And while issues and politicians may change, a constant is California’s natural beauty — wildflowers in bloom, mountains set in front of sunsets, an unusual rock formation in the middle of a lake.
So here’s our holiday gift to you — a selection of the year’s most compelling images by CalMatters photo journalists and contributors.
First: Cars are trapped in Planada in January. The town was under evacuation orders after a series of storms flooded the town. Last: A car stops on flooded Lambert Road off Interstate 5 in Sacramento County in January. Northern California was hit by a major rainstorm that caused power outages, landslides and flooding over the New Year’s holiday weekend. Photos by Larry Valenzuela and Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters/CatchLight LocalGov. Gavin Newsom leaves the stage after delivering a speech at his inauguration for a second term at the Plaza de California in Sacramento in January. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMattersPeople mourn outside Monterey City Hall for the victims of a mass shooting that left 11 people dead and 9 others injured at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in January. Photos by Pablo Unzueta for CalMattersPam Holland holds a photo of her late son Shane Earl Holland in her living room in Tehachapi on April. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight LocalCutler residents assess and clean up water damage from their homes in March. Many homes in the area were flooded due to a breach in a nearby levee after a series of strong storms hit the Central Valley. Photos by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight LocalFirst partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom addresses the media during an event to observe the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade at the state Capitol. In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, ending nearly 50 years of guaranteed abortion access for American women. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMattersA wildflower “superbloom” at North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve in Oroville in April. Photo by Julie A Hotz for CalMattersFirst: Distant phacelia, common fiddleneck, and other wildflowers in bloom during a “superbloom” in Carrizo Plain National Monument in Santa Margarita in April. Next: A view of Half Dome and the Yosemite Valley from the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail in July. Last: California poppies in a field in Sacramento in April. Photos by Julie A Hotz and Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMattersMono Lake on the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada in May. Environmentalists say it’s past time for California to halt Los Angeles’ diversion of Mono Lake’s tributaries. Photo by Sierra Farquhar for CalMattersSupporters at a Unite Here Local 11 protest hold hands in solidarity in June. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMattersFirst: Tammy Rodriguez, an employee with the state Department of Motor Vehicles in San Luis Obispo, in June. Rodriguez has 27 years of state service, including five years in San Luis Obispo. Last: Elise Byun, a member of the women’s gymnastics team, at the University of California, Berkeley in June. Photos by Julie Leopo-Bermudez and Semantha Norris for CalMattersScreen Actors Guild members and Writers Guild of America members picket at the Amazon Culver Studios in Culver City in June. Photo by Julie A Hotz for CalMattersFirst: Arturo Villanueva is a tractor driver in Oxnard. Villanueva still isn’t working his usual hours because rainy weather delayed planting some crops by at least two months. Next: Mateo Fuentes is a first-generation college student at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut. Last: A worshipper at the Sri Guru Ravidass Temple in Rio Linda. Photos by Julie Leopo-Bermudez, Lauren Justice and Miguel Gutierrez Jr., for CalMattersEl Cerrito Mayor Lisa Motoyama outside City Hall in El Cerrito in August. Photo by Semantha Norris, CalMattersFirst: People fill bags with sand in preparation for Hurricane Hilary at the Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Station in San Diego in August. Instructor Mitchell Schmidt teaches a student to use welding tools during a course at Lakeshore College in Wisconsin in August. Lakeshore College offers courses that practice competency-based education that some California schools are hoping to adopt. Photos by Adriana Heldiz and Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight LocalFarmworkers work in a field outside Bakersfield in Kern County on July 25 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
Marie at her home in Culver City in September. Marie lived at Community’s Child after leaving a domestic violence relationship and fighting a past addition. She now owns her home and has built a new life for herself and her children. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for CalMatters
First: Unite Here Local 11 and their supporters rally outside Los Angeles International Airport on Century Boulevard in June. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters. Last: Domestic workers sweep the chalk-written word “Injustice” at the state Capitol in Sacramento in August. Photos by Zaydee Sanchez and Rahul Lal for CalMattersKaiser Permanente employees picket in front of the Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento location in October. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMattersDena Arenas, 31, holds her five-month-old baby, Hanna Paiz, at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Los Angeles in September. She and her family immigrated to the United States from Guatemala in June. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMattersFirst: Voting booths in front of an altar for Dia de los Muertos during a voter registration event organized by the League of United Latin American Citizens in Tulare in November. Last: Ramon Ruelas at his home in Mexicali in October. After nearly a decade behind bars in California prisons, Ruelas was granted parole in 2019, but was later deported to Mexico. Photos by Zaydee Sanchez and Adriana Heldiz, CalMattersAngelica Vásquez outside her home in San Leandro in November, a day after she says PG&E cut off her electricity due to an unpaid bill. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for CalMattersFirst: Raphael witnessed and experienced domestic violence in his mother’s relationship when he was a young teenager. Raphael is now in college and plans on working towards being a dermatologist. Next: Home items in Carolyn Young’s yard on Oct. 26, 2023. Young and Planada residents had to throw out many of their possessions after their homes flooded earlier in the year during torrential rainstorms. Last: Rebecca Luebker, the social science chair of Haas Hall Academy speaks during a CSforALL Summit breakout session. The panelists discussed equitable practices in computer science education at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center in October. Photos Alicia Jecevic, Larry Valenzuela and Emily Steinberger for CalMattersFraidoon Noori, 24, a migrant from Afghanistan, in Jacumba Hot Springs in San Diego on Nov. 18, 2023. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMattersHillel, a campus religious group, hosts a rally calling for the release of kidnapped Israelis at UCLA’s Wilson Plaza on Nov. 7, 2023 in Los Angeles. A Shabbat table with place settings represents the seats of those who have been kidnapped by Hamas. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMattersProtesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza interrupted the general session at the California Democratic Party convention in Sacramento on Nov. 18, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics. (Articles are published in partnership with edhat.com)
Oh man, this is not right. I had to look up the Star Ballroom shooting since I don’t think I ever heard much about it and had no recollection of it. It’s tragic that in this country, and this country alone, there are so many mass shootings that they meld into each other. I feel awful for not knowing about this and ashamed that it happens so often that it’s even possible to forget or be unaware.
Hello friend! We noticed you have adblocking software installed. We get it, ads can be annoying, but they do fund this website.
Please disable your adblocking software or whitelist our website.
And hey... thanks for supporting a local business!
CalMatters
Oh man, this is not right. I had to look up the Star Ballroom shooting since I don’t think I ever heard much about it and had no recollection of it. It’s tragic that in this country, and this country alone, there are so many mass shootings that they meld into each other. I feel awful for not knowing about this and ashamed that it happens so often that it’s even possible to forget or be unaware.
Great round-up of photos on CA – thanks!