This weekend, Friday through Sunday, is shaping up as one massive fundraiser for businesses and residents affected by the Jan. 2 fire in downtown Arcata that leveled several businesses and left several more people homeless.

There is a massive and growing list of Arcata businesses that are pledging some portion of their revenues to fire recovery throughout the weekend. If you’re on Facebook, you can find a gargantuan, disorganized and ever-updating list of such businesses at this link. If you’re not on Facebook, you can check the not-so-complete or dynamic list at the Chamber of Commerce. But probably wherever you go in Arcata you’ll easily find a participating business.

[PSST! Some other Humboldt people are calling for a one-day general strike this Friday — no work, no school, no spending — in solidarity with other such calls around the nation. You will have to consult your conscience as to whether there is an exemption for this good, local cause.]

The centerpiece of the whole weekend is a huge three-day benefit concert at HumBrews, with dozens and dozens of local music acts. (Look for a poster at the bottom of this page.) Our colleagues at radio station KHUM-FM are going to be very active at this thing — DJ Toby Tullis is hosting for a couple days on one or more stages, which DJ Jordan Dobbins will be broadcasting live from the event on Saturday afternoon.

Want a preview? Check out Toby’s conversation with event organizer Brian Swizlow and Shelley Ruhl, the owner of HumBrews, at this link.

On Sunday, the city Arcata Chamber is putting on a HEROES PARADE to honor first responders. The parade will take place on and around the Arcata Plaza from noon to 1 p.m. 

Want more detail on this thing? KSLG-FM DJ Dale Cooper — another colleague! — talked with parade organizer Amy Bohner and Arcata Fire Chief Chris Emmons on the radio the other day. Here’s audio of that:

Amy Bohner and Chris Emmons on KSLG

SATURDAY SCHEDULE:

HumBrews Main Stage:

12:50-1:20: Harmonic Howl
130-2:00: Bigfoot County
210-2:40: Claire Bent & Citizen Funk
2:40-3:00: DJ Pressure
3:00-3:30: Big8
4:30-5:00: Naive Melodies
5-10-5:40: Down & Dirty
5:45-6:15: 42 Bux
6:25-6:55: The Mystery Lounge feat. Flo J Simpson, NacOne, Zig Zilla plus DJ Just One
7:05-7:35: Bump Foundation
745-8:15: RAMHTP
8:15-8:25: Humboldt Rockers
8:30-9:00: Object Heavy
9:10-9:40: Checkered Past
9:50-10:20: California Poppies
10:30-11:00: The Undercovers
11:00-11:40: DJ Just One
11:40-12:20: Rufkraft
12:20-1:00: Scribz

HumBrews Window Stage:

12:00-12:45: Soul Party/Goldylocks
1:00-1:45: Sarah Torres
2:00-2:45: Dead On
3:00-3:45: Zach Alder
4:00-4:45: Lyndsey Battle
5:00-5:45: A Banjo Makes Three
6:00-6:45: JeffKelley
7:00-7:45: Rich LaPreziosa
9:20-10:05: HotFoot

SUNDAY SCHEDULE:

HumBrews Main Stage:

1:30-2:00: The Rough Cuts
2:10-2:40: Uncredible Phin Band
2:50-3:20: Mark Sailors & Friends
3:30-4:00: Jesse Mills Band
4:10-4:40: War Möth
4:50-5:20: MSB
5:30-6:00: Soul Trip
6:10-6:40: The Mighty Dynamites
6:50-7:20: Jacki & The Jollies
7:30-8:00: Irie Rockers
8:10-8:40: Rooster McClintock

HumBrews Window Stage:

1:00-1:30: Oryan Peterson-Jones
1:30-3:00: DJ Riggs
3:00-3:45: Kray Van Kirk
4:00-4:45: Layla Dias
5:00-5:45: Moonstone Ramblers
6:00-6:45: Los Chicharrones
7:00-7:45: Free Limitless Energy

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The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday walked through a detailed 2026 legislative platform, fine-tuning goals for the county’s lobbying efforts in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. While doing so, supervisors and contract lobbyists outlined the lay of the land: big budget deficits for both the county and the state and a national political landscape that’s rife with uncertainty. 

This is an annual task, the drafting of legislative positions, and while it can be tough to make plans on such unstable footing, the board managed to articulate priorities around health care, housing, climate resilience, cannabis and emergency services. 

The platform, drafted by county staff and hired lobbyists, lays out Humboldt County’s positions of support or opposition on various state and federal bills and establishes a standing wish list for funding allocations.

HR 1 and the Safety Net

Much of the board’s conversation centered on HR 1, aka President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will shift costs and workloads onto counties by tightening eligibility rules for such programs as SNAP/CalFresh and Medi-Cal.

Karen Lange, a state-level lobbyist with the Sacramento firm of Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer and Lange, warned that counties will be forced to do “more with respect to qualifying people for services” with no new resources, while also facing the return of medically indigent adults (meaning uninsured low-income folks) to county responsibility.

A federal lobbyist, Joe Krahn with Paragon Government Relations, referenced the potential for another government shutdown in the wake of the recent killings of ICU nurse Alex Pretti and Renée Good by federal border agents in Minneapolis.

“There are congressional Democrats are looking to pull out the Department of Homeland Security funding separated from other bills and trying to extract some policy changes within that, and some congressional Republicans are pushing back on that,” Krahn said. “So there’s a lot of back and forth on the budget.”

Supervisors repeatedly described HR 1’s impact as “very serious,” with Third District Supervisor and Board Chair Mike Wilson making a pointed elaboration. Referring to the Trump administration, he said, “Their attacks on rural America [are] just insane.”

He cited cuts to services related to health care, food subsidies, transportation and more and said, “The impacts to people in rural communities — in terms of infrastructure and funding for the things that keep our life and civilization together — is under attack, and it’s just terrible.”

Health, Housing and Homelessness

Deputy County Administrative Officer Sean Quincey outlined a specific list of the county’s top legislative priorities, many of which relate to health and human services. He specifically mentioned:

• Protecting funding for permanent supportive housing and homelessness programs,
• Securing state and federal funding to hire more eligibility workers,
• Protecting funding for indigent health programs,
• Preserving and fully funding Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Round 6, 
• Supporting policy fixes to avoid federal and state cost shifts onto local government, and
• Maintaining Medi-Cal coverage for vulnerable residents.

The county’s public health lab emerged as a top project, with callers urging supervisors to rank it first on both state and federal earmark lists, citing a “bleak” outlook for local health care capacity.

Climate, Cannabis and Timberlands

Another major plank of the county’s legislative platform, on both the state and federal levels, is advocacy for improved climate resiliency. Just last month the county adopted its long-awaited Climate Action Plan, setting greenhouse gas emissions thresholds. Quincey said the county is requesting additional tools for reducing such emissions.

New to the county’s platform this year is formal opposition to offshore oil and gas drilling, a stand deemed necessary given the Trump administration’s stated plans to open up West Coast lease areas for that purpose.

At the same time, the county is pushing to keep aggressive timelines for offshore wind development, which Quincey framed as a major economic and climate opportunity despite “federal headwinds.” (No indication whether or not that pun was intended.) He noted that efforts on this front will require a lot of staff time, but those efforts are not eligible for federal funding under any existing programs.

In terms of cannabis, which Trump has moved to reschedule, the platform supports the long-delayed Appellations of Origin program at the state level. Ross Gordon of the Humboldt County Growers Alliance and the Origins Council called it a “significant economic development opportunity” for Humboldt County farmers if backed with financial and technical support from the state.

The document also seeks clarification on the definition of commercial timberlands. Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone said this clarity is crucial for supporting volunteer fire departments. He also noted the importance of emergency response services on all local highways, including 299, 101, 96 and 36.

In terms of specific budget requests, known as earmarks, Quincey identified three at the federal level: 

• $5 million for a new public health lab,
• “Complete Streets” improvements to Redwood Drive in Garberville, and
• Coastal stabilization and engineering work for Scenic Drive near Trinidad.

State budget requests mirror that list while putting offshore wind capacity-building at the top of the list and seeking $700,000-$800,000 for a document digitization project for the Planning and Building Department.

Wilson emphasized the county’s opposition to state legislation that expands state discretion over billboards at the expense of local control, and Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo voiced her support for the addition of that stance in the platform. 

Supervisors signaled broad support for the platform and directed staff to make minor additions, including clearer support for public transit. Arroyo made the motion to adopt the platform; Wilson seconded. The motion passed 4-1, with First District Supervisor Rex Bohn casting the lone dissenting vote. He didn’t explain his reasoning.

Measure S Officially Repealed

Yes, the board indicated that it repealing the county’s commercial cannabis tax three months ago, but an additional hearing was required to effectuate that decision. 

Madrone asked a question that many others have raised: “I had always understood that only the citizens could actually repeal this, because it was a citizens-based initiative. … So are we actually repealing this? Or are we just sort of setting [the tax rate] at zero until somebody changes it again?”

Deputy County Counsel Joel Blair Campbell, who was sitting next to Quincey during this part of the meeting, explained that the original language of Measure S granted the board the power to “repeal any or all” of the chapter, and that the tax could later be re-enacted so long as the amount doesn’t exceed the original rates. 

“Maybe a helpful way to think about it is: Measure S is not repealed, because the voters enacted that, but the ordinance and the county code — the chapter — is repealed,” Campbell said.

Bohn said he liked having the word “repeal” in there. “It’s for future boards to know how serious we were about it,” he said as he made a motion to make the repeal official. The motion was adopted 4-0, with Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell recusing herself. 

New Planning Commissioner, Same as the Old Planning Commissioner

Lorna McFarlane, past and future planning commissioner. | Screenshot.

Lorna McFarlane, a senior environmental scientist with Caltrans, has been serving as an at-large member of the Humboldt County Planning Commission since March 2024. The board recently shortened term lengths for at-large commissioners to just two years, so McFarlane’s term was up.

County staff posted notice of the pending vacancy. However, no one but McFarlane herself applied. 

Thankfully, everyone seems satisfied with her performance on that deliberative body. Addressing the board, she said she learned a lot in her first term and on multiple occasions came up with solutions that resolved disagreements among other commissioners. 

Wilson said he’s “very, very happy” with the work she’s done. Bohn motioned to re-appoint her. The rest of the supervisors voiced support, and the vote was unanimous.

PREVIOUSLY

• Meet Cal Poly Humboldt’s Next President, Richard A. Carvajal, Who Grew Up Here
• Interim Cal Poly Humboldt President Michael Spagna Thanks Campus Community and Welcomes His Successor

Cal Poly Humboldt’s last two presidents both quit after five years — one went into consulting, the other into hiding — but CPH’s brand-new president Richard Carvajal told the Outpost on Friday he was staking his claim. 

“I will finish my career here, whether it’s one year or 21 years,” Carvajal said. “I hope it’s not one. I hope it’s a lot longer. This is where I will end my career, because it’s a place that I want to truly make better.”

Though he spent 15 years of his career in Georgia (enough to give his voice a hint of twang), Carvajal’s not a stranger to the area. His family moved to Eureka during early childhood, then Hydesville and Carlotta. They moved when Carvajal was in middle school, but Humboldt impressed them. Carvajal said he “dreamed” about coming back when he was a kid; his mother cried when he told her he’d been made the president. He’d expected to finish out his career in Georgia, but felt compelled to accept the offer — he didn’t want to pass up on the chance to participate during a historic time for the university.

He was unable to answer questions about what specific changes he hopes to implement at the university and how’d they’d affect the county, but he said that was because he didn’t come into the job with an agenda and had only been back in Humboldt since Jan. 9. He spent only four of those days working. (We also only had 15 minutes to chat, so the ability to ask detailed follow-up questions and answer them was limited.) Carvajal said that he wanted to hear opinions from his staff and other well-informed people on the issues facing the university and Humboldt County, as well as what they loved and what didn’t need changing. Their answers will determine what he decides to focus on. 

Carvajal said he watched this 2024 forum, in which students and community members told the CSU’s board of trustees what kind of qualities they wanted the next president to have, several times.

“What I heard people consistently saying was that in an ideal world, they wanted someone who loved and appreciated and knew this place,” Carvajal said. “Of course, they wanted somebody who knew how to do the job… I think it uniquely qualifies me, because I come in on day one with a unique and sincere appreciation for what makes this place special.”

He was able to paint some broad strokes, emphasizing his commitment to improving both STEM and humanities programs. Keeping graduates around is also important, he said, for starting businesses and employing workers that will keep the economy afloat. He’s heard from people who are excited for CPH’s Healthcare Hub, excited to have more nurses and engineers around, excited to see the investments the state and local communities have put into CPH pay off.

But the main point Carvajal made was simply that he loves Humboldt. He spent the day after he returned in the redwoods and at the beach. He’s enjoyed going out and meeting people at basketball games and donut giveaways, and plans to be seen often; he got a shoutout at the State of the City, ate with the College of the Redwood’s President Keith Flamer, attended some student club meetings, got some hiking trail recommendations and fishing trip invitations. 

“I love being here,” he said. “I can’t tell you the number of people who have said to me, ‘Welcome home.’ I can’t tell you how much that means to me…This is very, very personal to my family, that we’re here. So I want folks to know that it matters to me. This is very special to me. I want to dive into this work, because I want to make this place that helped make me me even better.”

UPDATE: Oopsie doodle! The original version of this post was an old press release that the Fortuna Police sent out accidentally, and which we did not notice was old. Apologies.

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Press release from the Fortuna Police Department:

On January 23, 2026 at approximately 12:55 AM Fortuna Police Department Officer conducted a vehicle investigation on two suspicious vehicles occupied by adult male subjects in the 700 block of S. Fortuna Blvd.

As a result of the investigation Maxwell Elliot (age 30) of Fortuna was found to be in possession of over 20 grams of suspected Methamphetamine and a loaded 9mm caliber handgun on his person.

Elliot was taken into custody and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on the following charges:

• PC 2900(a)(1) – Felon in Possession of Firearm
• PC 25850(a) – Carry Concealed Loaded Firearm in Public
• PC 1203.2 – Violation of Probation
• H&S 11370.1(a) – Possession of Controlled Substance While Armed
• H&S 11379(a) – Transportation of Controlled Substances

The Fortuna Police Department remains dedicated to maintaining a safe community and we appreciate our observant dedicated officers and all the work they do.

If you observe suspicious or suspected criminal behavior in Fortuna please call and report it. We can be reached at (707)725-7550.

Press release from the City of Eureka:

The City of Eureka is pleased to announce that construction of Grace Marton Memorial Park will begin this spring and continue through the end of the year. The park will feature a playground, picnic areas, plantings, and game areas. The project also includes resurfacing the waterfront trail from the Adorni Center to just beyond the Samoa Bridge. In addition, the trail will be realigned to follow the bayside of the new park, replacing the current route that passes through the Sacco Amphitheater.

The new Grace Marton Memorial Park will be located on the lawn area in front of the Sacco Amphitheater and is made possible by a generous donation from Lance Hardie and Grace Marton. Combined with City funds and Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant funding, this support brings the total project budget to $1,239,979.

The project is anticipated to break ground in April 2026 and be completed by the end of the year. As part of early preparation work, 10 trees along the waterfront trail will be removed. These removals are necessary because existing tree roots have caused damage to the trail surface, creating safety and maintenance concerns. The removed trees will each be replaced with California native catalina ironwoods which are better suited in size and root structure for the trail environment. They will be thoughtfully planted to support long-term trail durability while enhancing the natural character of the waterfront.

