Jeanne Kuang covers politics, California’s state government, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the 2026 governor’s race. Previously, she wrote about labor, homelessness and economic inequality.
Jeanne is focused on accountability stories highlighting how state policies affect disadvantaged communities. Her stories covered heat protections for workers and state prisoners, California’s scrutiny (and lack thereof) of immigration detention centers and Her reporting on CalMatters’ California Divide team for a series examining long waits and low payouts for workers who claim they are victims of wage theft was honored with awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Northern California chapter and the Best of the West.
Jeanne came home to California to join CalMatters in 2022. Prior to that, she covered politics in Missouri for The Kansas City Star, where she wrote about rural health care, the battle over COVID-19 vaccination, the fallout of a law that made the state a “sanctuary” against federal gun laws, and the Republican Party’s efforts to undo voter-approved policies. She was also a city hall reporter for The News Journal in Delaware, and before that she wrote about criminal justice issues for Injustice Watch in Chicago. Jeanne grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, graduated from Northwestern University and is now based in Sacramento with her cat, Potato.
El gobernador Gavin Newsom está impulsando con urgencia un plan para brindar ayuda financiera a las empresas de servicios públicos que enfrentan enormes indemnizaciones por demandas judiciales debido a los incendios forestales en California. Algunos legisladores se oponen a la medida.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is rushing a plan to provide financial relief to utilities facing massive lawsuit payouts because of California wildfires. Some lawmakers are fighting it.
One of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s final political fights in California is a revival of an old one. As wildfire costs threaten utilities’ financial models, the governor wants to help them pay less for fires.
Environmental groups want Board of Environmental Safety member Rhys Williams to resign over ties to a lobbying firm — the latest Newsom aide to land a plum state board seat.
With proposals to tax the rich, Gavin Newsom is playing to a 2028 national audience anxious about artificial intelligence. As governor, he’s walked a fine line on taxes for years.
Los inmigrantes detenidos trabajan por un dólar al día en el centro de Geo Group en el Valle de San Joaquín. La empresa llegó a un acuerdo con el estado tras una denuncia por las condiciones en el interior del centro.
Immigrant detainees work for $1 a day inside a Geo Group facility in the San Joaquin Valley. The company settled a state complaint over conditions inside.
