Capital & Main
@capitalandmain.bsky.social
Investigating money, power and society. https://capitalandmain.com
Struggling with addiction, Felicity and her toddler have been living at Via Avanta, a residential rehabilitation program for women in Los Angeles that encourages mothers to bring their children with them to treatment. capitalandmain.com/healing-toge...
Healing Together: Why Recovery and Motherhood Should Go Hand in Hand
At Via Avanta in L.A., kids accompany their moms to treatment for substance abuse. But family-centered rehab remains uncommon.
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Pastor Kevin Kang had only been at Tujunga United Methodist Church for a couple of years when, in December of last year, he was asked if he could house formerly detained refugees on church grounds. capitalandmain.com/when-ice-det...
When ICE Detained Two Iranian Sisters, an L.A. Pastor Answered the Call
Refugees fleeing persecution only to be swept up by ICE win support of congregation, including some who voted for Trump.
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A California healthcare plan is using an AI program to help people set up appointments and nudge them to finish their paperwork. It’s part of an effort to keep people enrolled in Medicaid. Story by Capital & Main and @kffhealthnews.org. capitalandmain.com/ai-is-being-...
AI Is Being Used to Boost Medicaid Enrollment, But Not Without Concerns
A California health plan uses
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Does your elected official have a side hustle? Here’s how to find out. #ethics #politicians #fracking #oil #gas #pennsylvania #governor #news
Pastor Kevin Kang had only been at Tujunga United Methodist Church for a couple of years when, in December of last year, he was asked if he could house formerly detained refugees on church grounds. capitalandmain.com/when-ice-det...
When ICE Detained Two Iranian Sisters, an L.A. Pastor Answered the Call
Refugees fleeing persecution only to be swept up by ICE win support of congregation, including some who voted for Trump.
capitalandmain.com
When the city of Buena Park held a town hall about a new shelter for unhoused people, discussions quickly became heated. capitalandmain.com/socal-cities...
SoCal Cities are Placing Homeless Shelters in Polluted Industrial Areas
Officials are turning to industrial and manufacturing zones to site shelters — and avoid public pushback — a Capital & Main review of 30 cities found.
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A review of government records shows that polluted, industrial areas are becoming go-to places for Southern California cities to locate shelters for unhoused people as the state pushes to increase the number of beds to address the homelessness crisis. capitalandmain.com/socal-cities...
SoCal Cities are Placing Homeless Shelters in Polluted Industrial Areas
Officials are turning to industrial and manufacturing zones to site shelters — and avoid public pushback — a Capital & Main review of 30 cities found.
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Department of Homeland Security employees and local law enforcement both committed violations of standards of use for crowd-control weapons, injuring protesters. capitalandmain.com/immigration-...
Immigration Officials Misused Weapons Hundreds of Times During Protests, Report Finds
From L.A. to Minneapolis, agents and officers improperly used tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets against protesters and journalists.
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In California, Temporary Protected Status holders contribute roughly $3.6 billion a year to the state’s gross domestic product, according to one estimate. capitalandmain.com/the-end-of-t...
The End of Temporary Protected Status Threatens Workers, Families — and the Economy
Ending TPS would disrupt communities nationwide. In California, more than 60,000 immigrant workers could eventually lose legal protections.
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Filmmaker Luis Valdez’s story is about the power of culture as a means of political organizing and claiming an equal place in society. As Valdez declares in the new documentary, “We laugh and cry like anybody else. We make America strong because we are America.” capitalandmain.com/we-make-amer...
‘We Make America Strong’: Capturing the Chicano Experience in Zoot Suit, La Bamba and Real Life
A new documentary on playwright and filmmaker Luis Valdez comes at a moment of cultural reckoning over whose stories get told in the Trump era.
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Anger over data center projects and skyrocketing utility bills has dragged Pennsylvania’s long-simmering fight over its energy future — natural gas versus renewables, extraction versus regulation — out of committee rooms and into the center of the governor’s race. capitalandmain.com/in-pennsylva...
In Pennsylvania, the Data Center Wars Hit the Ballot Box
Voters angry about rising electricity bills have turned the fight over powering AI into the defining issue of the state's 2026 elections.
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Human rights investigators have documented hundreds of instances of misuse of crowd-control weapons at protests of immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump returned to office. capitalandmain.com/immigration-...
Immigration Officials Misused Weapons Hundreds of Times During Protests, Report Finds
From L.A. to Minneapolis, agents and officers improperly used tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets against protesters and journalists.
capitalandmain.com
Some of L.A. County’s largest landlords avoid Section 8 renters, but Sea Castle apartments in Santa Monica is an example of the housing program working as intended.
Among the Calipatria Little League athletes, asthma and allergies are common. Brothers Mark and Brayden know their mother, cheering from the bleachers, always has their inhalers in case either boy’s asthma flares. capitalandmain.com/near-the-sal...
Near the Salton Sea, Little League Players Struggle to Breathe
Pediatric asthma is common in Calipatria, where young athletes compete despite extreme heat and air pollution. Some worry a lithium boom could make things worse.
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When Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity took the stage at the annual conference for a powerful fossil fuel trade group in April, it didn’t take long for her to reference her affinity for the commonwealth’s rich shale deposits. capitalandmain.com/gov-shapiro-...
Gov. Shapiro Walks a Fine Line on Climate; His Opponent Just Wants to Drill.
As cash flows into Pennsylvania governor's race, ethical questions over Stacy Garrity's fracking income loom.
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The fortunes of the Golden State’s billionaires, fueled by explosive growth in AI and cryptocurrency technology, increased by 144% to more than $2 trillion — most of it shielded from California income tax. capitalandmain.com/californias-...
