Welcome to Local California
ICE holding rooms, Los Angeles' mayoral debate, the Iranian diaspora, a buckling foster care system, and a clinic for Native Californians.
Dear readers,
Welcome to the first issue of Local California, launching today on Local News Day, when newsrooms across the country are celebrating the importance of local journalism. We’re excited to join in and launch our weekly roundup of excellent reporting from across the state.
At the California Local News Fellowship, based at UC Berkeley Journalism, we support up to 70 full-time journalists. They work across online, print and audio outlets (see the photo below of our newest fellows). Together, they produce roughly 100 stories every week, essential reporting that deserves a wider audience.
This newsletter opens the doors. Each week, we will curate a selection of standout stories from our fellows. Their reporting offers an insider’s view from a wide range of communities, from Shasta and Santa Cruz to Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. These stories track local politics with an eye on accountability and document the stories of people — our neighbors — who can go underserved. You’ll hear about the issues shaping life in California, from air pollution and housing shortages to immigration enforcement and wildfires, helping you better understand our home state.
At a time when local newsrooms across the nation are shrinking, this work is more critical than ever.
This newsletter is free. Subscribe to get the best of local reporting delivered to your inbox every week and support the local news that matters.
Welcome!
Monica Campbell
Director, California Local News Fellowship
UC Berkeley Journalism
Featured Stories
A Drying Colorado River Threatens Imperial Valley’s Future
By Jeremy Lindenfeld, Capital & MainCalifornia’s Foster Care System is Buckling Under the Weight of This Unexpected Cost
By Cayla Mihalovich, CalMattersCalifornia’s Shadowy ICE Holding Rooms Detained at Least 17,351 People Last Year
By Aisha Wallace-Palomares, L.A. Taco
5 Takeaways From the First Mayoral Debate of 2026
By Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Public PressJustice Department Opens Admissions Probe Into Stanford’s School of Medicine, Threatens Federal Funding Cuts
By Hannah Bensen, Palo Alto Online/Embarcadero MediaAfter Khamenei, the Hopes of Iran’s Largest Diaspora are Fractured
By Christopher Alam, American Community Media
In a Bid to Curb Overdoses, Long Beach Will Now Mail Residents Fentanyl Test Strips and Narcan
By Kate Raphael, Long Beach PostReport finding PFAS Pesticides on California Crops Prompts a New Bill
By Katie Rodriguez, Monterey County WeeklyMeet Amira: The AI Program Teaching San Francisco Kids How to Read
By Julia Haney, KALW
‘We’re All Connected’: LA’s Only Native Health Clinic Opens Its Doors to Immigrants
By shaylyn martos, News From Native CaliforniaCal Poly SLO Alum to Pilot First Moon Mission in 53 Years
By Anna FitzGerald Guth, SFGateTo Save Her Daughter’s Life, She Advocated For Her Rights to be Taken Away
By Nevin Kallepalli, Shasta Scout