Laurel covers California politics for CalMatters, with a focus on power and personalities in the statehouse.
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The good news: The recession California officials predicted in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic has not been as dire as they thought it would be, leaving the state with a $26 billion windfall heading into the next fiscal year. The bad news: A reason for the unanticipated cash
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With California’s junior senator Kamala Harris poised to become America’s first female vice president, a remarkable pattern has taken hold: Once again, a woman from California is making history in the nation’s capital. “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be
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Progressive Democrats were fighting an uphill battle as they pushed for a new law allowing more Californians to take time off from work to care for a baby or sick family member. With business groups lobbying hard against it, the proposal had split Democrats and, as Monday’s conclusion of