This project has been carefully reviewed and is fully compliant with all applicable regulations, including approval from the California Coastal Commission. Tree removal will take place outside of nesting season to protect local wildlife. The City does not take the removal of mature trees lightly and evaluates many factors before making these decisions such as tree health, public safety, visibility, and infrastructure impacts.

As construction commences, there will be closures around the project site and pedestrian reroutes will be provided.

For more information about the project, please visit this link.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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California Democratic senators advanced a measure Tuesday that would make it easier for people to sue federal agents over civil rights violations, a bill shaped by fears of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices.

The bill from Sens. Scott Wiener and Aisha Wahab, both Bay Area Democrats, took on additional significance after federal agents gunned down Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and ICU nurse, in Minnesota last weekend. Senators discussed the measure on the floor for more than 90 minutes before voting along party lines, 30 to 10, to send it to the Assembly.

“It’s a sad statement on where we are in this country that this has to be a partisan issue,” Wiener said just before the vote on his bill, which is also known as the “No Kings Act”. “Red, blue, everyone has constitutional rights. And everyone should have the ability to hold people accountable when they violate those rights.”

It’s among several bills lawmakers are moving forward in the new year to confront an escalation of aggressive immigration enforcement tactics and to protect immigrant communities. They include bills that would tax for-profit detention companies, prohibit law enforcement officers from moonlighting as federal agents and attempt to curb courthouse arrests.

Those efforts follow a slate of legislation signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year to resist the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign in California, including a first-in-the nation measure to prohibit officers from wearing masks and others that limit their access to schools and hospitals.

While some of those laws are facing legal challenges, the new batch of proposals offer “practical solutions that are squarely within the state’s control,” said Shiu-Ming Cheer, deputy director at California Immigrant Policy Center.

Here’s a look at some of the key bills lawmakers are considering:

No moonlighting as a federal agent

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, a Democrat from Culver City, authored a bill that would prohibit law enforcement from taking a side job as a federal immigration agent.

At a press conference in San Francisco earlier this month, Bryan said the measure is especially timely as the federal administration ramps up its recruitment of California’s local law enforcement.

“We don’t collaborate in the kidnapping of our own community members, but there is a loophole in state law,” he said. “While you can’t collaborate with ICE while you are working in your police shift, you can take a second job with the Department of Homeland Security. And I don’t think that that is right.”

In an interview with CalMatters, he said the legislation is intended to bring transparency and accountability, and to close that loophole.

“The federal administration has created not just a secret police but a secret military at the expense of health care, social safety nets, and key benefits that the American people need and rely on to make it through the day,” said Bryan. “All of those resources have been rerouted to the unaccounted militarized force patrolling our streets and literally killing American citizens.”

Keep ICE awy from courthouses

Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes, a Democrat from San Bernardino, introduced legislation to prevent federal immigration agents from making “unannounced and indiscriminate” arrests in courthouses.

“The issue is clear cut,” said Gómez Reyes in a statement. “One of the core responsibilities of government is to protect people — not to inflict terror on them. California is not going to let the federal government make political targets out of people trying to be good stewards of the law. Discouraging people from coming to court makes our community less safe.”

The legislation was introduced nearly two weeks after a federal judge ordered that the U.S. Justice Department halt civil arrests in immigration courts across Northern California, ruling that its deportation policies hadn’t addressed the “chilling effects, safety risks, and impacts on hearing attendance.”

Efforts to bolster protections in California courthouses have also been championed by Sen. Susan Rubio, a Democrat from West Covina, who introduced a bill that would allow remote courthouse appearances for the majority of civil or criminal state court hearings, trials or conferences until January 2029.

Taxing detention centers

Assemblymember Matt Haney, a Democrat from San Francisco, introduced a bill that would place a 50% tax on profits from immigration detention centers. Over 5,700 people are being held in seven immigration detention centers across California, three of which are located in Kern County.

