CalMatters

Which California schools have the highest ROI? A new report compares California’s colleges by analyzing how long it would take low- and moderate-income students to recoup the money they spent to earn a college credential. The report defines low- and moderate-income households as those earning below $75,000 annually, and focuses on these families specifically because college can be seen as out of reach for many low-income students. This tool tries to communicate the affordability of college by comparing typical costs for low-income families to typical salaries a few years after graduating. It shows that many community colleges, Cal States and University of California campuses — all public campuses — have better returns on investment than most nonprofit private colleges and for-profit institutions. 🏫 Which California university or college are you curious about? Write its name in the comments below, and we’ll reply with how long it would take for low- and moderate-income students to recoup their college costs with the typical salary of graduates from that school. 🔗 Or use the tool yourself: https://cal.news/3JVrIKM 📸 Jules Hotz

CalMatters’ visual journalists are honored with a third place win in the National Headliner awards, one of the longest-standing journalism contests in the country. The award honored the work of CalMatters’ visuals team: visuals editor Miguel Gutierrez Jr, assistant editor Adriana Heldiz and photographer Larry Valenzuela. Read more about the honor: https://cal.news/3UMCEAq 📸 Martin do Nascimento

Steers, sheep, horses, pigs, rabbits, chickens, a sweet-smelling tangerine grove and acres of rotating crops are part of Madera South’s agriculture pathway for students — one of thousands of career-focused courses in California high schools that are part of a renaissance in career and technical education. Aimed at preparing students for skilled, high-wage jobs, the pathways are a step beyond the vocation ed courses of generations past. Students seem to appreciate the opportunities. Enrollment in career pathways has jumped from 18% of all students six years ago to 23% last year. Native American, homeless and low-income students had the highest rates among student groups. https://cal.news/4aWHT6g 📸 Larry Valenzuela

Homeless is one of California’s most stubborn problems. Voters have approved multiple bond measures designed to help, and yet California’s number of unsheltered homeless continues to grow. Join experts like Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, state Sen. Scott Wiener, UCSF professor Margot Kushel and more at the CalMatters Ideas Festival this June as they discuss what’s working (and what isn’t), in California and beyond: https://cal.news/4cJZik8

CalMatters is your local, nonpartisan, nonprofit news room dedicated to informing California and holding elected leaders accountable. Our mission is centered on the belief that a robust, independent press is the key to the success of democracy. During today’s Big Day of Giving, we’re asking for your support to combat misinformation, boost participation in government and empower voters. Invest in California’s future. Support CalMatters for Big Day of Giving: https://cal.news/3HGwrPK 📸 Miguel Gutierrez Jr. #BDOG2024

We’re pleased to announce the launch of our newsletter for people who love photography and the state of California. This newsletter, California in Pictures, will highlight photojournalism from across the state, giving a glimpse into the daily lives and extraordinary moments that define California. CalMatters is bringing you this newsletter through our partnership with CatchLight, which focuses on visual storytelling. We hope you enjoy this collection of visual stories highlighting our communities, landscapes, and experiences through the lens of these dedicated photojournalists. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://cal.news/3JEUoYr Read more about the partnership: https://cal.news/4be1caU

Only two days left in our Spring Member Drive. Don’t miss out on your chance to get a CalMatters reusable tote with a new $10+ monthly donation. Please give today. https://cal.news/3UAOT39

CalMatters announces the acquisition of The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that specializes in covering technology and its impact on our lives. The Markup bolsters CalMatters’ reporting at a time when the entire world is watching AI developments and tech regulation coming out of California. The Markup’s proven methodology and expert journalists will improve coverage across all CalMatters beats – including education, health, housing and more – as it already has with localized reporting on how Los Angeles measures the “vulnerability” of unhoused people and how Angelenos were victims of digital discrimination. Launched in 2020, The Markup is an industry-leading news organization rooted in a simple premise: technology is integrated across our daily lives, and people deserve to better understand how it impacts them and what they can do about it. The Markup’s data-driven investigative reporting, accessible guides for the public, and creation of actionable tools like Blacklight, a real-time privacy inspector that readers have used to conduct over 13 million website scans, has helped everyone from consumers to policymakers to corporations take control of their relationship with technology. “Pairing our proven methodology with CalMatters’ deep expertise will deliver unparalleled investigative journalism in California, and serve as an example nationwide,” said Nabiha Syed, CEO of The Markup. “We’ve learned that localized reporting leads to speedy and widespread impact, and that, combined with the resources we make available for local communities, has triggered national and international change. We’re really excited about what we’ll do together.” “We’re tremendously proud of what we’ve built in nine short years, covering California for Californians,” said CalMatters CEO Neil Chase. “We also have a national and worldwide audience because of California’s global impact. Bringing The Markup’s extraordinary talent and tools to all of our beats is a unique, exciting opportunity at the perfect time.” Leadership for the newly combined organization will include Chase as CEO and Kristen Go as editor-in-chief. Sisi Wei will transition from her role as editor-in-chief of The Markup to a groundbreaking new role in nonprofit journalism: Chief Impact Officer. As CIO, Wei will apply The Markup’s journalistic approach to accelerate all of CalMatters’ work and forge new ways for journalism to serve communities. Syed will be a strategic advisor to the organization until she takes a new external role effective July 1. 🔗 Learn more: https://cal.news/3W5acLl 🎨 Sonya Quick, CalMatters; iStock

Timothy Jackson never thought about becoming an entrepreneur until he spent 12 years in prison. That’s where he came across, and got inspired by, other formerly incarcerated people who had started their own businesses. He then enrolled in a training program that gave him the skills and confidence to do the same. “I saw people come back from the program empowered — they were changed,” Jackson said. Read more about the anti-recidivism nonprofit helping formerly incarcerated people start businesses and get tech jobs: https://cal.news/4baWMSc 📸 Adriana Heldiz

#AI is one of the most-hyped technologies of our time. But in a California community center for #Vietnamese #immigrants, no one knew about it. That means no one knew how to look for it. How investigative reporter Lam Thuy Vo is changing this, in our latest with CalMatters: