Adam Beam

Stay informed with Adam Beam’s coverage and analysis.

  • FILE – Retirees Ron Martin, left, and Willie Mae Hampton, right, join other supporters of the Service Employees International Union at a rally against proposed budget cuts to state provided social safety net programs, in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 11, 2024. On Saturday, June 22, 2024, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democrats who control the state Legislature agreed to delay an upcoming minimum wage increase for health care workers to help balance the budget. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)Politics

    California Democrats agree to delay minimum wage hike for health care workers, who will eventually get $25 per hour

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • A woman driving a modern carPolitics

    California may join the EU in requiring all new cars to beep at drivers when they break the speed limit

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • Gavin NewsomPolitics

    California’s massive $27.6 billion deficit pushes Gavin Newsom to suggest cutting 10,000 vacant jobs

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • Gavin NewsomPolitics

    Frustrated by high drug prices, California will offer its own version of heavily discounted Narcan to stop fentanyl overdoses

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • Gavin NewsomHealth

    California partners with pharma firm on generic Narcan amid opioid crisis

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • Cafeteria workers serve student lunches at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif. on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Demand for school lunches has increased after California guaranteed free meals to all students regardless of their family’s income. Now, districts are preparing to compete with the fast food industry for employees after a new law took effect guaranteeing a $20 minimum wage for fast food workers. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)Success

    California’s new $20-an-hour fast food minimum wage is so good that schools are worried they can’t compete for cafeteria workers

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • Alex JohnsonSuccess

    Bay Area Auntie Anne’s mogul estimates California’s new $20 minimum wage will cost him $470,000 per year

    By Terry Chea, Adam Beam, and others
  • Gavin NewsomHealth

    There’s a huge Medicaid problem in California: Most doctors just won’t see those patients

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • California Governor Gavin NewsomPolitics

    California now covers more Medicaid patients than ever—but doctors struggle to treat them because the state pay rates haven’t kept up

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • Gavin NewsomPolitics

    Panera story is ‘absurd,’ Newsom’s office claims, insisting it’s not exempt from the minimum wage law after all

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • Gavin Newsom, Ted HernandezEnvironment

    California salmon boosters say Gavin Newsom’s ‘smoke and mirrors’ can’t hide the fact there’s just not enough water

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • Gavin NewsomPolitics

    Gavin Newsom vows to protect youth tackle football: ‘An outright ban is not the answer’

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • Gavin NewsomPolitics

    California may become the first state to ban tackle football for kids under 12—but not until 2026

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press
  • Gavin NewsomPolitics

    Gavin Newsom tackles a $68 billion deficit for the world’s fifth largest economy, the AI explosion and the Hollywood implosion

    By Trân Nguyễn, Adam Beam, and others
  • Lakeisha BryantEnvironment

    San Jose officials move to reassure on wastewater conversion: ‘This is a very high tech process that ensures the water is super clean’

    By Adam Beam and The Associated Press