Ben Christopher
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Reporter for @CalMatters where I cover housing. Occasional dad tweets. He/him. Tell me things: Ben@calmatters.org
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Articles by Ben Christopher
Prop. 37 explained: Can a $25 billion bond make homeownership in California attainable? Original
A clever solution or a confusing gimmick? Like it or hate it, almost everyone has questions about Proposition 37. Here are a few of the big ones — with the best available answers. It’s a bond, but not like any other bond on the ballot. It promises to provide homebuyers with mortgages, but not your typical mortgages. It would set up a down payment assistance program, but one unlike any other in the country.
Prop 37 explained: Can a $25 billion bond make homeownership in California attainable?
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for its newsletters. It’s a bond, but not like any other bond on the ballot. Lookout’s election coverage is free to read. Register to get access. Already a member? Sign In Lookout is able to provide free election coverage access thanks to the support of our members. Register for a free account to get access to all Lookout’s reporting on local races and measures ahead of the November election.
Prop. 37 would help middle-income home buyers
Californians will vote on Proposition 37 in November. The measure would allow the state to create a home loan program for middle income buyers. If Prop. 37 passes, California’s Housing Finance Agency would be able to borrow up to $25-billion to fund home loans. These loans could cut a buyer’s down payment to as low as three-percent, if paired with a typical mortgage. To be eligible, buyers couldn’t earn more than a certain amount.
5 tax measures are on the California ballot. Here’s how to make sense of them all
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for its newsletters. California voters will soon be asked whether they want to keep taxing the incomes of the rich. Lookout’s election coverage is free to read. Register to get access. Already a member? Sign In Lookout is able to provide free election coverage access thanks to the support of our members. Register for a free account to get access to all Lookout’s reporting on local races and measures ahead of the November election.
En California se votarán cinco medidas fiscales este noviembre. Aquí te las explicamos todas Original
EN RESUMEN: Los votantes de California no habían tenido que tomar tantas decisiones sobre política fiscal en las urnas desde 1994. Nuestro análisis muestra que los votantes rechazarán los nuevos impuestos. This article is also available in English. Read it here. Los votantes de California deben decidir próximamente si desean seguir gravando los ingresos de los ricos. Y se les preguntará si deben empezar a gravar la riqueza acumulada de los aún más ricos. Un momento, aún hay más.
Prop. 5 explainer
Then-gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger celebrates his victory in the California recall election with his wife Maria Shriver at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, on Oct. 7, 2003. The backstory: The measure was placed on the November ballot by Democratic lawmakers in 2024 with the support of the secretary of state and good governance groups Common Cause and League of Women Voters. It came in response to the 2021 attempted recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
5 tax measures are on the California ballot. Here’s how to make sense of them all
California voters haven’t had to make so many decisions about tax policy at the ballot since 1994. Our analysis shows voters to reject new taxes. Welcome to CalMatters, the only nonprofit newsroom devoted solely to covering issues that affect all Californians. Sign up for WhatMatters to receive the latest news and commentary on the most important issues in the Golden State. California voters will soon be asked whether they want to keep taxing the incomes of the rich.
5 tax measures are on the California ballot. Here's how to make sense of them all
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California voters will soon be asked whether they want to keep taxing the incomes of the rich. And they'll be asked whether to start taxing the accumulated wealth of the even richer. Wait, there's more. They'll also get to weigh in on whether we should ban wealth taxes altogether, subject the money raised by future taxes to a state spending cap and make it harder for voters to pass certain local taxes.
Why California’s poverty rate is second only to Louisiana Original
People at a homeless encampment along the sidewalk on X Street under State Route 99 in Sacramento, on Oct. 25, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters The rent, as we all know, is too damn high. So is California’s poverty rate. The two things are related. That’s the not-so-surprising finding of a new analysis published by the Pew Charitable Trusts: If California’s rents dropped to the national average, the state would slash its poverty rate by 30%. The child poverty rate would decline by 36%.
Why California’s Poverty Rate Is Second Only To Louisiana
A Pew analysis finds California’s high rents drive its poverty rate to second highest in the nation under a housing-cost-adjusted measure. People at a homeless encampment along the sidewalk on X Street under State Route 99 in Sacramento, on Oct. 25, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters The rent, as we all know, is too damn high. So is California’s poverty rate. The two things are related.
How do you get a housing permit in California? He can hook you up, for a fee
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Tanner “The Planner” Blackman does not swing hammers or lay foundations. He does not raise funds or finesse land deals. He does not draft blueprints, write contracts, test soil conditions or calculate the varied seismic loads that a new building can sustain.
California Sheriff Broke Election Law by Seizing Ballots, State Supreme Court Rules
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. ### Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco broke the law and created “a substantial risk to election integrity” when he seized more than 650,000 ballots California’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday morning. The justices ruled unanimously that Bianco must return the ballots to the county’s top election administrator and “refrain from further handling” them.
California Sheriff Broke Election Law by Seizing Ballots, State Supreme Court Rules
The Santa Barbara Independent republishes stories from CalMatters.org on state and local issues impacting readers in Santa Barbara County. Chad Bianco | Credit: Wikimedia Commons Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco broke the law and created “a substantial risk to election integrity” when he seized more than 650,000 ballots California’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday morning.
Cal State wages
What's next: The conclusions are likely to factor heavily in ongoing and increasingly charged contract negotiations between Cal State and its largest unions, which are demanding raises that currently far exceed what the Cal State system is willing to pay. Cal State has budgeted for 4% raises this year; unions are seeking roughly double that or more.
