Lauren Hepler
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Investigative reporter @calmatters. Past stories @sfchronicle, @NYTimes, others. Lauren@calmatters.org
Articles by Lauren Hepler
They killed people with their big rigs, and California let them keep driving
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Loren Chow looked in the rearview mirror and had a terrifying realization. We’re going to get hit. There’s nothing I can do to get out of this. Traffic outside Fresno had slowed. A semitruck loaded with fertilizer from Missouri, cruising at 65 miles per hour, hadn’t. By the time the driver, Baljit Singh, hit the brakes, it was too late.
Mataron gente con sus camiones y California les permitió seguir conduciendo Original
EN RESUMEN: Una investigación de CalMatters revela que el Departamento de Vehículos Motorizados (DMV, por sus siglas en inglés) permite que conductores profesionales se pongan al volante de sus camiones después de un accidente fatal. This article is also available in English. Read it here. Loren Chow miró por el espejo retrovisor y tuvo una terrible revelación. Nos van a chocar. No hay nada que pueda hacer para salir de esta. El tráfico en las afueras de Fresno había disminuido.
WATCH: The ‘License to Kill’ documentary
Photo by Anna Hoch-Kenney, CalMatters and Illustration by Josephine Choy, Evident CalMatters and Evident team up to investigate what happens to truck drivers in California after they kill someone on the road. We love that you want to share our stories with your readers. Hundreds of publications republish our work on a regular basis.
They killed people with their big rigs, and California let them keep driving Original
Welcome to License to Kill, an investigative series on how California lets dangerous drivers stay on the road. Sign up for our License to Kill newsletter to be notified when the next story comes out, and to get more behind-the-scenes information from our reporting. Loren Chow looked in the rearview mirror and had a terrifying realization. We’re going to get hit. There’s nothing I can do to get out of this. Traffic outside Fresno had slowed.
WATCH: The ‘License to Kill' documentary
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. CalMatters and Evident Media team up to investigate what happens to truck drivers in California after they kill someone on the road. Copyright CalMatters This story was originally published October 19, 2026 at 8:00 AM.
Gov. Newsom signs 4 new California DUI laws; advocates want more
A drunk driver crashed into a field of gravesites in a Hollister cemetery. (Photo Credits: Hollister Police Department) Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed into law four bills aimed at curbing a startling rise in DUI fatalities in recent years, including measures that make it easier to charge repeat drunk drivers with a felony and, if they kill someone, with murder.
Newsom Signs 4 New California DUI Laws. Advocates Want More Next Session
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed into law four bills aimed at curbing a startling rise in DUI fatalities in recent years, including measures that make it easier to charge repeat drunk drivers with a felony and, if they kill someone, with murder. The legislation follows a CalMatters series that revealed the state was unable — or unwilling — to get dangerous drivers off the road before it was too late.
Newsom signs 4 new California DUI laws. Advocates want more next session
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed into law four bills aimed at curbing a startling rise in DUI fatalities in recent years, including measures that make it easier to charge repeat drunk drivers with a felony and, if they kill someone, with murder. The legislation follows a CalMatters series that revealed the state was unable โ or unwilling โ to get dangerous drivers off the road before it was too late.
Newsom firma cuatro nuevas leyes sobre la conducción bajo efectos del alcohol. Activistas exigen más en la próxima sesión Original
EN RESUMEN: Una investigación de CalMatters ha descubierto que el estado tiene algunas de las leyes contra la conducción bajo los efectos del alcohol más laxas del país. This article is also available in English. Read it here.
Newsom signs 4 new California DUI laws. Advocates want more next session
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday signed into law four bills aimed at curbing a startling rise in DUI fatalities in recent years, including measures that make it easier to charge repeat drunk drivers with a felony and, if they kill someone, with murder. The legislation follows a CalMatters series that revealed the state was unable - or unwilling - to get dangerous drivers off the road before it was too late.
Help CalMatters report on what happens to drivers after they cause a serious car crash
Sign up for the License to Kill newsletter to get updates on our investigation into how California lets deadly drivers stay on the road. READ MORE FROM OUR LICENSE TO KILL SERIES
Lawmakers gut major DUI reform through ‘hostile amendments’
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A California Senate committee just gutted one of the state’s most substantial DUI reform bills in years, despite widespread support from other lawmakers and families of drunk driving victims. The bill would have required in-car breathalyzers for anyone convicted of a DUI, bringing California in line with most states.
Xavier Becerra
Why now: But should Becerra cruise to victory in November, as polling suggests , he will face what may be the steepest decline in health insurance coverage in a generation, one that will land especially hard in his home state. Why it matters: It's an achievement the former congressman and U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services often touts as he campaigns for California governor against Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator.
New YA novel
What's next: If passed, the measure would direct 90% of the tax revenue to fund healthcare services and the other 10% to food assistance and public education across California. Why it matters: A major rift between proponents and opponents is whether the tax would drive billionaires out of California. Why now: Voters in November will be asked whether to pass the ballot measure, known as Proposition 40, which imposes a one-time 5% tax on the assets of the nearly 250 billionaires in the state.
