the industry in Los Angeles. Interviewers found several of the younger, more recently hired car washers were being paid only in tips, and many expressed the attitude of gratitude for the work — calling themselves propineros, a play on the Spanish word for “tip.” Narro presented the paper to Sacramento lawmakers as evidence that the industry needed regulation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was shocked when I was encountering that,” Narro told CalMatters. “It was a major practice, and we knew it was a crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Car wash laws\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Workers also were being paid per car, or daily rates, and some were being asked to work off the clock, Narro said. He found an ally in civil rights and antiwar activist Tom Hayden, a state senator who in 1999 authored \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=199920000SB1097\">a bill that would have required car wash businesses\u003c/a> to register with the Labor Commissioner and post surety bonds that could be used to recover unpaid wages and benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democratic Gov. Gray Davis initially vetoed the bill in 2000 but \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB1688\">signed an even more robust version three years later\u003c/a>, which, along with the registration requirement, created a restitution fund for car wash workers. The law required employers to carry surety bonds of at least $15,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2008 the United Steelworkers and the AFL-CIO launched a mostly unsuccessful attempt to organize Southern California car wash workers. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013 \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1387\">signed a bill\u003c/a> that increased the bond car washes are required to carry to $150,000, but it exempted owners who signed bargaining agreements with unions. These days there are 28 Los Angeles car washes with United Steelworkers Local 675 members, two others in Orange County and one in San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Ash Kalra, assemblymember from San José\"]‘We are collectively failing our workers throughout the state in industries where they need us the most.’[/pullquote]Critics say California’s enforcement of its requirement that car washes register with the state has lacked enforcement, particularly during the pandemic. A report this year by UCLA graduate students found 770 car washes registered with the state in 2020. But there were 2,015 of these establishments operating in California, according to 2020 U.S. census figures. Los Angeles County alone had 576 car washes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/10992949/embed\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" class=\"flourish-embed-iframe\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px;\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner issued only five citations in 2020 to car washes for not registering, and 13 in 2021. The agency had averaged 108 citations a year in the 10 years prior to the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More wage theft enforcement\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Ash Kalra, the San José Democrat who chairs the house’s Committee on Labor and Employment, said the Legislature needs to commit more funds to enforcement and the Labor Commissioner needs to deploy them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need more resources and more accountability, particularly in industries like the car wash industry,” he said. “We need to raise our voices and make it very clear that we are collectively failing our workers throughout the state in industries where they need us the most.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has added 288 people to the Labor Commissioner’s Office since January 2021, Monterroza said, including 116 in the Wage Claim Adjudication Unit and 63 in the Bureau of Field Enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner also gained new authority last year to put liens on the properties of businesses that are the subject of the state’s Bureau of Field Enforcement actions, she said, to secure final payments for things such as wage theft. Recently, the commission office used this tool to collect $282,000 from another car wash business, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Getting a bad rap\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>David Murillo, executive director of the Western Carwash Association, said California’s enforcement of its car wash regulations puts those who comply at a competitive disadvantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The good actors are paying for the bad actors,” added Chris Buscaglia, a former board member of the association. “We get the bad rap; we pay all the money. It’s a thorn in our side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/10992981/embed\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" class=\"flourish-embed-iframe\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px;\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"width: 100%!;margin-top: 4px!important;text-align: right!important\">\u003ca class=\"flourish-credit\" style=\"text-decoration: none!important\" href=\"https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/10992981/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/10992981\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 105px!important;height: 16px!important;border: none!important;margin: 0!important\" src=\"https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg\" alt=\"Made with Flourish\"> \u003c/a>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>By 2009, Dominguez, said he had returned to Los Angeles and was working a new job at Playa Vista, a full-service car wash with a gas station and convenience store on the corner of Centinela Avenue. With his years of experience, Dominguez said, he started at $10.25 an hour, which was $2.25 above the minimum wage then. He was content and proud, he said, to send money home to support his family in Mexico. He was later promoted to detailer and got a dollar-an-hour raise, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything was going so well,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, Nissani took over the business, and the pay and work environment changed, said Dominguez, as did other former Playa Vista workers interviewed by CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The workers described not getting paid for all their work, having to wait long hours off the clock and not being paid overtime, according to a state press release in 2019 describing citations the state issued against Playa Vista.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nissani appealed the state’s citations, saying some of the workers’ statements are untrue. Since then, COVID-19 and the administrative hearing process have made the case drag on for three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Hearsay evidence’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In July 2020, the Labor Commissioner also filed a lawsuit against the car wash, Nissani and general manager Keyvan Shamshoni in an attempt to compel them to pay the fines and back wages. Shamshoni also was named in the original citation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nissani filed objections to the suit, claiming the workers’ statements to the state inspector were hearsay and not backed by evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A trial in that civil case was postponed. During his appeal before the Labor Commissioner, Nissani has argued the investigation into his car wash was flawed and relied on anecdotal evidence. His appeal brief said the state’s investigator coaxed workers to sign “untruthful statements” and that the state’s fines and wage assumptions are “grossly inflated” and “riddled with erroneous, unfounded assumptions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924073\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1.jpg\" alt=\"a car wash\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Playa Vista Car Wash in Culver City on July 21, 2022. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In August 2021 Playa Vista submitted evidence supporting its case, including its own audit by a Los Angeles consulting firm that concluded the car wash may have overpaid its workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two former Playa Vista workers interviewed by CalMatters, Cesar Jacobo and Luis Diaz, told a different story. They also have described the changes under Nissani in sworn statements in the Labor Commissioner’s court case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his statement, 47-year-old Jacobo said the following: Nissani called a worker meeting in November 2014. With one of the managers translating, Nissani introduced himself as the new owner and announced there would no longer be overtime pay. Nissani then asked workers to sign letters agreeing to no further overtime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924074\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924074\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1.jpg\" alt=\"a car wash\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Playa Vista Car Wash in Culver City on July 21, 2022. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A few months later, Shamshoni told the staff they needed to report to work at 7:30 a.m. but workers would begin their shifts whenever managers decided.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He said that we could not walk or wait around the car wash, as that would disturb the clients that were waiting if they saw us and wanted us to work on their cars,” he continued in his statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Unpredictable hours\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The workers waited in alleys near the car wash, resulting in unpredictable work hours. When Jacobo complained, he said, he was given fewer hours in retaliation. Lunch also grew to be a problem, with workers asked to wait long stretches, sometimes two hours uncompensated, before returning to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In early 2018, Jacobo said that he was promoted to manager but asked to be demoted — in part because he felt uncomfortable choosing which workers would get work and which would not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his statement, Diaz, 56, said he was a manager who had worked at Playa Vista for 18 years when Nissani took over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924075\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924075\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1.jpg\" alt=\"a portrait of a middle-aged man posing by a green van\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luis Diaz worked in the garment industry for eight years until a friend offered to teach him how to wash cars for a living. ‘I realized that the tips really helped double my pay, and ever since then, it has been 24 years since I got into the car-washing industry,’ Diaz said. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In their statements, both Diaz and Jacobo said the new managers refused to call in additional workers even when the car wash was backed up with clients, in an effort to cut costs. Business deteriorated and workers went past eight hours a day as a result, they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Under Hooman (Nissani), the car wash was almost always understaffed: The managers hired way fewer people to operate the car wash on a daily basis than the previous owners, but we still had the same number of cars to service,” Jacobo said. “Oftentimes, I was the only person working in the detailing section, or in other sections of the business, and leaving those sections to take a break would result in leaving a part of the business unattended.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Playa Vista’s attorneys in their appeal wrote that the car wash was undergoing renovations, getting new car-washing equipment, and “as a result, the need for manual labor by employees diminished.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lost earnings\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dominguez said he remembers no punch clock, no means provided to record his hours. Managers kept track of workers’ hours, he said, a point also made by Jacobo and Diaz in their sworn statements. Like Dominguez, they said workers were given no process to keep track of their hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than anything, those long waits in the alley stand out in Dominguez’s memory. At times they would begin work at 8 a.m., other times 10 a.m., other times later, he said. As they waited their turn to work, the workers chatted, rested, played various games, even an occasional match of pickup soccer, Dominguez said. But mostly, they sat in frustration, he said, because they weren’t earning money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Losing income when his family in Mexico depended on him plunged Dominguez into despair, he said. He worked other jobs on his days off, at times returning to day labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you lose a day, you have to make it up some other way,” Dominguez said. “There isn’t an option of being without work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2017, Alejandra Hernandez, an inspector with the Labor Commissioner’s Bureau of Field Enforcement, received a tip about the pay practices at the Playa Vista Car Wash, according to court filings and records in Nissani’s appeal. By then, with 18 years’ experience, Hernandez had worked on at least 600 audits, 200 workplace inspections and 100 citations. The Playa Vista referral came from the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, a nonprofit organization born out of the 2008 unionization efforts. Jacobo is now an employee of CLEAN, and Dominguez has done occasional outreach and education work for the nonprofit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The referral was one of many stemming from the state’s enforcement efforts to eliminate wage theft in certain low-wage industries, including car wash businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Ripple effects\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>After years of individual workers struggling to navigate California’s lengthy wage claim process — often unsuccessfully — then-California Labor Secretary Julie Su began partnering with workers’ rights organizations in California to bring targeted, high-profile actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The theory of this partnership is that your average worker who works in janitorial or in a restaurant or even in agriculture, they’re not just going to go on their own to report the labor law violation,” said Amaya Jennifer Lin, a campaign manager for the National Employment Law Project who has worked with 17 worker centers and the Labor Commissioner’s office over the last six years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We hope to create, ideally, ripple effects across not just a worksite but across multiple employers and across industries,” Lin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Business groups argue that the thousands of claims filed by workers last year are only a tiny fraction of California’s $3.5 trillion economy and that most businesses are trying to comply with labor laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924078\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924078\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24.jpg\" alt=\"a man's hand wrings out a yellow washcloth\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luis Diaz rinses a cloth used to dry cars. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The vast majority … of California employers are compliant in paying wages timely and fairly while trying to untangle and decipher California’s complex and ever-growing body of employment law,” said Denise Davis, spokesperson for the California Chamber of Commerce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Economists who study the issue argue that such claims data doesn’t fully capture how much wage theft exists in the economy because so many workers simply don’t report these violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A new inspection\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When CLEAN’s referral about Playa Vista came to Hernandez, the inspector began an investigation that included surveillance of Playa Vista, two on-site inspections — including an “inspection warrant” on March 9, 2018 — and 19 worker interviews, she said in court records. Jacobo was one of the workers interviewed, Hernandez said in a sworn statement. Dominguez also spoke to investigators, according to records obtained through a public records request from the Labor Commissioner’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employees, including Shamshoni, gave sworn depositions, and the Labor Commissioner’s office issued subpoenas for payroll records and other business documents after Nissani refused to cooperate, according to filings in the court case. A central part of Nissani’s defense has been challenging Hernandez’s audit, arguing she did not interview all of the workers and therefore the state’s citations were too high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the audit was completed in March 2019, the state issued 12 citations against Nissani, Shamshoni and the business entity totaling $2.36 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state noted “workers were required to report to an alley next to the car wash 30 minutes before the business opened to be selected to work that day. Those not selected were typically sent home several hours later without being paid for the waiting time. Workers were also frequently required to take extended lunch breaks with no split shift premium, or worked up to 10 hours a day with no overtime pay. Managers regularly altered workers’ time cards to reduce total hours worked,” in a press release about its findings and citations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924080\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924080\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26.jpg\" alt=\"two men in beige shirts wash a car\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luis Diaz (left) and Rodrigo Hernandez wash a car outside the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center in Los Angeles, an organization that fights for fair wages and health and safety protections for workers. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dominguez said the process has been frustrating, like the days he worked at the car wash and waited in the alley. For the case, he would show up some days at a state office to testify remotely on one of their computers, only to wait around and eventually be sent home, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A worker model\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While he awaits resolution of the case, Dominguez and four other car wash workers have launched a new venture. On a recent weekday in July, Dominguez awoke at 6 a.m., he said, left his Mar Vista apartment and drove east to Montebello, traversing much of the city before traffic set in. He parked near a garage where he and a team of other self-employed workers, some from the Playa Vista case, keep a van stocked with car-washing equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dominguez, Diaz and some other car wash veterans started \u003ca href=\"https://www.cleancarwash.org/cooperative#cleanwashmobile\">CleanWash Mobile\u003c/a>, a worker-owned alternative to the car washes they’ve spent their lives in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before 7:30 a.m. Dominguez had pulled the CleanWash Mobile van up to the cracked, uneven driveway of CLEAN’s Los Angeles headquarters, a no-frills storefront with barred windows and a Farmers Insurance office as their back neighbor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cooperative had 10 customers lined up for a range of car-washing services, including some detailing work. By 8:30 a.m. Diaz and Rodrigo Hernandez, another former Playa Vista worker, had arrived, donning broad-brimmed hats to protect them from the rising sun and light beige polo shirts over their work clothes.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Future in his hands\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Their prices range from $40 for a sedan express wash to a full detail for $300. \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/04/27/governor-newsom-announces-appointments-4-27-22/\">Adonia Lugo\u003c/a>, a bicycle activist, university lecturer and recent appointee to the California Transportation Commission, got her car washed that day, saying she wanted to support the movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is worker-owned and these are people who are fighting to improve working conditions,” she said. “That’s totally a sustainable transportation issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pandemic ended Dominguez’s time at Playa Vista, he said, and like many lower-income workers, he struggled during lockdowns. He and his sisters sold food out of their kitchen to make ends meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bills don’t stop,” Dominguez said. “We all helped each other out, and that was the only way we survived.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924089\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924089\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31.jpg\" alt=\"a man in a beige shirt and bucket hat washes a car\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luis Diaz washes a vehicle outside the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center in Los Angeles on July 21, 2022. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dominguez counts himself lucky. One of his co-workers, Eduardo Flores, who also was a party to the Playa Vista case, died of COVID.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dominguez has suffered his own losses. His sister died in July. His mother died a year ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I lost my mom, I lost my sister, and they depended a lot on me, so now only I depend on myself,” Dominguez said. “My future is in my own hands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As more customers pulled their cars up, Hernandez, Díaz and Dominguez took turns lathering and scrubbing exteriors with sponges and neon-colored towels. The men’s movements were measured, their gaits slow. After a few hours all of the men’s cheeks were red and sweaty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dominguez would work until 7 p.m., not unlike the hours he put in at a commercial car wash, but the pressure was different, he said, taking a break, watching cars zoom by on Washington Boulevard. Working for yourself, he said, you can set the pace, take your time, cast your thoughts back toward home, toward a little village to which you might one day return.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the work they do now, the men pay themselves $17.25 an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>CalMatters reporter Jeanne Kuang and data reporter Erica Yee contributed reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The state said the case against the Playa Vista Car Wash in Culver City would be the largest wage theft payout by a California car wash — but Antonio Dominguez and dozens of other car washers have yet to see their unpaid wages.",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/alejandro-lazo/\">Alejandro Lazo\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/author/lil-kalish/\">Lil Kalish\u003c/a>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Lea este artículo \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/calmatters-en-espanol/2022/08/robo-de-salarios-trabajadores-de-lavado-de-autos-en-caso-de-2-3-millones-aun-esperan-su-pago-luego-de-3-anos/\">en español\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Antonio Dominguez had never seen a car wash before moving to Los Angeles from Mexico in 1997. As a 24-year-old day laborer, he’d walk home each day, stop along a palm-lined boulevard and watch a team of mostly Mexican workers sponge, rinse, dry and polish a line of cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was charmed by the waiting customers who seemed pleased with how their vehicles were left gleaming. And he simply loved the cars. In his Mexican hometown, there were few paved roads and cars were luxuries. “I just wanted to touch those cars, those new cars,” Dominguez said. “They came out so pretty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Dominguez worked five years at his first car wash job, earning only cash tips, and then was put on the payroll, though his weekly check often didn’t pay him for all of his hours, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his next job, at the Playa Vista Car Wash in Culver City, sometimes Dominguez and the other workers were told to wait in an alley for hours, uncompensated, or they were sent home with no pay, he and the state of California have said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019 the state Labor Commissioner’s office found Playa Vista had shortchanged Dominguez and 63 other workers in wages. It said it was fining the company more than $2.3 million in wage theft violations and penalties, its largest fine ever issued against a car wash business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years later, those workers have not been paid. Playa Vista appealed the fine. Last week the Labor Commissioner said both sides had reached a settlement agreement in principle, without describing the details.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>An exercise in frustration\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Playa Vista’s owner, Hooman Nissani, in his appeal of the fines and citations has said the investigation was flawed and that an audit his company paid for indicates the car wash overpaid some of the staff. Through an attorney, he declined to comment to CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s enforcement of wage theft laws remains an exercise in frustration for workers and businesses alike, despite years of legislative efforts, some of America’s toughest labor laws, and some of the nation’s highest levels of \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/income-inequality-in-california/\">income inequality\u003c/a>, many experts and advocates said. In California’s wage theft cases, workers can wait months or years to be repaid lost or stolen wages — even when state regulators step in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year California workers filed nearly 19,000 individual stolen wage claims totaling more than $338 million, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/when-employers-steal-wages-from-workers/\">database\u003c/a> provided to CalMatters by the Labor Commissioner’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many claims did settle, the average case filed last year that got to a decision was 334 days old — well over the 135-day limit set by law — and thousands of cases filed in 2021 remain pending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the timeline for investigations can be lengthy, improvements in our laws have given the Labor Commissioner’s Office … new tools to assist workers in recovering stolen wages,” said Erika Monterroza, a spokesperson, adding the state has made progress on hiring people to help enforce those laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘I would tell myself that in this country, I was nobody.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>She did not comment on the Playa Vista car wash case. The Playa Vista action was brought not by individual workers but by a state enforcement office, yet it is involved, years later, in a quasi-judicial and a civil litigation process, according to state documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is one of many investigations aimed at targeting wage theft in specific industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The most vulnerable\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Wage theft — or the failure by employers to pay employees what they are owed — typically affects the most vulnerable: people with the least education and financial means and fewest legal protections. Often they are immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924034\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924034\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12.jpg\" alt=\"A portrait of a Latino man in a beige polo shirt\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_Dominguez_PU_CM_12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Antonio Dominguez, 48, started CleanWash Mobile with other car wash workers in Los Angeles. Nearby, the CLEAN Car Wash Center, a nonprofit, provides peer training, an auto detail program and information about health, safety and labor protections. ‘When one comes to this country, one thinks that it is normal to not be paid justly,’ said Dominguez, who has worked in the car wash industry for 23 years. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dominguez said he believes he was taken advantage of because he was ignorant of his rights. “I would tell myself that in this country, I was nobody,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now 48, Dominguez has graying black hair, bags under his eyes, deep wrinkles and a weary smile. He has described his experiences working at car washes to state investigators, in testimony and in interviews with CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He grew up the son of a small-plot farmer in the Mexican village of Molcaxac, which he said means “bird’s nest” in Náhuatl, the Aztec language. Dominguez remembers the countryside, situated in the central state of Puebla, as a semi-desert marvel of jaguars, eagles, coyotes, cacti, oak trees and cascading waterfalls. His childhood home was a sheet-metal house, and his father wore huaraches, a type of leather sandal, instead of shoes. They could only get by and never get ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had nothing,” Dominguez said. “We were poor by nature. There was only enough to eat, and just the essentials.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dominguez migrated to Los Angeles, finding himself in Mar Vista, a neighborhood of midcentury homes and cramped apartment complexes east of Venice Beach. With few connections, Dominguez first found work as a day laborer. On his walk home each day, he passed a large full-service car wash. He got a job there, he said, after striking up a conversation with a car wash worker who coincidentally was from his village.