On Our Weekly "Virtual Route 66" : A Spotlight on California (Courtesy CalMatters)

 For this week, our team decided to feature our state to showcase some of the on-going challenges;

Meth, death and abuse: Inside the private security forces patrolling California’s homeless

By Lauren Hepler

Public agencies are funding private security guards in homeless shelters and on the street, opening a new front in the state’s housing crisis — one ripe for violence and civil rights issues, but thin on oversight.

Digital Democracy   CalMatters members make possible a new venture in making state government transparent: Digital Democracy. Learn more →

 

Power is never having to say ‘no.’ How California Democrats kill bills without voting against them By Ryan Sabalow and Julie Watts Democrats in California’s Assembly and Senate rarely vote against bills, yet few seem willing to discuss their voting records, as well as the controversial practice of declining to vote instead of saying “no.”

‘Forever chemicals’: Water supplies throughout California will exceed new national limits By Rachel Becker and John Osborn D'Agostino The nationwide cost to treat or replace contaminated drinking water is estimated at $1.5 billion a year. The ubiquitous chemicals, linked to cancer and other diseases, build up in people and the environment.

Reparations rift? California’s Black lawmakers divided on how far to go By Wendy Fry Though California’s Legislative Black Caucus filed a slate of 14 bills linked to reparations, a few lawmakers are floating their own proposals.

Californians get hacked all the time. The state’s top cybersecurity job is vacant By Khari Johnson Gov. Newsom has yet to appoint a commander who is tasked with informing businesses and governments of cybersecurity threats.

Which trailblazer: Will Californians here elect a GOP Latina or a transgender Democrat? By Deborah Brennan Two candidates seeking to become state senator for a new Inland Empire district say they’re avoiding culture war clashes to focus on bread-and-butter issues.

Backers of California homeless camp ban cite ‘successful’ San Diego law. But is it? By Marisa Kendall A new bill would make it illegal for homeless residents to camp in certain places, such as near schools, throughout California. Its authors say such a ban has had great success in San Diego. But a closer look at that city paints a more nuanced picture.