Escalating ‘resistance’

Cheer, of California Immigrant Policy Center, said the early introduction of the bills demonstrates more urgency from the state Legislature to tackle issues around immigration enforcement.

“My hope for this year is that the state can be as bold and innovative as possible seeing the crisis communities are facing from immigration enforcement,” she said.

That means ensuring funding for attorneys to represent people facing deportation, addressing existing gaps in state laws around information sharing with the federal government, and looking into companies that are directly profiting from the business of arresting and deporting people, Cheer said.

Republicans have criticized the measures, which they characterize as overstepping on federal priorities.

“No one likes to see what’s happening in Minnesota. No one wants to see that coming to California,” said Sen. Tony Strickland, a Republican representing Huntington Beach. Instead, he argued, cities and states should jettison their so-called “sanctuary” policies that hamper coordination between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

He also criticized Democrats for taking precious Senate time to prepare for hypothetical scenarios rather than addressing existing problems in California.

“At the end of the day, we have a lot of serious issues here in California, and we need to start focusing on California-specific issues.”

Kevin Johnson, an immigration law professor and former dean of the UC Davis School of Law, said state and local governments are trying to figure out how far to go in resisting federal immigration enforcement given Trump’s threats to pull funding from sanctuary jurisdictions.

“While there’s concern and fear in immigrant communities, there’s some solace being given by the support expressed by state and local officials,” he said. “As the Trump administration escalates its aggressive deportation tactics across the nation, California has escalated its resistance.”

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CalMatters reporter Wendy Fry contributed to this story. Cayla Mihalovich is a California Local News fellow.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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In the past two years, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed three bills that would have allowed community colleges to award students more bachelor’s degrees. Unfazed, lawmakers are now backing a fourth bill that does much of the same.

The measure, Assembly Bill 664, cleared its first legislative tests by passing the Assembly Jan. 26, potentially setting up another collision course between state lawmakers and the governor. While Newsom supports more bachelor’s degrees for students, he’s repeatedly stated his opposition to adding more community college baccalaureate programs that go outside an agreed-upon process in a law that he and lawmakers approved in 2021.

That law said community colleges can develop up to 30 bachelor’s degrees per academic year, as long as the degrees do not duplicate the baccalaureate programs of the University of California and California State University.

But since then, community colleges and Cal State have disagreed on what counts as duplication, resulting in more than a dozen stalled community college bachelor’s programs because Cal State opposed them. Both public university systems oppose the latest bill. They fear more community colleges will seek their own degrees that duplicate what the universities offer, unraveling the 2021 law.The universities see themselves as the traditional generators of bachelor’s degrees. Community colleges say the state is too big and spread out to limit public four-year degrees to just the Cal State and UC.

Students shouldn’t be forced to enroll in universities dozens or hundreds of miles from home when the community college a few miles away can offer a bachelor’s degree that employers in the area say more workers need, bill backers say. Those backers include its main author, Assemblymember David Alvarez, a Democrat from Chula Vista.

His bill would allow the community college in his district, Southwestern College, to create up to four additional bachelor’s programs in applied disciplines, such as teaching English to speakers of other languages and designing websites. Alvarez stresses that his bill isn’t creating more general bachelor’s degree programs popular at the universities, such as psychology. Rather, he’s seeking to develop programs employers seek in the south San Diego County area.

While his bill is limited to just his district, Alvarez told fellow lawmakers Jan. 13 to follow his lead in creating bachelor’s degree programs at their local community colleges if they have unmet labor market needs. “I would expect nothing less from each one of you to do what I’m trying to do here.”The 2021 law limiting community college bachelor’s degree creation “has fallen short,” he said then.

In an interview, Alvarez doubled-down on the point that too many communities have adults eager to earn a bachelor’s degree but either cannot get into an over-enrolled public university or live too far away.“California is about providing opportunity and access to students,” Alvarez said. “Are we actually doing that in the state? I would say the answer to that today is we are falling very, very short.”

But the former chancellor of the state’s community college system thinks Alvarez’s bill, however well intentioned, is the wrong approach.