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A low-paying industry\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dominguez said he worked at that car wash from about 1997 to 2005. For the first five years, he said, he made tips only, often little more than $15 a day, and in his final years he was paid with weekly checks that barely were enough to cover his expenses and send some money home to his family in Mexico, chiefly his mother and sister.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dominguez advanced in his car-washing skills, learning all aspects of the business, he said. But in 2005 he returned to Mexico after longing for home and feeling disillusioned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You arrive at that moment where you say, ‘What am I doing here?’” Dominguez said. “Why suffer here if you’re better off over there?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around the same time that Dominguez began working in the car wash industry, Victor Narro, now a law professor and project director at the UCLA Labor Center, began researching low-wage workers as an advocate for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles nonprofit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups\" layout=\"responsive\" frameborder=\"0\" resizable src=\"https://calmatters-car-wash.netlify.app/industry-stats\" class=\"i-amphtml-layout-responsive i-amphtml-layout-size-defined\" role=\"button\" scrolling=\"yes\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2002, Narro helped UCLA law students interview 23 car wash workers for one of the earliest research papers on the industry in Los Angeles. Interviewers found several of the younger, more recently hired car washers were being paid only in tips, and many expressed the attitude of gratitude for the work — calling themselves propineros, a play on the Spanish word for “tip.” Narro presented the paper to Sacramento lawmakers as evidence that the industry needed regulation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was shocked when I was encountering that,” Narro told CalMatters. “It was a major practice, and we knew it was a crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Car wash laws\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Workers also were being paid per car, or daily rates, and some were being asked to work off the clock, Narro said. He found an ally in civil rights and antiwar activist Tom Hayden, a state senator who in 1999 authored \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=199920000SB1097\">a bill that would have required car wash businesses\u003c/a> to register with the Labor Commissioner and post surety bonds that could be used to recover unpaid wages and benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democratic Gov. Gray Davis initially vetoed the bill in 2000 but \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB1688\">signed an even more robust version three years later\u003c/a>, which, along with the registration requirement, created a restitution fund for car wash workers. The law required employers to carry surety bonds of at least $15,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2008 the United Steelworkers and the AFL-CIO launched a mostly unsuccessful attempt to organize Southern California car wash workers. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013 \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1387\">signed a bill\u003c/a> that increased the bond car washes are required to carry to $150,000, but it exempted owners who signed bargaining agreements with unions. These days there are 28 Los Angeles car washes with United Steelworkers Local 675 members, two others in Orange County and one in San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘We are collectively failing our workers throughout the state in industries where they need us the most.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Critics say California’s enforcement of its requirement that car washes register with the state has lacked enforcement, particularly during the pandemic. A report this year by UCLA graduate students found 770 car washes registered with the state in 2020. But there were 2,015 of these establishments operating in California, according to 2020 U.S. census figures. Los Angeles County alone had 576 car washes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/10992949/embed\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" class=\"flourish-embed-iframe\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px;\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner issued only five citations in 2020 to car washes for not registering, and 13 in 2021. The agency had averaged 108 citations a year in the 10 years prior to the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More wage theft enforcement\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Ash Kalra, the San José Democrat who chairs the house’s Committee on Labor and Employment, said the Legislature needs to commit more funds to enforcement and the Labor Commissioner needs to deploy them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need more resources and more accountability, particularly in industries like the car wash industry,” he said. “We need to raise our voices and make it very clear that we are collectively failing our workers throughout the state in industries where they need us the most.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has added 288 people to the Labor Commissioner’s Office since January 2021, Monterroza said, including 116 in the Wage Claim Adjudication Unit and 63 in the Bureau of Field Enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Labor Commissioner also gained new authority last year to put liens on the properties of businesses that are the subject of the state’s Bureau of Field Enforcement actions, she said, to secure final payments for things such as wage theft. Recently, the commission office used this tool to collect $282,000 from another car wash business, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Getting a bad rap\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>David Murillo, executive director of the Western Carwash Association, said California’s enforcement of its car wash regulations puts those who comply at a competitive disadvantage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The good actors are paying for the bad actors,” added Chris Buscaglia, a former board member of the association. “We get the bad rap; we pay all the money. It’s a thorn in our side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/10992981/embed\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" class=\"flourish-embed-iframe\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px;\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"width: 100%!;margin-top: 4px!important;text-align: right!important\">\u003ca class=\"flourish-credit\" style=\"text-decoration: none!important\" href=\"https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/10992981/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/10992981\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 105px!important;height: 16px!important;border: none!important;margin: 0!important\" src=\"https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg\" alt=\"Made with Flourish\"> \u003c/a>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>By 2009, Dominguez, said he had returned to Los Angeles and was working a new job at Playa Vista, a full-service car wash with a gas station and convenience store on the corner of Centinela Avenue. With his years of experience, Dominguez said, he started at $10.25 an hour, which was $2.25 above the minimum wage then. He was content and proud, he said, to send money home to support his family in Mexico. He was later promoted to detailer and got a dollar-an-hour raise, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everything was going so well,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2014, Nissani took over the business, and the pay and work environment changed, said Dominguez, as did other former Playa Vista workers interviewed by CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The workers described not getting paid for all their work, having to wait long hours off the clock and not being paid overtime, according to a state press release in 2019 describing citations the state issued against Playa Vista.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nissani appealed the state’s citations, saying some of the workers’ statements are untrue. Since then, COVID-19 and the administrative hearing process have made the case drag on for three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Hearsay evidence’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In July 2020, the Labor Commissioner also filed a lawsuit against the car wash, Nissani and general manager Keyvan Shamshoni in an attempt to compel them to pay the fines and back wages. Shamshoni also was named in the original citation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nissani filed objections to the suit, claiming the workers’ statements to the state inspector were hearsay and not backed by evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A trial in that civil case was postponed. During his appeal before the Labor Commissioner, Nissani has argued the investigation into his car wash was flawed and relied on anecdotal evidence. His appeal brief said the state’s investigator coaxed workers to sign “untruthful statements” and that the state’s fines and wage assumptions are “grossly inflated” and “riddled with erroneous, unfounded assumptions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924073\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1.jpg\" alt=\"a car wash\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_39-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Playa Vista Car Wash in Culver City on July 21, 2022. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In August 2021 Playa Vista submitted evidence supporting its case, including its own audit by a Los Angeles consulting firm that concluded the car wash may have overpaid its workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two former Playa Vista workers interviewed by CalMatters, Cesar Jacobo and Luis Diaz, told a different story. They also have described the changes under Nissani in sworn statements in the Labor Commissioner’s court case.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his statement, 47-year-old Jacobo said the following: Nissani called a worker meeting in November 2014. With one of the managers translating, Nissani introduced himself as the new owner and announced there would no longer be overtime pay. Nissani then asked workers to sign letters agreeing to no further overtime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924074\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924074\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1.jpg\" alt=\"a car wash\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Playa_Vista_Car_Wash_PU_CM_42-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Playa Vista Car Wash in Culver City on July 21, 2022. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A few months later, Shamshoni told the staff they needed to report to work at 7:30 a.m. but workers would begin their shifts whenever managers decided.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He said that we could not walk or wait around the car wash, as that would disturb the clients that were waiting if they saw us and wanted us to work on their cars,” he continued in his statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Unpredictable hours\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The workers waited in alleys near the car wash, resulting in unpredictable work hours. When Jacobo complained, he said, he was given fewer hours in retaliation. Lunch also grew to be a problem, with workers asked to wait long stretches, sometimes two hours uncompensated, before returning to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In early 2018, Jacobo said that he was promoted to manager but asked to be demoted — in part because he felt uncomfortable choosing which workers would get work and which would not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his statement, Diaz, 56, said he was a manager who had worked at Playa Vista for 18 years when Nissani took over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924075\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924075\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1.jpg\" alt=\"a portrait of a middle-aged man posing by a green van\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_05-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luis Diaz worked in the garment industry for eight years until a friend offered to teach him how to wash cars for a living. ‘I realized that the tips really helped double my pay, and ever since then, it has been 24 years since I got into the car-washing industry,’ Diaz said. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In their statements, both Diaz and Jacobo said the new managers refused to call in additional workers even when the car wash was backed up with clients, in an effort to cut costs. Business deteriorated and workers went past eight hours a day as a result, they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Under Hooman (Nissani), the car wash was almost always understaffed: The managers hired way fewer people to operate the car wash on a daily basis than the previous owners, but we still had the same number of cars to service,” Jacobo said. “Oftentimes, I was the only person working in the detailing section, or in other sections of the business, and leaving those sections to take a break would result in leaving a part of the business unattended.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Playa Vista’s attorneys in their appeal wrote that the car wash was undergoing renovations, getting new car-washing equipment, and “as a result, the need for manual labor by employees diminished.