Safiyo Jama, a San Diego resident from Somalia, has voted in U.S. elections since 2012 and helps other Somali residents understand election materials. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters
Good morning, Inequality Insights readers. I’m CalMatters reporter Wendy Fry.
This week’s dispatch comes from California Divide’s Justo Robles. He examined a new bill that would expand language assistance and election services to immigrants who don’t speak English fluently. A group representing voter registrars throughout the state says it will cost counties too much money.
Assemblymember Evan Low, the Cupertino Democrat who co-authored AB 884, said he hopes it will increase voter participation and strengthen democracy in California.
“California is one of the most diverse states and leads the nation in language diversity,” Low said, “so it is important that we lead the way to providing in-language ballots and voting materials to reduce barriers and enfranchise more Californians.”
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For Safiyo Jama, passing the American citizenship test meant she could play a role in a democratic system she has long admired. In 2012, when Jama voted in her first U.S. election, other African immigrants in the San Diego area asked her to provide translations and voting assistance.
“They wanted to know what this candidate would do; they wanted to know which candidate was best for all of us,” said Jama, a 40-year-old Somali immigrant. “If there were ballots in Somali, more people would vote.”
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AI to the rescue? Can artificial intelligence prevent people from becoming homeless? LA County is testing a program that uses AI to identify people at risk of becoming homeless. CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall reports the program has helped more than 700 people since 2021 with rent, utility bills, car payments and more.
Price pain. Many Californians are struggling in an economy widely
considered to be OK because the nation avoided a recession, CalMatters' Levi Sumagaysay reports. Consumer prices rose in California by 20% since 2020, but in the last two months prices crept slightly higher than in the nation as a whole.
Assemblymember Akilah Weber speaks during a press conference led by the California Legislative Black Caucus at the Capitol in Sacramento on Feb. 21, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters
Reparations priorities. The California Assembly last week unanimously approved a resolution recognizing “harms and atrocities committed by representatives of the State of California who promoted, facilitated, enforced and permitted the institution of chattel slavery.” Assemblywoman Akilah Weber, the Democrat from La Mesa who authored ACR-135, said it’s “meant to educate ourselves on California’s history.” A formal state apology is among 115 or so recommendations by the state’s reparations task force and one of 14 “reparations priority” measures California’s Legislative Black Caucus introduced in January.
Unanswered calls. As a February storm threatened LA, city and county officials urged people seeking shelter to call 211 LA’s winter shelter line. Of the more than 13,000 calls, only about 44% were answered, the Los Angeles Public Press found.
Workers’ rights. A new report says 88% of California’s fast-food workers don’t know their rights on the job and lack information on benefits and essential programs. The Step Forward Foundation surveyed 300 workers at fast-food outlets in 83 cities. One employee said she worked through uterine cancer treatments, not knowing she was entitled to sick leave and disability income.
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College dream.Native American students have a college-going rate that’s about half that of their peers, and 42% graduate from college in six years compared to 64% of all students, CalMatters education reporter Carolyn Jones writes. San Pasqual Valley Unified district works to prepare Native American students for college and supports them once they get there.
Fast food fight.
CalMatters reporter Jeanne Kuang reports on signs that a complex deal to raise fast food wages may be fraying. Republican legislators, who opposed the law giving fast food workers $20 an hour in April, now want Gov. Gavin Newsom investigated over allegations a campaign donor who is a Panera Bread franchisee was exempted from the wage hike. Newsom denies it, saying Panera won’t be exempt.
Black women lead. California is seeing a historic rise in Black women running for office, with at least 24 seeking state legislative seats this year. Some say it’s a result of years of work, cultivating new leaders and growing confidence among voters.
Student homelessness.Student homelessness is most concentrated in California’s central and north coasts and Sierra regions. The Public Policy
Institute of California says 4% of California K–12 students were homelessness in the last school year, but much higher rates were in Alpine County at 9.5% and Sierra County at 10.3%. Federal funding for unsheltered students reached 6% of California’s districts.
Park pass cuts. Library cardholders may soon lose the ability to check out free passes to more than 200 state parks. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget does not include money for the California State Library Parks Pass, launched two years ago to provide more equitable access to the outdoors. Most people who used the passes identified in a survey as low-income and people of color, the Los Angeles Times reports.
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California Divide is a statewide media collaboration to raise awareness and engagement about poverty and income inequality through in-depth, local storytelling and community outreach. The project is based at CalMatters in Sacramento with a team of reporters deployed at news organizations throughout California.