California lawmakers gut bill to require in-car breathalyzers
One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today . A California Senate committee just gutted one of the state’s most substantial DUI reform bills in years, despite widespread support from other lawmakers and families of drunk driving victims. The bill would have required in-car breathalyzers for anyone convicted of a DUI, bringing California in line with most states.
Legisladores usan ‘enmiendas hostiles’ para desmantelar reformas a leyes contra manejo bajo la influencia del alcohol Original
EN RESUMEN: El proyecto de ley contaba con un amplio apoyo, pero el comité de la senadora Sabrina Cervantes lo desmanteló repentinamente sin apenas dar explicaciones. This article is also available in English. Read it here.
Lawmakers gut major DUI reform through ‘hostile amendments’
State Sen. Sabrina Cervantes addresses the media during a press conference with fellow California Democrats at the Capitol Annex Swing Space in Sacramento on Aug. 18, 2025. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters. This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A California Senate committee just gutted one of the state’s most substantial DUI reform bills in years, despite widespread support from other lawmakers and families of drunk driving victims.
Did Newsom’s $3.8 Billion Hotels-to-Housing Program Pay Off? We Filed 100 Records Requests to Find Out
LOS ANGELES — As COVID-19 tore through California, Jennifer Hark Dietz had a decision to make. The state was making perhaps its biggest push ever to get people off the street, offering up billions of dollars for cities and organizations like hers to turn old motels into new homes. It was risky. The Homekey program came with up-front cash and a promise to move fast and cut red tape.
Did Newsom’s $3.8 billion hotels-to-housing program pay off? We filed 100 records requests to find out
by Lauren Hepler and Marisa Kendall CalMatters Gov. Gavin Newsom launched California’s Homekey program during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as an emergency effort to quickly convert hotels, motels and other buildings into housing for homeless residents. State officials described the initiative as one of the largest homelessness housing investments in California history, eventually committing more than $3.8 billion to the effort.
Did Newsom’s $3.8 Billion Hotels-To-Housing Program Pay off? We Filed 100 Records Requests To Find Out
In one of the scariest moments in modern history, we're doing our best at ScheerPost to pierce the fog of lies that conceal it but we need some help to pay our writers and staff. Please consider a tax-deductible donation. By and , CalMatters The Quality Inn & Suites building along Conejo Boulevard stands vacant in Thousand Oaks on Feb. 26, 2026. Photo by Julie Leopo-Bermudez for CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
Special Report: Did Newsom’s $3.8 Billion Hotels-to-Housing Program Pay Off?
As COVID-19 tore through California, Jennifer Hark Dietz had a decision to make. The state was making perhaps its biggest push ever to get people off the street, offering up billions of dollars for cities and organizations like hers to turn old motels into new homes. By CalMatters It was risky. The Homekey program came with up-front cash and a promise to move fast and cut red tape.
Did Newsom's $3.8 billion hotels-to-housing program pay off? CalMatters got records to find out Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy
As COVID-19 tore through California, Jennifer Hark Dietz had a decision to make. The state was making perhaps its biggest push ever to get people off the street, offering up billions of dollars for cities and organizations like hers to turn old motels into new homes. It was risky. The Homekey program came with up-front cash and a promise to move fast and cut red tape. But it also meant taking on old buildings with little vetting, which had the potential to put a developer in a deep financial hole.
Did Newsom’s $3.8 billion hotels-to-housing program pay off? CalMatters got records to find out
As COVID-19 tore through California, Jennifer Hark Dietz had a decision to make. The state was making perhaps its biggest push ever to get people off the street, offering up billions of dollars for cities and organizations like hers to turn old motels into new homes.
Did Newsom’s $3.8 billion hotels-to-housing program pay off? CalMatters got records to find out
1. Homekey made producing housing simpler. But it came at a cost. Homekey provided billions of dollars in housing funding up front, allowing some developers to sidestep the usual webs of investors and lenders and finish much faster than normal. But fewer funders also means less oversight. With rushed vetting, some projects got bogged down in delays, blown budgets or worse. At least one Homekey developer was forced out of business by an unwieldy project. Another is facing fraud charges. 2.
Did Newsom’s $3.8 billion hotels-to-housing program pay off? CalMatters got records to find out
1. Homekey made producing housing simpler. But it came at a cost. Homekey provided billions of dollars in housing funding up front, allowing some developers to sidestep the usual webs of investors and lenders and finish much faster than normal. But fewer funders also means less oversight. With rushed vetting, some projects got bogged down in delays, blown budgets or worse. At least one Homekey developer was forced out of business by an unwieldy project. Another is facing fraud charges. 2.
Did Newsom’s $3.8 billion hotels-to-housing program pay off? CalMatters got records to find out
As COVID-19 tore through California, Jennifer Hark Dietz had a decision to make. The state was making perhaps its biggest push ever to get people off the street, offering up billions of dollars for cities and organizations like hers to turn old motels into new homes. It was risky. The Homekey program came with up-front cash and a promise to move fast and cut red tape. But it also meant taking on old buildings with little vetting, which had the potential to put a developer in a deep financial hole.
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