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lost earnings\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dominguez said he remembers no punch clock, no means provided to record his hours. Managers kept track of workers’ hours, he said, a point also made by Jacobo and Diaz in their sworn statements. Like Dominguez, they said workers were given no process to keep track of their hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than anything, those long waits in the alley stand out in Dominguez’s memory. At times they would begin work at 8 a.m., other times 10 a.m., other times later, he said. As they waited their turn to work, the workers chatted, rested, played various games, even an occasional match of pickup soccer, Dominguez said. But mostly, they sat in frustration, he said, because they weren’t earning money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Losing income when his family in Mexico depended on him plunged Dominguez into despair, he said. He worked other jobs on his days off, at times returning to day labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you lose a day, you have to make it up some other way,” Dominguez said. “There isn’t an option of being without work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In December 2017, Alejandra Hernandez, an inspector with the Labor Commissioner’s Bureau of Field Enforcement, received a tip about the pay practices at the Playa Vista Car Wash, according to court filings and records in Nissani’s appeal. By then, with 18 years’ experience, Hernandez had worked on at least 600 audits, 200 workplace inspections and 100 citations. The Playa Vista referral came from the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, a nonprofit organization born out of the 2008 unionization efforts. Jacobo is now an employee of CLEAN, and Dominguez has done occasional outreach and education work for the nonprofit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The referral was one of many stemming from the state’s enforcement efforts to eliminate wage theft in certain low-wage industries, including car wash businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Ripple effects\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>After years of individual workers struggling to navigate California’s lengthy wage claim process — often unsuccessfully — then-California Labor Secretary Julie Su began partnering with workers’ rights organizations in California to bring targeted, high-profile actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The theory of this partnership is that your average worker who works in janitorial or in a restaurant or even in agriculture, they’re not just going to go on their own to report the labor law violation,” said Amaya Jennifer Lin, a campaign manager for the National Employment Law Project who has worked with 17 worker centers and the Labor Commissioner’s office over the last six years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We hope to create, ideally, ripple effects across not just a worksite but across multiple employers and across industries,” Lin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Business groups argue that the thousands of claims filed by workers last year are only a tiny fraction of California’s $3.5 trillion economy and that most businesses are trying to comply with labor laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924078\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924078\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24.jpg\" alt=\"a man's hand wrings out a yellow washcloth\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_24-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luis Diaz rinses a cloth used to dry cars. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The vast majority … of California employers are compliant in paying wages timely and fairly while trying to untangle and decipher California’s complex and ever-growing body of employment law,” said Denise Davis, spokesperson for the California Chamber of Commerce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Economists who study the issue argue that such claims data doesn’t fully capture how much wage theft exists in the economy because so many workers simply don’t report these violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A new inspection\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When CLEAN’s referral about Playa Vista came to Hernandez, the inspector began an investigation that included surveillance of Playa Vista, two on-site inspections — including an “inspection warrant” on March 9, 2018 — and 19 worker interviews, she said in court records. Jacobo was one of the workers interviewed, Hernandez said in a sworn statement. Dominguez also spoke to investigators, according to records obtained through a public records request from the Labor Commissioner’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Employees, including Shamshoni, gave sworn depositions, and the Labor Commissioner’s office issued subpoenas for payroll records and other business documents after Nissani refused to cooperate, according to filings in the court case. A central part of Nissani’s defense has been challenging Hernandez’s audit, arguing she did not interview all of the workers and therefore the state’s citations were too high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the audit was completed in March 2019, the state issued 12 citations against Nissani, Shamshoni and the business entity totaling $2.36 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state noted “workers were required to report to an alley next to the car wash 30 minutes before the business opened to be selected to work that day. Those not selected were typically sent home several hours later without being paid for the waiting time. Workers were also frequently required to take extended lunch breaks with no split shift premium, or worked up to 10 hours a day with no overtime pay. Managers regularly altered workers’ time cards to reduce total hours worked,” in a press release about its findings and citations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924080\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924080\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26.jpg\" alt=\"two men in beige shirts wash a car\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_Car_Wash_CleanOP_PU_CM_26-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luis Diaz (left) and Rodrigo Hernandez wash a car outside the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center in Los Angeles, an organization that fights for fair wages and health and safety protections for workers. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dominguez said the process has been frustrating, like the days he worked at the car wash and waited in the alley. For the case, he would show up some days at a state office to testify remotely on one of their computers, only to wait around and eventually be sent home, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A worker model\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While he awaits resolution of the case, Dominguez and four other car wash workers have launched a new venture. On a recent weekday in July, Dominguez awoke at 6 a.m., he said, left his Mar Vista apartment and drove east to Montebello, traversing much of the city before traffic set in. He parked near a garage where he and a team of other self-employed workers, some from the Playa Vista case, keep a van stocked with car-washing equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dominguez, Diaz and some other car wash veterans started \u003ca href=\"https://www.cleancarwash.org/cooperative#cleanwashmobile\">CleanWash Mobile\u003c/a>, a worker-owned alternative to the car washes they’ve spent their lives in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before 7:30 a.m. Dominguez had pulled the CleanWash Mobile van up to the cracked, uneven driveway of CLEAN’s Los Angeles headquarters, a no-frills storefront with barred windows and a Farmers Insurance office as their back neighbor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cooperative had 10 customers lined up for a range of car-washing services, including some detailing work. By 8:30 a.m. Diaz and Rodrigo Hernandez, another former Playa Vista worker, had arrived, donning broad-brimmed hats to protect them from the rising sun and light beige polo shirts over their work clothes.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Future in his hands\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Their prices range from $40 for a sedan express wash to a full detail for $300. \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/04/27/governor-newsom-announces-appointments-4-27-22/\">Adonia Lugo\u003c/a>, a bicycle activist, university lecturer and recent appointee to the California Transportation Commission, got her car washed that day, saying she wanted to support the movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is worker-owned and these are people who are fighting to improve working conditions,” she said. “That’s totally a sustainable transportation issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pandemic ended Dominguez’s time at Playa Vista, he said, and like many lower-income workers, he struggled during lockdowns. He and his sisters sold food out of their kitchen to make ends meet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bills don’t stop,” Dominguez said. “We all helped each other out, and that was the only way we survived.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11924089\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11924089\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31.jpg\" alt=\"a man in a beige shirt and bucket hat washes a car\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/07212022_CleanOP_PU_CM_31-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Luis Diaz washes a vehicle outside the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center in Los Angeles on July 21, 2022. \u003ccite>(Pablo Unzueta/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dominguez counts himself lucky. One of his co-workers, Eduardo Flores, who also was a party to the Playa Vista case, died of COVID.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dominguez has suffered his own losses. His sister died in July. His mother died a year ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I lost my mom, I lost my sister, and they depended a lot on me, so now only I depend on myself,” Dominguez said. “My future is in my own hands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As more customers pulled their cars up, Hernandez, Díaz and Dominguez took turns lathering and scrubbing exteriors with sponges and neon-colored towels. The men’s movements were measured, their gaits slow. After a few hours all of the men’s cheeks were red and sweaty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dominguez would work until 7 p.m., not unlike the hours he put in at a commercial car wash, but the pressure was different, he said, taking a break, watching cars zoom by on Washington Boulevard. Working for yourself, he said, you can set the pace, take your time, cast your thoughts back toward home, toward a little village to which you might one day return.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the work they do now, the men pay themselves $17.25 an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>CalMatters reporter Jeanne Kuang and data reporter Erica Yee contributed reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Across California, parents’ pandemic-era frustrations over everything from COVID school closures and safety protocols to the power of teachers unions are driving them to run for school boards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some are motivated by national controversies, such as critical race theory and LGBTQ+ education. Others want to make sure the record amount of money pouring into California schools benefits students directly. According to the California School Boards Association, about half of the approximately 5,000 school board seats in the state are up for election this year, but there’s no official count of how many parents are running for these offices that have drawn so much ire during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s clear that we’re really investing in our public schools,” said Taylor Kayatta, a parent and school board candidate in Sacramento. “Whatever money we’re making this year should be spent on this year’s students. I don’t like the idea of putting money away just to put it away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kayatta said he wants to streamline the clunky bureaucracy at Sacramento City Unified, which he and his family experienced firsthand. As he goes door to door to speak to voters, he starts the conversation with the story of his son and the struggle to get him a speech therapist through the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a year or two where every day I’d wake up and say, ‘Is this the day when we put our house on the market and move to Folsom?’” he said. “Because if I couldn’t get my son the services he needed, there was only so much I could push.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 37-year-old attorney is seeking public office for the first time. Kayatta’s campaign for school board is a throwback to pre-pandemic times: more transparency, better communication and fiscal responsibility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The local teachers union at Sacramento City Unified endorsed him, but Kayatta knows the endorsement might be a liability. Antagonism toward teachers unions fueled much of the parent activism during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People might say that I’m a lackey,” he said. “But I’ve told the union that I’m not going to silence myself.”[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11922860,news_11879696,news_11907806\"]In other parts of the state, parents who believed their personal liberties were violated by mask and vaccine mandates and sex education curricula found allies among school choice advocates and longtime opponents of teachers unions. The state Republican party has been tapping into this \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11922860/california-republicans-are-betting-big-on-local-school-board-races\">“parental rights” platform\u003c/a> to support candidates it believes are aligned with its agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, some school boards are struggling to find viable candidates. In some cases, that means that candidates some consider extremists, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/A-Bay-Area-school-board-candidate-holds-extremist-17370172.php\">Dennis Delisle in Morgan Hill\u003c/a>, run unopposed. In Sacramento County, Jeffrey Perrine, who last year \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/article264522856.html\">told The Sacramento Bee\u003c/a> that \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/article264522856.html\">he was a member of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys\u003c/a>, is running for the board of the San Juan Unified School District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kayatta said he’s more focused on making sure his district spends its money on teachers, avoids future labor disputes and attracts more families to its schools. He said Sacramento City Unified has been insulated from the national controversies that have plagued other districts during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In urban districts, those aren’t huge issues,” Kayatta said. “I think it’s something of a blue bubble, maybe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even in San Diego, school board candidates struggled to see eye to eye with voters who seemed to only want to talk about sex education and critical race theory, an academic framework that examines how race is a construct of society and its laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I told them parents always had control, that they could always opt out and that there were no critical race theory-based classes,” said Lily Higman, who ran in the June primary for San Diego Unified’s school board and lost. “But they were pushing these issues so hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Higman’s platform included hiring more counselors and addressing chronic absenteeism. But voters’ obsession with national education controversies consumed the conversation, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t let them shape my platform, and that was probably to my detriment,” Higman said. “There’s such a big group of kids that have fallen behind, and while voters agree with that, they can’t get off critical race theory and sex ed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vladimir Kogan, a political science professor at The Ohio State University who has written about local politics in California, said he’s skeptical that the most vocal voters are representative of a community. He said a large body of research shows that candidates often misperceive public opinion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is always the danger of democracy,” he said. “It’s always hard to know what your constituents want because it’s so expensive to poll.