“I have, from the beginning, been opposed to community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees,” said Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “I think it is a mistake.” He was system chancellor when the first community college bachelor’s degrees were underway. Now he thinks a better solution is to send professors at under-enrolled Cal State campuses to community colleges that want bachelor’s degrees, such as Southwestern.

Developing more bachelor’s programs means hiring additional full-time faculty and administrators. It’s an approach that adds costs to public systems of higher education at a time when the state government is projecting multi-billion dollar deficits. Creating new bachelor’s degrees also takes two to three years before they’re offered to students, he said. If there’s market demand now, colleges and universities should collaborate by merging academic staff now as well, Oakley said. He now leads the College Futures Foundation, which is a CalMatters funder.

Alvarez notes that his bill requires Southwestern College to collaborate with nearby universities to create smoother pathways for students to earn bachelor’s degrees — similar to Oakley’s recommendation. Alvarez notes that Southwestern is doing the work to bolster degree attainment; it’s launching bachelor’s degrees programs so that nearby university professors teach on the Southwestern campus. However, he maintains that the college needs a legal dispensation to offer the bachelor’s programs his community needs.

The emphasis on existing collaboration with the four-year campuses makes him think Newsom won’t veto his bill, he said. Lawmakers will have until Aug. 31 to send the bill to the governor.

Appeal of community college bachelor’s

Community college bachelor’s degrees are cheaper than the ones offered at UC and Cal State, at about $10,000 for all four years. That’s a win for students chasing affordability who may not qualify for the state’s tuition waivers to the public universities, though about 60% of California students at UC and Cal State do.

California’s community colleges are relative novices at awarding these degrees: The first ones debuted about a decade ago. Now, around 300 students earn bachelor’s degrees at community colleges annually, compared to around 160,000 at the UC and Cal State. As a result, economic data is limited on whether these community college degrees lead to the higher pay that bachelor’s degrees offered by the two public universities yield.

A recent academic study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research reviewed several other states and found that community college bachelor’s degrees lead to higher wages than associate degrees would but slightly lower earnings compared to bachelor’s degrees from traditional universities. Results varied by major.

Nor does the community college system publish public data on the graduation rates of students who pursue bachelor’s degrees. The UC and Cal State do — and must by state and federal law.

“We do not have this information packaged in a public-facing tool like CSU provides,” wrote Melissa Villarin, a spokesperson for the California Community Colleges, in an email.

Public universities oppose bill

Both the UC and Cal State say the latest bill circumvents the 2021 law that allows community colleges to develop bachelor’s programs annually as long as the degrees do not duplicate existing programs at the two university systems. Under the law, both systems get to weigh in on whether there’s duplication. But under Alvarez’s bill, UC and Cal State can’t appeal the programs Southwestern launches.

The law supercharged the creation of community college bachelor’s programs — more than 50 are now approved at around 40 colleges. Before the law, 15 community colleges each offered one bachelor’s degree.

Left unsaid by Cal State officials during a bill hearing Jan. 13 is the fear that more community college bachelor’s programs will pull students from Cal State. But a Cal State administrator made just that point when lawmakers in 2024 introduced two bills that would allow several community colleges to award bachelor’s degrees in nursing. Those nursing bills cleared the Legislature but Newsom vetoed both. Cal State professors also worried about revenue losses from community college bachelor’s degrees in 2022 after the 2021 law passed.

Several lawmakers are also on record in favor of more community colleges providing bachelor’s degrees to address local workforce needs and create a more affordable option for students who can’t leave their communities.

“Baccalaureate programs at community colleges are the answer. I hope there’s more encroachment,” said Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, a Democrat from Cupertino, during a legislative hearing on the bill Jan. 13.The bill cleared the Assembly 69-1.