California’s Billionaire Tax Should Be Just the Starting Point
Economist Gabriel Zucman argues that a permanent 2% tax on the ultra rich could generate billions while addressing the state’s growing concentration of wealth.
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Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity has, for years, leased the mineral rights beneath one of her north central Pennsylvania properties to the fracking industry, earning at least $15,600 since 2020. capitalandmain.com/gov-shapiro-...
Gov. Shapiro Walks a Fine Line on Climate; His Opponent Just Wants to Drill.
As cash flows into Pennsylvania governor's race, ethical questions over Stacy Garrity's fracking income loom.
capitalandmain.com
At least once a day, Esmeralda and her daughters gather in their living room, waiting for her cellphone to ring. The voice on the other end always begins the same way. capitalandmain.com/a-daily-phon...
A Daily Phone Call Holds Together a Family Divided by Detention
ICE raids have swept up thousands of immigrant men in L.A. County. Many are primary breadwinners whose families have been left to cope in their absence.
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The most honest conversations America has about climate change don’t happen in Washington. Sometimes they happen in the darkness of a movie theater or living room. capitalandmain.com/the-climate-...
The Climate Crisis Onscreen: 14 Films That Made Waves
Climate-themed films matter more than ever as the Trump administration weakens environmental protections. Here are some of the best and most meaningful ones.
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At least once a day, Esmeralda and her daughters gather in their living room, waiting for her cellphone to ring. The voice on the other end always begins the same way. capitalandmain.com/a-daily-phon...
A Daily Phone Call Holds Together a Family Divided by Detention
ICE raids have swept up thousands of immigrant men in L.A. County. Many are primary breadwinners whose families have been left to cope in their absence.
capitalandmain.com
Employees who have left the agency fear that drastic staff cuts are leaving workers less protected and that the agency’s new head is setting policy to serve the interests of an industry he once represented. capitalandmain.com/trump-cuts-q...
Trump Cuts Quietly Gutted a Health Plan and Retirement Watchdog
The Labor Department agency has lost a quarter of its staff and curtailed enforcement under a chief who once represented the industry it regulates.
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Christine Waugh-Fleischmann, an art teacher who says she spends up to $200 a week on gas driving to see her grandchildren, is a Democratic voter in mid-Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. capitalandmain.com/in-michigan-...
In Michigan, the Price of Energy Is on the Ballot and Both Parties Know It
The GOP spent years circling the state as a key 2026 pickup opportunity. But after a lopsided election loss, doubts are creeping in.
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According to a new report, the state’s top 15 billionaires alone have poured more than $336 million into federal and California elections so far this year. capitalandmain.com/an-exponenti...
An ‘Exponentially Different Level’ of Billionaire Spending in California
Report details how the ultra-rich are pouring unprecedented sums into state politics to block a proposed billionaire tax and advance a tech-friendly agenda.
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The shooting victim wasn’t a person, but a dog, a shaggy 2-year-old poodle/golden retriever/St. Bernard mix named Jameson. His owner, 45-year-old Marie Marseille, is Black. capitalandmain.com/jamesons-lap...
What Jameson’s LAPD Shooting Death Says About Justice and Black People
The outpouring of sympathy for Marie Marseille stands out at a time when even indisputable victimhood doesn’t guarantee universal support.
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On June 12, the San Diego Immigration Court held its first mega master hearing. capitalandmain.com/the-mega-mas...
The ‘Mega Masters’ Tactic: Mass Immigration Hearings Inside Crowded Courtrooms
Judges are issuing deportation orders before immigrants receive notice their hearing dates have been moved up.
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After war broke out with Iran in late February, the average price of gas in Michigan jumped roughly 32% in three weeks, from $2.99 to $3.95 a gallon. capitalandmain.com/in-michigan-...
In Michigan, the Price of Energy Is on the Ballot and Both Parties Know It
The GOP spent years circling the state as a key 2026 pickup opportunity. But after a lopsided election loss, doubts are creeping in.
capitalandmain.com
Before Fernando Arciniega was detained by federal immigration agents in May 2024, he was the breadwinner of his household. Providing for his daughter, 17, and son, 12, was something he took pride in. capitalandmain.com/california-l...
California Lawmakers Target Price Gouging at ICE Detention Facilities
Immigrant detainees say they pay $20 for tampons and nearly $19 for instant coffee while earning only $1 per day through a federal work program.
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The Trump administration has found a way for immigration judges to order dozens of immigrants deported at the same time by using a tactic widely known as mega master hearings. capitalandmain.com/the-mega-mas...
The ‘Mega Masters’ Tactic: Mass Immigration Hearings Inside Crowded Courtrooms
Judges are issuing deportation orders before immigrants receive notice their hearing dates have been moved up.
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As the Trump administration delays regulations on “forever chemicals,” California officials say they are unsure what the consequences will be for an estimated 1.5 million Californians served by utilities with contaminated sources of drinking water. capitalandmain.com/california-l...
California Lawmakers Seek ‘Forever Chemicals’ Protections Despite EPA Rollbacks
State and federal legislation could help clean cancer-causing contaminants from hundreds of California water systems. One bill was diluted under industry pressure.
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The high prices prompted detainees at two California facilities to launch a boycott earlier this month in an effort to call attention to the eye-popping price tags on commissary items, including an eight-ounce container of coffee selling for almost $20. capitalandmain.com/california-l...
California Lawmakers Target Price Gouging at ICE Detention Facilities
Immigrant detainees say they pay $20 for tampons and nearly $19 for instant coffee while earning only $1 per day through a federal work program.
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