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘The year of the parent’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Lily Higman, June primary candidate, San Diego Unified school board\"]‘There’s such a big group of kids that have fallen behind, and while voters agree with that, they can’t get off critical race theory and sex ed.’[/pullquote]In Orange County, opposition to COVID safety protocols converged with advocacy for charter schools. The Orange County Board of Education drew public attention during the pandemic \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-08-04/o-c-board-of-education-to-sue-newsom-over-k-12-school-mask-mandate\">when it sued Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> for mandating masks on campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They were saying, ‘I don’t want my kids vaccinated and I don’t want my kids masked,’” said former board president Mari Barke. “I think this is going to be the year of the parent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barke was mentioned \u003ca href=\"https://www.salon.com/2022/03/15/how-this-tiny-christian-college-is-driving-the-rights-nationwide-against-public-schools/\">in a Salon article\u003c/a> in March that pointed out that her husband, Jeff Barke, a physician who denied the severity of COVID-19, had founded a charter school that uses curriculum provided by a Christian college. Barke said she recused herself when the county board voted to approve the charter school. But her opponents remain critical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In June, Barke was up for reelection, a race that was characterized as a referendum on her leadership. Barke defeated Martha Fluor, a former board member at Newport-Mesa Unified. Fluor ran with the teachers union endorsement and lost with 32% of the vote to Barke’s 59%. Barke said she wanted to run to protect the rights of “mama bears and papa bears.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think just naturally, if you are uncomfortable with the mandates at your local district, then you might want more options, whether that’s to attend a virtual school or a charter school in the area,” Barke said. “When people feel their parental rights are being diminished to a degree, I think they want more options.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fluor, a former Republican who left the party after the Jan. 6 insurrection, said she ran to defeat what she called an extremist coalition subjecting schools to its political agenda. Fluor said the county board would often pray before meetings and opposed masks and vaccines. She said she and other like-minded candidates would have won if the election had been held in November, when more people are likely to vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This race was really about political, ultraconservative ideology versus what’s in the best interest of kids,” Fluor said. “The low voter turnout was our downfall.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Political scientists have long suspected that the parents who show up at board meetings don’t necessarily represent the majority of their communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s probably the case that the most vocal people on both sides are really the vocal minority, and they’re not speaking for most parents,” said Kogan, the political science professor. “That’s especially going to be true in urban districts serving the most disadvantaged students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the most vocal organizations has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.letthembreathe.net/\">Let Them Breathe\u003c/a>, which started as a group of parents opposing mask mandates at school districts in Southern California. Sharon McKeeman, founder of the group, is now running for the Carlsbad Unified school board in northern San Diego County. In 2021, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2021-12-20/sd-me-san-diego-unified-mandate-ruling\">Let Them Breathe sued San Diego Unified\u003c/a>, the second-largest district in the state, over its vaccine mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McKeeman said she’s seeking office after witnessing teachers unions using students as a “bargaining chip” and delaying the reopening of schools after they were shut down in the early days of the pandemic. She said she’ll refuse to reinstate any mask mandates, even if teachers unions push for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will provide them with the resources so they can focus on teaching,” she said. “I’m just not going to bow to union interests.”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Martha Fluor, June primary candidate, Orange County Board of Education\"]‘This race was really about political, ultraconservative ideology versus what’s in the best interest of kids.’[/pullquote]McKeeman said most teachers wanted to come back to in-person instruction sooner. She said she would be open to salary increases for teachers, considering how much money is going to public school districts. She wants to hire more art teachers in particular and reduce class sizes to raise math and reading test scores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she’s also calling for more parental oversight of what’s being taught in classrooms, especially when it comes to sex education. Parents who became politically active by opposing vaccine and mask mandates also seem to oppose lessons that “divide the family unit,” McKeeman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Parents saw the government overreach and force their children into masks,” she said. “Those parents are looking into what else is going on in their children’s school and curriculum.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, Kayatta said parents support masking and vaccines. He said districts need to remain vigilant and reinstate masking policies if the number of cases and hospitalizations rises again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of school districts in the country are like, ‘That’s over now,’” Kayatta said. “I don’t think we’re quite there yet. I think we need to keep an eye on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to local school governance, parent activists want \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2022/06/california-schools-stimulus-funds-oversight/\">transparency\u003c/a> in how districts are handling the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11879696/special-ed-and-high-needs-students-get-windfall-in-budget-deal\">billions of dollars in federal relief money\u003c/a> they are receiving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Before COVID, if you asked parents to name a member of their school board, I guarantee most would have come up with nothing,” said Megan Bacigalupi, the founder of CA Parent Power, a parent advocacy group established during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bacigalupi said parents are most concerned about the quality of education and the mental health of students. “Risk of COVID infection is dead last,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t mean to keep talking about COVID, but there’s certainly money being spent on it,” she said. “Where parents want the money to be allocated is very different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kayatta said he disagrees with large parts of the growing parent coalition, but he believes the new interest in politics among parents has made it easier to campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think parents are paying a lot more attention now on either side,” Kayatta said. “A lot of that came from having your kids at home. That’s not going away anytime soon.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Across California, parents’ pandemic-era frustrations over everything from COVID school closures and safety protocols to the power of teachers unions are driving them to run for school boards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some are motivated by national controversies, such as critical race theory and LGBTQ+ education. Others want to make sure the record amount of money pouring into California schools benefits students directly. According to the California School Boards Association, about half of the approximately 5,000 school board seats in the state are up for election this year, but there’s no official count of how many parents are running for these offices that have drawn so much ire during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s clear that we’re really investing in our public schools,” said Taylor Kayatta, a parent and school board candidate in Sacramento. “Whatever money we’re making this year should be spent on this year’s students. I don’t like the idea of putting money away just to put it away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kayatta said he wants to streamline the clunky bureaucracy at Sacramento City Unified, which he and his family experienced firsthand. As he goes door to door to speak to voters, he starts the conversation with the story of his son and the struggle to get him a speech therapist through the district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a year or two where every day I’d wake up and say, ‘Is this the day when we put our house on the market and move to Folsom?’” he said. “Because if I couldn’t get my son the services he needed, there was only so much I could push.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 37-year-old attorney is seeking public office for the first time. Kayatta’s campaign for school board is a throwback to pre-pandemic times: more transparency, better communication and fiscal responsibility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The local teachers union at Sacramento City Unified endorsed him, but Kayatta knows the endorsement might be a liability. Antagonism toward teachers unions fueled much of the parent activism during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People might say that I’m a lackey,” he said. “But I’ve told the union that I’m not going to silence myself.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In other parts of the state, parents who believed their personal liberties were violated by mask and vaccine mandates and sex education curricula found allies among school choice advocates and longtime opponents of teachers unions. The state Republican party has been tapping into this \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11922860/california-republicans-are-betting-big-on-local-school-board-races\">“parental rights” platform\u003c/a> to support candidates it believes are aligned with its agenda.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, some school boards are struggling to find viable candidates. In some cases, that means that candidates some consider extremists, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/A-Bay-Area-school-board-candidate-holds-extremist-17370172.php\">Dennis Delisle in Morgan Hill\u003c/a>, run unopposed. In Sacramento County, Jeffrey Perrine, who last year \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/article264522856.html\">told The Sacramento Bee\u003c/a> that \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/article264522856.html\">he was a member of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys\u003c/a>, is running for the board of the San Juan Unified School District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kayatta said he’s more focused on making sure his district spends its money on teachers, avoids future labor disputes and attracts more families to its schools. He said Sacramento City Unified has been insulated from the national controversies that have plagued other districts during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In urban districts, those aren’t huge issues,” Kayatta said. “I think it’s something of a blue bubble, maybe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even in San Diego, school board candidates struggled to see eye to eye with voters who seemed to only want to talk about sex education and critical race theory, an academic framework that examines how race is a construct of society and its laws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I told them parents always had control, that they could always opt out and that there were no critical race theory-based classes,” said Lily Higman, who ran in the June primary for San Diego Unified’s school board and lost. “But they were pushing these issues so hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Higman’s platform included hiring more counselors and addressing chronic absenteeism. But voters’ obsession with national education controversies consumed the conversation, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t let them shape my platform, and that was probably to my detriment,” Higman said. “There’s such a big group of kids that have fallen behind, and while voters agree with that, they can’t get off critical race theory and sex ed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vladimir Kogan, a political science professor at The Ohio State University who has written about local politics in California, said he’s skeptical that the most vocal voters are representative of a community. He said a large body of research shows that candidates often misperceive public opinion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is always the danger of democracy,” he said. “It’s always hard to know what your constituents want because it’s so expensive to poll.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘The year of the parent’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In Orange County, opposition to COVID safety protocols converged with advocacy for charter schools. The Orange County Board of Education drew public attention during the pandemic \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-08-04/o-c-board-of-education-to-sue-newsom-over-k-12-school-mask-mandate\">when it sued Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> for mandating masks on campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They were saying, ‘I don’t want my kids vaccinated and I don’t want my kids masked,’” said former board president Mari Barke. “I think this is going to be the year of the parent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barke was mentioned \u003ca href=\"https://www.salon.com/2022/03/15/how-this-tiny-christian-college-is-driving-the-rights-nationwide-against-public-schools/\">in a Salon article\u003c/a> in March that pointed out that her husband, Jeff Barke, a physician who denied the severity of COVID-19, had founded a charter school that uses curriculum provided by a Christian college. Barke said she recused herself when the county board voted to approve the charter school. But her opponents remain critical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In June, Barke was up for reelection, a race that was characterized as a referendum on her leadership. Barke defeated Martha Fluor, a former board member at Newport-Mesa Unified. Fluor ran with the teachers union endorsement and lost with 32% of the vote to Barke’s 59%. Barke said she wanted to run to protect the rights of “mama bears and papa bears.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think just naturally, if you are uncomfortable with the mandates at your local district, then you might want more options, whether that’s to attend a virtual school or a charter school in the area,” Barke said. “When people feel their parental rights are being diminished to a degree, I think they want more options.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fluor, a former Republican who left the party after the Jan. 6 insurrection, said she ran to defeat what she called an extremist coalition subjecting schools to its political agenda. Fluor said the county board would often pray before meetings and opposed masks and vaccines. She said she and other like-minded candidates would have won if the election had been held in November, when more people are likely to vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This race was really about political, ultraconservative ideology versus what’s in the best interest of kids,” Fluor said. “The low voter turnout was our downfall.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Political scientists have long suspected that the parents who show up at board meetings don’t necessarily represent the majority of their communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s probably the case that the most vocal people on both sides are really the vocal minority, and they’re not speaking for most parents,” said Kogan, the political science professor. “That’s especially going to be true in urban districts serving the most disadvantaged students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the most vocal organizations has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.letthembreathe.net/\">Let Them Breathe\u003c/a>, which started as a group of parents opposing mask mandates at school districts in Southern California. Sharon McKeeman, founder of the group, is now running for the Carlsbad Unified school board in northern San Diego County. In 2021, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2021-12-20/sd-me-san-diego-unified-mandate-ruling\">Let Them Breathe sued San Diego Unified\u003c/a>, the second-largest district in the state, over its vaccine mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McKeeman said she’s seeking office after witnessing teachers unions using students as a “bargaining chip” and delaying the reopening of schools after they were shut down in the early days of the pandemic. She said she’ll refuse to reinstate any mask mandates, even if teachers unions push for them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will provide them with the resources so they can focus on teaching,” she said. “I’m just not going to bow to union interests.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>McKeeman said most teachers wanted to come back to in-person instruction sooner. She said she would be open to salary increases for teachers, considering how much money is going to public school districts. She wants to hire more art teachers in particular and reduce class sizes to raise math and reading test scores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she’s also calling for more parental oversight of what’s being taught in classrooms, especially when it comes to sex education. Parents who became politically active by opposing vaccine and mask mandates also seem to oppose lessons that “divide the family unit,” McKeeman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Parents saw the government overreach and force their children into masks,” she said. “Those parents are looking into what else is going on in their children’s school and curriculum.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, Kayatta said parents support masking and vaccines. He said districts need to remain vigilant and reinstate masking policies if the number of cases and hospitalizations rises again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of school districts in the country are like, ‘That’s over now,’” Kayatta said. “I don’t think we’re quite there yet. I think we need to keep an eye on it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to local school governance, parent activists want \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/2022/06/california-schools-stimulus-funds-oversight/\">transparency\u003c/a> in how districts are handling the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11879696/special-ed-and-high-needs-students-get-windfall-in-budget-deal\">billions of dollars in federal relief money\u003c/a> they are receiving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Before COVID, if you asked parents to name a member of their school board, I guarantee most would have come up with nothing,” said Megan Bacigalupi, the founder of CA Parent Power, a parent advocacy group established during the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bacigalupi said parents are most concerned about the quality of education and the mental health of students. “Risk of COVID infection is dead last,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t mean to keep talking about COVID, but there’s certainly money being spent on it,” she said. “Where parents want the money to be allocated is very different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kayatta said he disagrees with large parts of the growing parent coalition, but he believes the new interest in politics among parents has made it easier to campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think parents are paying a lot more attention now on either side,” Kayatta said. “A lot of that came from having your kids at home. That’s not going away anytime soon.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Days from the end of the legislative session, political observers are once again asking themselves whether a bitter, unresolved battle over labor standards will spell the end of California’s most ambitious proposal to solve its housing affordability crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assembly Bill 2011, which would \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2011\">unlock commercial real estate\u003c/a> for residential use, \u003ca href=\"https://urbanfootprint.com/ab2011-analysis/\">potentially leading to more than 1 million apartments\u003c/a> across the state, has splintered organized labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While affordable housing developers, the state’s carpenters union and even the \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2022/05/17/why-california-passes-laws-it-expects-to-get-struck-down-00032959\">largest unions representing teachers and health care workers\u003c/a> support the bill, it faces fiery opposition from the formidable Building and Construction Trades Council and the even bigger \u003ca href=\"https://calaborfed.org/\">California Labor Federation\u003c/a> behind them. The council, colloquially known as the trades, represents 450,000 workers in nearly every other construction industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11922784,news_11813844\"]In years past, the fight over labor standards signaled early death knells for housing bills. But since the carpenters and a few nonconstruction labor groups joined hands with developers, this bill plowed through legislative hurdles its predecessors couldn’t. The two labor camps now have until Thursday — the last day to amend the bill — to come up with a compromise that would shield lawmakers from having to choose between alienating powerful labor allies or creating much-needed housing amid a historic crunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The carpenters and the trades sat down for multiple Zoom calls in recent weeks at the behest of Senate leadership, led by Majority Leader Mike McGuire, to come up with a compromise, according to those at the negotiating table. McGuire’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with the clock ticking, the groups are far from a solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sen. McGuire is the most patient person in the California Senate,” said Erin Lehane, legislative director for the trades. “We’ve compromised on several if not many things and we’re waiting to see if the sponsors are willing to do the same. At this point it takes two to tango.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland\"]'This isn't a taking-on-labor fight. This is a solving-the-housing-crisis fight.'[/pullquote]At the heart of the argument is a shortage of at least 100,000 construction workers to build the millions of homes California needs. The groups disagree on \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2021/06/california-affordable-housing-unions/\">how to grow the labor pool\u003c/a>. The trades are pushing for language that says a portion of the workforce for these projects must be graduates of an apprenticeship program, which effectively means union members. The carpenters say only a tiny fraction of home builders are unionized, and instead of waiting years for that pool to grow, legislation should simply \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2022/05/california-housing-crisis-unions/\">require higher wages, health benefits and tools\u003c/a> to enforce existing labor law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a tremendously valiant effort to try and find political common ground, but when you have two mutually exclusive positions in the marketplace, it’s a hard thing to do,” said Danny Curtin, director of the California Conference of Carpenters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, the Democrat from Oakland who authored the bill and leads the Assembly Housing Committee, said she feels confident in the labor language already in the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This isn’t a taking-on-labor fight. This is a solving-the-housing-crisis fight,” Wicks said. “I want to keep trying to reach a deal, and I’ll do everything I can to do that. But if a deal isn’t reached, many of the colleagues I’ve spoken to in the Senate are prepared to support the vote for solving this problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make matters more complicated, Wicks’ bill isn’t the only big housing bill that would allow housing on commercial land. Senate Bill 6, introduced last year by Sen. Anna Caballero, a Salinas Democrat, would also make it easier to build housing on commercial corridors now zoned for parking, offices and retail. But instead of making the process by-right, like Wicks’ bill — whereby a developer can build as long as they check all the boxes — it remains discretionary. That means local governments can hold their usual hearings to determine whether a project fits in their community, but without the onerous process of changing the land’s designation from commercial to residential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both bills have advanced in tandem: Caballero’s with Wicks’ help, and vice versa. That’s very different from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2021/07/california-housing-bills-unions/\">what happened last year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll be real frank with you,” Caballero said. “This is a fight not only between the trades, but between the Assembly and the Senate. The Assembly held up our bills and didn’t do much to try and broker the compromise. It’s always best if people can come together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another key difference between the bills: Caballero’s bill includes the labor language the trades proposed from the start. If the two groups do come up with a compromise, it’s unclear whether both bills will reflect that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott Wetch, a lobbyist who represents about 150,000 electrical workers, plumbers and sheet metal workers within the trades and who opposes the bill, isn’t optimistic about an agreement. With dozens of lawmakers exiting the Legislature this year, the voting dynamics are much more unpredictable than in years past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and local trades councils have contributed $1.5 million to political candidates, while carpenters groups have given $1.3 million, according to a CalMatters analysis of the 2022 races so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, I think it’s going to come down to a big, giant floor flight in the Senate,” Wetch said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Days from the end of the legislative session, political observers are once again asking themselves whether a bitter, unresolved battle over labor standards will spell the end of California’s most ambitious proposal to solve its housing affordability crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assembly Bill 2011, which would \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2011\">unlock commercial real estate\u003c/a> for residential use, \u003ca href=\"https://urbanfootprint.com/ab2011-analysis/\">potentially leading to more than 1 million apartments\u003c/a> across the state, has splintered organized labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While affordable housing developers, the state’s carpenters union and even the \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2022/05/17/why-california-passes-laws-it-expects-to-get-struck-down-00032959\">largest unions representing teachers and health care workers\u003c/a> support the bill, it faces fiery opposition from the formidable Building and Construction Trades Council and the even bigger \u003ca href=\"https://calaborfed.org/\">California Labor Federation\u003c/a> behind them. The council, colloquially known as the trades, represents 450,000 workers in nearly every other construction industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In years past, the fight over labor standards signaled early death knells for housing bills. But since the carpenters and a few nonconstruction labor groups joined hands with developers, this bill plowed through legislative hurdles its predecessors couldn’t. The two labor camps now have until Thursday — the last day to amend the bill — to come up with a compromise that would shield lawmakers from having to choose between alienating powerful labor allies or creating much-needed housing amid a historic crunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The carpenters and the trades sat down for multiple Zoom calls in recent weeks at the behest of Senate leadership, led by Majority Leader Mike McGuire, to come up with a compromise, according to those at the negotiating table. McGuire’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with the clock ticking, the groups are far from a solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sen. McGuire is the most patient person in the California Senate,” said Erin Lehane, legislative director for the trades. “We’ve compromised on several if not many things and we’re waiting to see if the sponsors are willing to do the same. At this point it takes two to tango.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At the heart of the argument is a shortage of at least 100,000 construction workers to build the millions of homes California needs. The groups disagree on \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2021/06/california-affordable-housing-unions/\">how to grow the labor pool\u003c/a>. The trades are pushing for language that says a portion of the workforce for these projects must be graduates of an apprenticeship program, which effectively means union members. The carpenters say only a tiny fraction of home builders are unionized, and instead of waiting years for that pool to grow, legislation should simply \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2022/05/california-housing-crisis-unions/\">require higher wages, health benefits and tools\u003c/a> to enforce existing labor law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a tremendously valiant effort to try and find political common ground, but when you have two mutually exclusive positions in the marketplace, it’s a hard thing to do,” said Danny Curtin, director of the California Conference of Carpenters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, the Democrat from Oakland who authored the bill and leads the Assembly Housing Committee, said she feels confident in the labor language already in the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This isn’t a taking-on-labor fight. This is a solving-the-housing-crisis fight,” Wicks said. “I want to keep trying to reach a deal, and I’ll do everything I can to do that. But if a deal isn’t reached, many of the colleagues I’ve spoken to in the Senate are prepared to support the vote for solving this problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make matters more complicated, Wicks’ bill isn’t the only big housing bill that would allow housing on commercial land. Senate Bill 6, introduced last year by Sen. Anna Caballero, a Salinas Democrat, would also make it easier to build housing on commercial corridors now zoned for parking, offices and retail. But instead of making the process by-right, like Wicks’ bill — whereby a developer can build as long as they check all the boxes — it remains discretionary. That means local governments can hold their usual hearings to determine whether a project fits in their community, but without the onerous process of changing the land’s designation from commercial to residential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both bills have advanced in tandem: Caballero’s with Wicks’ help, and vice versa. That’s very different from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/2021/07/california-housing-bills-unions/\">what happened last year\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll be real frank with you,” Caballero said. “This is a fight not only between the trades, but between the Assembly and the Senate. The Assembly held up our bills and didn’t do much to try and broker the compromise. It’s always best if people can come together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another key difference between the bills: Caballero’s bill includes the labor language the trades proposed from the start. If the two groups do come up with a compromise, it’s unclear whether both bills will reflect that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott Wetch, a lobbyist who represents about 150,000 electrical workers, plumbers and sheet metal workers within the trades and who opposes the bill, isn’t optimistic about an agreement. With dozens of lawmakers exiting the Legislature this year, the voting dynamics are much more unpredictable than in years past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and local trades councils have contributed $1.5 million to political candidates, while carpenters groups have given $1.3 million, according to a CalMatters analysis of the 2022 races so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, I think it’s going to come down to a big, giant floor flight in the Senate,” Wetch said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Monkeypox Vaccines in Particularly Short Supply in California's Central Valley",
"title": "Monkeypox Vaccines in Particularly Short Supply in California's Central Valley",
"headTitle": "CALmatters | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"10\">Just before midnight on a recent Tuesday, Luna Lockhart, 25, jumped in the car with their roommate and drove three-and-a-half hours from Fresno to San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"11\">Their destination: Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where more than 400 people were already waiting in line to get a monkeypox vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"12\">“They aren’t giving out monkeypox vaccines in Fresno,” Lockhart told CalMatters at the time. “We decided just to be proactive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"13\">The monkeypox outbreak has disproportionately affected gay and bisexual men as well as transgender individuals, fueling comparison to the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/07/california-monkeypox-state-of-emergency/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"14\">calls for a stronger public health response\u003c/a>. The state prioritized sparse resources, including the monkeypox vaccine, for counties with the greatest number of cases — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Alameda and San Diego. But queer advocates in the Central Valley say when it comes to allocating monkeypox resources, they feel abandoned by state public health officials.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Walter Hewitt, Fresno resident\"]'Everyone should have a choice just like they did with the COVID vaccine to protect themselves.'[/pullquote]San Francisco has more doses per capita than any other county in the state. It has 27 per 1,000 residents compared to 4 in Los Angeles and 1 across all 19 Central Valley counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"21\">“Unfortunately, a lot of the resources do go to San Francisco and Los Angeles … We need to remember that there are LGBTQ people in every part of the state,” said Tracy City Councilmember Dan Tavares Arriola, the city’s first openly queer elected official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"22\">Arriola testified last week during a special state Senate committee hearing on monkeypox. He told CalMatters he has spoken to numerous queer people in the Central Valley who, like Lockhart, have driven hours to get a vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"23\">“It’s frustrating, because the Central Valley always gets left behind,” Arriola said. He \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcra.com/article/tracy-city-council-member-tests-positive-monkeypox/40885877?utm_campaign=CHL%3A%20Daily%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=222949625&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--K0r2WU2df_8l0zJzpFpr63eyeH9aSbYEAF53dChsCNHiE3Y3mSx1Hp3CZ82ggzt1lSKZo546M41ptv7lHkeuJRPOnxQ&utm_content=222949625&utm_source=hs_email\" data-reader-unique-id=\"24\">contracted monkeypox in late July\u003c/a> and spent days trying to get treatment and a vaccine for his partner.[aside postID=\"news_11921327,news_11920455,news_11921618\" label=\"Related Posts\"]When Lockhart drove to San Francisco to get vaccinated, Fresno County, with 1 million residents, had only 20 vaccines to distribute. As a two-dose shot, that meant that only 10 people could be fully vaccinated. At the time, statewide, there were \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article263887552.html\" data-reader-unique-id=\"26\">fewer than 650 cases of monkeypox\u003c/a>, but the outbreak has since ballooned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Monkeypox-Data.aspx\" data-reader-unique-id=\"27\">nearly 2,000 cases\u003c/a> — a nearly threefold increase in the past two-and-a-half weeks. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat and chair of the Senate Select Committee on Monkeypox, compared getting a vaccine appointment to “The Hunger Games,” with lines stretching around the block.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"32\">For people who don’t have the time, transportation or money to drive to another county, not being able to get a vaccine locally is “a very big problem,” said Walter Hewitt, a Fresno resident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"33\">Hewitt, 23, has been trying to get a vaccine for weeks. He’s queer, which puts him in a higher-risk category, but he also works at a gym and is afraid he’ll get infected from touching contaminated equipment. Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/transmission.html\" data-reader-unique-id=\"34\">can be passed along by touching contaminated objects\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"35\">“It’s something that needs to be available for everyone,” Hewitt said. “Everyone should have a choice just like they did with the COVID vaccine to protect themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"36\">Sixteen days after Fresno County confirmed its first monkeypox case and 10 weeks after California reported its first case, Jennifer Cruz, executive director of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission's LGBTQ+ Resource Center, said she had not gotten any information from the county health department about vaccinations or where to direct people with questions. Britni Lloyd, executive director at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MoPrideInc/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"37\">MoPride Center\u003c/a> in Stanislaus County, said she receives calls about monkeypox every day. The county health department plans on opening a vaccine clinic at the MoPride Center, but it hasn’t happened yet. Lloyd has started making her own waiting list of people to call once it does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"45\">“Our health services agency seems anxious to get (vaccine) services rolling in our county, but there’s a lot of red tape,” Lloyd said; this was a\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/08/california-monkeypox-covid-response/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"46\"> common complaint from local officials during the Senate oversight hearing on monkeypox\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"47\">At a media briefing at the end of July, Fresno health officials said they were planning community meetings to get information about monkeypox to those who need it. Officials did not respond to a CalMatters request for information about vaccine clinics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"48\">As of Aug. 11\u003cem data-reader-unique-id=\"49\">,\u003c/em> Fresno and Stanislaus counties each had seven cases, according to state data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"50\">Slowly, the Central Valley has gotten more vaccines as the federal government distributes supplies to each state. Fresno County’s vaccine allocation increased to 430 while Stanislaus’ increased to 282. Kern County, which also had seven cases as of Aug. 11 but received more than 800 initial doses, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kget.com/health/kern-county-public-health-hosts-free-monkeypox-vaccine-clinics-in-bakersfield/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"51\">administered 200 at a recent vaccine site\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"52\">Still, the vaccine rollout has been slow and resources have been slim compared to urban areas. The California Department of Public Health has prioritized distribution of the extremely scarce vaccine primarily based on the number of cases in each county, which some say overlooks how much people travel throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11922984\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11922984\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM-800x531.png\" alt=\"A person wearing a mask and gloves holds a syringe and a small bottle at a hospital.\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM-800x531.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM-1020x677.png 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM-160x106.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM-1536x1020.png 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM.png 1542w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zelynn Tirona prepares monkeypox vaccines for administration at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Aug. 12, 2022. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"58\">Case in point: Lockhart’s roommate has a boyfriend in San Francisco and travels back and forth frequently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"59\">Tracy City Councilmember Arriola said most people in his city work in the Bay Area, where the infection is prevalent, but San Joaquin County initially received only 10 vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"60\">“That’s 86,000 people just in the city of Tracy who are in the Bay Area working to make a living and who are having the exact same contact each and every day,” Arriola said. The state has since allocated 712 doses to San Joaquin County as the federal government distributes more supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"61\">Los Angeles and San Francisco counties have been the epicenters of the outbreak in California, with 670 and 516 recorded cases respectively. Those counties received tens of thousands of vaccines, setting up mass vaccination clinics in a matter of days — and they’ve also wielded \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/07/california-monkeypox-state-of-emergency/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"62\">outsized political power\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"68\">Sen. Wiener is among 10 lawmakers who submitted a $38 million emergency budget request to the state. All except one of those legislators represent districts in the Bay Area or surrounding Los Angeles and San Diego, which has the fourth-highest number of cases. The same is true of a \u003ca href=\"https://a19.asmdc.org/sites/a19.asmdc.org/files/2022-07/Monkeypox%20letter%20-%20HHS%20%287.28.22%29.pdf\">letter sent by lawmakers to the U.S. Health and Human Services Agency\u003c/a> requesting aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"70\">In Los Angeles, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon of Lakewood held a press conference with LGBTQ+ groups calling for more federal support and a stronger response to the monkeypox outbreak. San Francisco was the first local government to declare a state of emergency in response to monkeypox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"71\">And while the efforts of urban activists have certainly helped direct resources to their communities and spurred conversations about stigma against the LGBTQ+ community, queer people in other places of the state say they need more help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"72\">The day before the state issued stay-at-home orders to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Cruz said many of the people her LGBTQ+ center serves hadn’t even heard of the virus and didn’t understand why the center was closing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"73\">“In Fresno, you’re dealing with high poverty, which means people don’t necessarily have access to the news like the rest of us,” Cruz said. “They’re not watching the news on TV. They might have smartphones with poor data. People with free phones with poor data plans don’t spend a lot of their data on news sites.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"74\">Instead, it’s up to community advocates to do the legwork to reach marginalized communities, she said, which is a problem when LGBTQ+ centers are few and far between.