Duplication has been a multi-year battle

In 2023, two leading lawmakers on higher education issues wrote to community colleges that they cannot duplicate existing UC and Cal State degrees, regardless of location. The letter came as one community college created a bachelor’s in fire management that resembled a bachelor’s degree — not yet in existence — that was slated to be offered at a Cal State nearly 300 miles away. Cal State opposed the community college degree, but the college launched it anyway.The issue was an ongoing one — the community college system in 2022 suggested that how far a college is from a public university can be a factor in whether a degree is duplicative of the university’s. The 2023 legislative letter seemingly supersedes that 2022 belief.

Since the 2021 law through April of last year, the community colleges submitted 52 bachelor’s programs for approval, according to a document Cal State shared with CalMatters. Of those, 16 programs remain pending because of Cal State’s duplication concerns and seven had duplication concerns that the segments resolved. The other 28 programs were approved without any duplication concerns. The remaining degree, in fire management, is the only one Cal State labels as one the system opposed but that a community college created anyway.

Southwestern, which is near the U.S. border with Mexico, has sought a bachelor’s program in binational environmental architecture that has been disputed by Cal Poly Pomona for more than a year. That campus offers a similar program, without the binational emphasis.

Duplication hinges on whether the courses are similar, but the evaluation doesn’t consider whether the university with the existing degree has the capacity to enroll all the students who desire that workforce skill, said Southwestern College President Mark Sancez at the Jan. 13 hearing, in defense of Alvarez’s bill.

Southwestern College student Marilynn Palomino is in the process of earning an associate degree in criminal justice to work in a police crime lab doing forensic work. That position requires a bachelor’s degree, wrote Chris Jonsmyr, a spokesperson for Alvarez, in an email. But the only forensics bachelor’s at a public university in California is at San Jose State University, some 500 miles away, said Jonsmyr. Alvarez’s bill would lead to an applied forensics bachelor’s at Southwestern as one of the four programs it’s proposing, his staff said.Palomino is a single mother with a son and daughter.

“Transferring would require relocating hundreds of miles away with my children or leaving them behind,” she told lawmakers Jan. 13.

Community colleges far from public universities

Several data points are a driving force in bringing bachelor’s degrees to community colleges. One is that 29 of the state’s 116 community colleges are at least 25 miles from a public university, leaving many students “place-bound” or regionally stuck in the area their community colleges serve. About 150,000 students attend these colleges that are far from public universities.

Students at community colleges that are within 25 miles of a public university transfer to a four-year university at higher rates than those that are farther away.Community colleges have low transfer rates — just 21% of students who wanted to transfer do so after four years, a state report said. This could be a sign of a broken transfer system that might be remedied if more colleges could offer bachelor’s degrees. Or it could mean colleges aren’t ready to expand their services when they’ve struggled to graduate more students with degrees and certificates or transfer them at higher rates.

“Why would you create a new product when the bulk of your products are failing?” asked Oakley, the former community college system chancellor.

Enough students to go around

While Alvarez and Oakley disagree on whether bachelor’s degrees for community colleges is the solution to bring more students into bachelor’s programs, both say Cal State isn’t meeting the moment.

After steady enrollment growth throughout the 2010s, Cal State has struggled financially because roughly half of its campuses are contending with enrollment declines. Thirteen of the system’s 23 campuses had lower enrollments than their state targets last year.

That’s perplexing to Alvarez and Oakley, given that Cal State tuition is still relatively low, despite recent annual tuition hikes. Both also observe that other universities with higher tuition are attracting tens of thousands of students. There are about 113,000 California students at for-profit colleges that award bachelor’s degrees. Despite its affordability, Cal State is not winning over these students.

“In the CSU, they have failed to sort of re-create themselves in a way that’s relevant to what learners need today,” Oakley said.

Added Alvarez: “I’m surprised, really, that there’s so much indignation at the fact that we want to provide easier access to higher education for students when there’s plenty of students and plenty of need.”

Davis Jenkins, a research professor on community colleges at Columbia University, agrees. Even if community colleges increased the number of bachelor’s degrees they award 10-fold to 3,000, “which would take years,” he said, “I don’t think CSU has anything to worry about.”