People convicted of distributing fentanyl will face stiffer criminal penalties in the coming year under a new law shaped by rising overdose deaths. The law increases the penalty for selling or distributing more than 1 kilogram of fentanyl by an automatic addition of three years to the original sentence. The penalties continue to increase with weight, topping out at an additional 25 years for trafficking in weights exceeding 80 kilograms. Addiction experts warn the law could have deadly consequences if the “threat of police involvement and harsh prison sentences” makes someone reluctant to h ..read more

Laphonza Butler — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pick to succeed the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein — will be sworn in today, making history as the first openly LGBTQ person and the second Black woman to represent California in the Senate. But how long does she want to keep the job? She isn’t saying, yet. “This week Laphonza is focused on respecting and honoring Sen. Feinstein’s legacy and getting ready to serve the people of California in the Senate,” Butler spokesperson Matt Wing told CalMatters Monday. “Politics can wait.” Her decision whether to run for the seat, however, will be central to Califor ..read more

As anti-war demonstrations were held across the country Saturday to coincide with the 20-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, several dozen people gathered at the Arcata Plaza to “rally for peace in Ukraine by seeking an end to the war with ceasefire and diplomacy." Ellen Taylor, the first speaker, reinforced that point by reading the 2003 words of West Virginia U. S. Sen. Robert Byrd, who was one of the Senate's most outspoken critics of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Jack Irvine, a retired physician and member of a local “council of elders” (as emcee Michael Evenson described it ..read more

In solitary confinement, a former California inmate recalled, there were two kinds of people:  One kind would read books in their cells, exercise and do and re-do crossword puzzles. The other kind would scream and curse, refuse to dress and throw their feces at the walls.  The goal in solitary confinement, he said, was to avoid becoming the second kind of inmate.  “There’s one that’s resilient and one that’s not so resilient,” said the man,  a former member of the Mexican Mafia who asked CalMatters not to use his name for fear of retaliation. “I’ve seen people go over the ..read more

A gift or a curse?  For Angelique Ashby, running as a “women’s advocate” in a heated state Senate race in Sacramento might be a little of both. Her competitor, Dave Jones, a fellow Democrat, went to court to block Ashby from using that as her ballot designation under her name, arguing that it wasn’t her real vocation.  Jones, a former Assemblymember, won his argument. But Ashby also benefited: The lawsuit fired up some of her supporters and prompted a firestorm on social media. Part of the politics: Sacramento County hasn’t sent a woman to the Legislature since 2014. For Ashby, it’s ..read more

UPDATE: Planning Director John Ford followed up with the Journal this afternoon after publication of this article to say he’d checked his records and wanted to clarify the timeline surrounding his Jan. 19 conversation with developer Travis Schneider. Ford was adamant that he did not undermine what county planner Cliff Johnson had relayed to Schneider in a letter earlier that day: That if Schneider continued to defy a Dec. 27 county stop work order issued on construction of Schneider’s home due to numerous permit violations and the cutting of an unpermitted road, he’d face fines and possibly ..read more

A couple weeks after the matter spilled cantankerously into public view, Humboldt County and Building Department staff is recommending the Planning Commission approve the permits necessary to allow a local developer to continue construction of his family home, with some revised conditions, at its meeting tonight. The issue arose after Travis Schneider violated the terms of a coastal development permit needed for construction of his 8,000 square foot family home Walker Point Road near Fay Slough, south of the Indianola Cutoff and east of U.S. Highway 101. Specifically, Schneider began constru ..read more

As California’s legislative session comes to an end tonight, the priorities and focus of the closing days have been heavily shaped by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who in the final year of his first term has taken significant steps to execute his agenda through legislation like never before. His first three years in office saw Newsom frequently pursue policy through executive orders or in the state budget process, a negotiation with the Legislature that provided him with greater leverage. But the governor’s biggest priority this year has arguably been the passage of a sweeping proposal, known as CARE Co ..read more

The two-year legislative session ends Wednesday at midnight, giving Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers just three days to hammer out agreements on complex, controversial bills and budget items encompassing everything from nuclear power to abortion to youth vaccination. According to veteran Sacramento lobbyist Chris Micheli, legislators still need to determine the fate of about 525 bills, or about 175 per day. (Newsom on Friday signed a pile of less contentious bills already sent to his desk.) Looming over the frenetic negotiations is the Nov. 8 general election, which adds an extra layer o ..read more

California’s campaign finance regulator will not investigate a complaint into Govern For California, the subject of a CalMatters investigation that explored the nonprofit’s role influencing legislative elections and “pushing the envelope” of state campaign finance law. But the chairperson of the Fair Political Practices Commission said he would seek to develop new regulations more clearly defining coordination among affiliated campaign committees, because he has questions about the independence of Govern For California’s network of chapters and whether they could potentially be circumventing ..read more