California sheriff broke election law by seizing ballots, state Supreme Court rules Original
The California Supreme Court ruled Sheriff Chad Bianco violated the state’s election law when his office seized ballots from the Riverside County registrar. The ruling comes six weeks before the November midterm election that will determine who controls Congress in President Trump’s final two years in office. Keeping up with your California representatives felt impossible before.
School absences 2024-2025
The backstory: Recent research shows that students who are chronically absent in TK and kindergarten are about twice as likely to transfer school districts and that kindergarteners’ ability to read and do basic math can be predictive of academic achievement by third grade and beyond.
People Mover delays
L.A.'s Filipino diaspora: The Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area is home to more than half a million people of Filipino descent including 154,000 in Los Angeles city and about 27,000 in Long Beach. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, about 4.6 million respondents identified their ethnicity as Filipino.
How do you get a housing permit in California? He can hook you up, for a fee Original
Tanner Blackman’s job is to push housing projects through Los Angeles’ famously Byzantine permitting process. With a torrent of state laws aimed at streamlining and speeding up approvals to combat the housing shortage, will the humble permit expediter profession survive? Welcome to CalMatters, the only nonprofit newsroom devoted solely to covering issues that affect all Californians. Sign up for WhatMatters to receive the latest news and commentary on the most important issues in the Golden State.
Why a bill to juice condo construction died even though California lawmakers voted for it
This story was originally published by CalMatters Sign up for their newsletters. A bill that supporters hoped would kickstart California's moribund condo industry and boost the scarce number of entry-level homeownership opportunities, died under mysterious circumstances at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday after failing to get a final vote before the end of the legislative session.
Why a bill to juice condo construction died even though California lawmakers voted for it Original
Supporters said a condo construction bill was a key to unlocking the type of naturally affordable for-sale housing that California desperately needs. But deadlines matter. Keeping up with your California representatives felt impossible before. Now you can watch them like a hawk: Sign up for My Legislator, your weekly, personalized report that tracks what your state representatives say and do.
California justices seem skeptical of Sheriff Chad Bianco’s defense in ballot seizure case
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California’s Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical on Monday that Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco was acting within his legal rights when he seized more than 650,000 ballots from that county’s top election administrator in March.
Tourism, business visas
Dolly Parton performs on stage at ACL Live during Blockchain Creative Labs' Dollyverse event at SXSW during the 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals in Austin, Texas. Beyond the music: Parton, who plucked bejeweled banjos, guitar and dulcimers with her long fingernails during performances, was a generous philanthropist and successful businesswoman whose projects included a theme park in the Smoky Mountain foothills near her birthplace.
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton performs on stage at ACL Live during Blockchain Creative Labs' Dollyverse event at SXSW during the 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals in Austin, Texas. Beyond the music: Parton, who plucked bejeweled banjos, guitar and dulcimers with her long fingernails during performances, was a generous philanthropist and successful businesswoman whose projects included a theme park in the Smoky Mountain foothills near her birthplace.
California justices seem skeptical of Bianco’s ballot-seizure defense
California’s Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical on Monday that Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco was acting within his legal rights when he seized more than 650,000 ballots from that county’s top election administrator in March.
California justices seem skeptical of Sheriff Chad Bianco’s defense in ballot seizure case Original
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco was at the California Supreme Court Monday as his attorney argued he acted within his authority in seizing 650,000 ballots. Keeping up with your California representatives felt impossible before. Now you can watch them like a hawk: Sign up for My Legislator, your weekly, personalized report that tracks what your state representatives say and do.
Few California municipalities have met new housing goals
Governor Newsom set a goal to add 2.5 million new units to California’s housing stock by 2030. When local governments plan for this housing, they’re also supposed to meet a range of four affordability targets, spanning from market-rate housing to housing that people with very low incomes can afford. Only about 30% of all jurisdictions are on track to hit their market-rate targets. Just 32 cities and counties are set to hit their planning goals for very low-income housing.
State: Almost nowhere in California is building enough. Here’s why
By BEN CHRISTOPHER Contribution of CalMatters to the Ceres (Calif.) Courier Every eight years, state housing regulators give cities and counties across California an especially dreaded homework assignment: Make a plan for a bunch of new homes. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration assigns localities goals to hit at four different affordability levels.
Almost nowhere in California is building enough, according to the state. Here's why
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Every eight years, state housing regulators give cities and counties across California an especially dreaded homework assignment: Make a plan for a bunch of new homes. Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration assigns localities goals to hit at four different affordability levels.
California housing goals remain out of reach for nearly every city and county, data show
EVERY EIGHT YEARS, state housing regulators give cities and counties across California an especially dreaded homework assignment: Make a plan for a bunch of new homes. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration assigns localities goals to hit at four different affordability levels.
Las ciudades de California no están construyendo lo suficiente de las nuevas viviendas ordenadas por el estado Original
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Por , CalMatters Cada ocho años, los reguladores estatales de vivienda les asignan a las ciudades y condados de California una tarea particularmente temida: elaborar un plan para construir viviendas nuevas. La administración del gobernador Gavin Newsom asigna a las localidades objetivos que deben alcanzar en cuatro niveles de asequibilidad diferentes.
Why California is failing to build the homes it needs
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Almost nowhere in California is building enough, according to the state. Here's why
Every eight years, state housing regulators give cities and counties across California an especially dreaded homework assignment: Make a plan for a bunch of new homes. Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration assigns localities goals to hit at four different affordability levels.
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