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"75\">“It feels like we’re several decades behind other parts of the state,” Arriola said. “And so that’s what’s frustrating about the allocation of resources related to (monkeypox), is that we’re still falling behind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"76\">State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said during the Senate hearing that as vaccine supply increases, the state health department will reassess how it’s distributing it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently told states to \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/monkeypox-update-fda-authorizes-emergency-use-jynneos-vaccine-increase-vaccine-supply\" data-reader-unique-id=\"77\">split each shot of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine into five doses\u003c/a> in an effort to stretch inadequate supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"78\">Experts say vaccines aren’t the be-all-end-all when it comes to stopping the outbreak. Health workers could contain monkeypox by identifying everyone who has been in close proximity to an infected person and doing precautionary testing and vaccination — a process known as contact tracing — but health departments \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2022/08/california-monkeypox/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"79\">frequently don’t have sufficient staff\u003c/a> to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"80\">“We’re still at a point where (contact tracing) would continue to be effective for monkeypox,” said Dr. Jason Andrews, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at Stanford. “But it requires systems and resources that we don’t have in place right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "While monkeypox vaccines are targeted to the state's largest cities, where case numbers are highest, other communities are struggling to respond.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"10\">Just before midnight on a recent Tuesday, Luna Lockhart, 25, jumped in the car with their roommate and drove three-and-a-half hours from Fresno to San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"11\">Their destination: Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where more than 400 people were already waiting in line to get a monkeypox vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"12\">“They aren’t giving out monkeypox vaccines in Fresno,” Lockhart told CalMatters at the time. “We decided just to be proactive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"13\">The monkeypox outbreak has disproportionately affected gay and bisexual men as well as transgender individuals, fueling comparison to the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/07/california-monkeypox-state-of-emergency/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"14\">calls for a stronger public health response\u003c/a>. The state prioritized sparse resources, including the monkeypox vaccine, for counties with the greatest number of cases — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Alameda and San Diego. But queer advocates in the Central Valley say when it comes to allocating monkeypox resources, they feel abandoned by state public health officials.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>San Francisco has more doses per capita than any other county in the state. It has 27 per 1,000 residents compared to 4 in Los Angeles and 1 across all 19 Central Valley counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"21\">“Unfortunately, a lot of the resources do go to San Francisco and Los Angeles … We need to remember that there are LGBTQ people in every part of the state,” said Tracy City Councilmember Dan Tavares Arriola, the city’s first openly queer elected official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"22\">Arriola testified last week during a special state Senate committee hearing on monkeypox. He told CalMatters he has spoken to numerous queer people in the Central Valley who, like Lockhart, have driven hours to get a vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"23\">“It’s frustrating, because the Central Valley always gets left behind,” Arriola said. He \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcra.com/article/tracy-city-council-member-tests-positive-monkeypox/40885877?utm_campaign=CHL%3A%20Daily%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=222949625&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--K0r2WU2df_8l0zJzpFpr63eyeH9aSbYEAF53dChsCNHiE3Y3mSx1Hp3CZ82ggzt1lSKZo546M41ptv7lHkeuJRPOnxQ&utm_content=222949625&utm_source=hs_email\" data-reader-unique-id=\"24\">contracted monkeypox in late July\u003c/a> and spent days trying to get treatment and a vaccine for his partner.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When Lockhart drove to San Francisco to get vaccinated, Fresno County, with 1 million residents, had only 20 vaccines to distribute. As a two-dose shot, that meant that only 10 people could be fully vaccinated. At the time, statewide, there were \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article263887552.html\" data-reader-unique-id=\"26\">fewer than 650 cases of monkeypox\u003c/a>, but the outbreak has since ballooned to \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Monkeypox-Data.aspx\" data-reader-unique-id=\"27\">nearly 2,000 cases\u003c/a> — a nearly threefold increase in the past two-and-a-half weeks. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat and chair of the Senate Select Committee on Monkeypox, compared getting a vaccine appointment to “The Hunger Games,” with lines stretching around the block.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"32\">For people who don’t have the time, transportation or money to drive to another county, not being able to get a vaccine locally is “a very big problem,” said Walter Hewitt, a Fresno resident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"33\">Hewitt, 23, has been trying to get a vaccine for weeks. He’s queer, which puts him in a higher-risk category, but he also works at a gym and is afraid he’ll get infected from touching contaminated equipment. Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/transmission.html\" data-reader-unique-id=\"34\">can be passed along by touching contaminated objects\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"35\">“It’s something that needs to be available for everyone,” Hewitt said. “Everyone should have a choice just like they did with the COVID vaccine to protect themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"36\">Sixteen days after Fresno County confirmed its first monkeypox case and 10 weeks after California reported its first case, Jennifer Cruz, executive director of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission's LGBTQ+ Resource Center, said she had not gotten any information from the county health department about vaccinations or where to direct people with questions. Britni Lloyd, executive director at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/MoPrideInc/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"37\">MoPride Center\u003c/a> in Stanislaus County, said she receives calls about monkeypox every day. The county health department plans on opening a vaccine clinic at the MoPride Center, but it hasn’t happened yet. Lloyd has started making her own waiting list of people to call once it does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"45\">“Our health services agency seems anxious to get (vaccine) services rolling in our county, but there’s a lot of red tape,” Lloyd said; this was a\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/08/california-monkeypox-covid-response/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"46\"> common complaint from local officials during the Senate oversight hearing on monkeypox\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"47\">At a media briefing at the end of July, Fresno health officials said they were planning community meetings to get information about monkeypox to those who need it. Officials did not respond to a CalMatters request for information about vaccine clinics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"48\">As of Aug. 11\u003cem data-reader-unique-id=\"49\">,\u003c/em> Fresno and Stanislaus counties each had seven cases, according to state data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"50\">Slowly, the Central Valley has gotten more vaccines as the federal government distributes supplies to each state. Fresno County’s vaccine allocation increased to 430 while Stanislaus’ increased to 282. Kern County, which also had seven cases as of Aug. 11 but received more than 800 initial doses, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kget.com/health/kern-county-public-health-hosts-free-monkeypox-vaccine-clinics-in-bakersfield/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"51\">administered 200 at a recent vaccine site\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"52\">Still, the vaccine rollout has been slow and resources have been slim compared to urban areas. The California Department of Public Health has prioritized distribution of the extremely scarce vaccine primarily based on the number of cases in each county, which some say overlooks how much people travel throughout the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11922984\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM.png\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-11922984\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM-800x531.png\" alt=\"A person wearing a mask and gloves holds a syringe and a small bottle at a hospital.\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM-800x531.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM-1020x677.png 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM-160x106.png 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM-1536x1020.png 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-18-at-3.36.58-PM.png 1542w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zelynn Tirona prepares monkeypox vaccines for administration at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital on Aug. 12, 2022. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"58\">Case in point: Lockhart’s roommate has a boyfriend in San Francisco and travels back and forth frequently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"59\">Tracy City Councilmember Arriola said most people in his city work in the Bay Area, where the infection is prevalent, but San Joaquin County initially received only 10 vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"60\">“That’s 86,000 people just in the city of Tracy who are in the Bay Area working to make a living and who are having the exact same contact each and every day,” Arriola said. The state has since allocated 712 doses to San Joaquin County as the federal government distributes more supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"61\">Los Angeles and San Francisco counties have been the epicenters of the outbreak in California, with 670 and 516 recorded cases respectively. Those counties received tens of thousands of vaccines, setting up mass vaccination clinics in a matter of days — and they’ve also wielded \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/07/california-monkeypox-state-of-emergency/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"62\">outsized political power\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"68\">Sen. Wiener is among 10 lawmakers who submitted a $38 million emergency budget request to the state. All except one of those legislators represent districts in the Bay Area or surrounding Los Angeles and San Diego, which has the fourth-highest number of cases. The same is true of a \u003ca href=\"https://a19.asmdc.org/sites/a19.asmdc.org/files/2022-07/Monkeypox%20letter%20-%20HHS%20%287.28.22%29.pdf\">letter sent by lawmakers to the U.S. Health and Human Services Agency\u003c/a> requesting aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"70\">In Los Angeles, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon of Lakewood held a press conference with LGBTQ+ groups calling for more federal support and a stronger response to the monkeypox outbreak. San Francisco was the first local government to declare a state of emergency in response to monkeypox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"71\">And while the efforts of urban activists have certainly helped direct resources to their communities and spurred conversations about stigma against the LGBTQ+ community, queer people in other places of the state say they need more help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"72\">The day before the state issued stay-at-home orders to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Cruz said many of the people her LGBTQ+ center serves hadn’t even heard of the virus and didn’t understand why the center was closing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"73\">“In Fresno, you’re dealing with high poverty, which means people don’t necessarily have access to the news like the rest of us,” Cruz said. “They’re not watching the news on TV. They might have smartphones with poor data. People with free phones with poor data plans don’t spend a lot of their data on news sites.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"74\">Instead, it’s up to community advocates to do the legwork to reach marginalized communities, she said, which is a problem when LGBTQ+ centers are few and far between.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"75\">“It feels like we’re several decades behind other parts of the state,” Arriola said. “And so that’s what’s frustrating about the allocation of resources related to (monkeypox), is that we’re still falling behind.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"76\">State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said during the Senate hearing that as vaccine supply increases, the state health department will reassess how it’s distributing it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently told states to \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/monkeypox-update-fda-authorizes-emergency-use-jynneos-vaccine-increase-vaccine-supply\" data-reader-unique-id=\"77\">split each shot of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine into five doses\u003c/a> in an effort to stretch inadequate supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"78\">Experts say vaccines aren’t the be-all-end-all when it comes to stopping the outbreak. Health workers could contain monkeypox by identifying everyone who has been in close proximity to an infected person and doing precautionary testing and vaccination — a process known as contact tracing — but health departments \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2022/08/california-monkeypox/\" data-reader-unique-id=\"79\">frequently don’t have sufficient staff\u003c/a> to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp data-reader-unique-id=\"80\">“We’re still at a point where (contact tracing) would continue to be effective for monkeypox,” said Dr. Jason Andrews, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at Stanford. “But it requires systems and resources that we don’t have in place right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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},
"radiolab": {
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"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
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"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
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"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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