Data & Trackers
Data & Trackers
Special interests poured more than half a billion into California lobbying last year
Google, oil companies and utilities helped push California lobbying to a record $540 million in 2024, up 10% from the year before.
Data & Trackers
Is your California career college or training program legit? Check its license or violations
Use CalMatters’ lookup tool to see if a career college or training program is licensed or has faced disciplinary actions.
Politics
Resistance state: Tracking California’s lawsuits against the new Trump administration
California's Democratic leaders set aside tens of millions of dollars to challenge President Donald Trump's executive orders and policies.
Politics
We asked all 58 California sheriffs about immigration enforcement under Trump. Here’s what they said
Look up how your sheriff responded to questions about their plans to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
California Wildfires
Map: How big are the LA fires? Use this tool to overlay them atop where you live
The fires sweeping across Los Angeles County for the past week have burned more than 50,000 acres, an area roughly equivalent to 2,200 Alcatraz Islands or 500 Disneylands, or larger than Washington, D.C. An arid fall and winter has dried out vegetation after two wetter-than-average years, providing fuel as a windstorm, with hurricane-force gusts topping […]
Climate Change
More extreme heat + more people = danger in these California cities. ‘Will it get as hot as Death Valley?’
Inland communities with big population booms will experience the most extreme heat days under climate change projections. The combination puts more people at risk — and many cities are unprepared.
California Wildfires
Map: How big is the Park Fire? Use this tool to overlay it atop where you live
The Park Fire just pushed California’s wildfire season into overdrive. It has grown rapidly since it started near Chico on July 24. Within two days, the blaze had consumed some 178,000 acres, then it doubled the next day. By Sunday, the fire had devoured more acres than all of this year’s other fires to date […]
Water
These 42 California dams need repairs. But lawmakers cut the funds in half
The dam repairs would store more water and protect the public, but legislators and the governor, facing a huge deficit, cut $50 million.


