Daily Business Report: Friday, May 23, 2025
Google follows Newsom in reducing support for California local news
By Jeanne Kuang | CalMatters
Google will pay $5 million less than it promised to a fund intended to help struggling California news outlets stay afloat, less than a year after committing to pay $15 million.
The company will now pay $10 million into the initiative to fund local news which will be distributed among California news publishers, according to the office of Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who has been involved in setting up the program.
The announcement Wednesday came a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed cutting the state’s own share of the first-year commitment to $10 million from $30 million, as California faces a $12 billion budget deficit.
Healing Through Nature with ENF this Mental Health Awareness Month
By Emilio Nares Foundation
The Emilio Nares Foundation (ENF), a non-profit supporting families through their child’s cancer journey, has partnered with San Diego River Park Foundation to launch Healing Through Nature. This program offers families guided outdoor excursions, wellness kits, and nature sessions as a way to cope with the challenges they are going through and heal.
With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, the Emilio Nares Foundation has been doing impactful work to help these families heal during the difficult times they are going through. The National Library of Medicine reported in 2024 that about 74% of parents of children with cancer experience anxiety and depression.
In response to these high levels of mental health concerns among parents and other family members of children with cancer, Healing Through Nature was launched. This program provides numerous outdoor activities that families with children in recent cancer remission can participate in to boost their emotional and physical strength. Through this, families are surrounded by a supportive community, allowing them to connect, share their journey, heal and fall in love with life again.
Funded by the Prebys Foundation, ENF and the San Diego River Park Foundation are able to continue to grow the program to help more families in need. This is only one of the many resources ENF offers to families going through these difficult times. Additional resources include their Family Resource Center, Ride with Emilio, and Emilio Snack Bags, to name a few. Learn more about the Healing Through Nature
Fraud pushes California’s community colleges to consider an application fee. Is it worth it?
By Adam Echelman | CalMatters
Under scrutiny from state and federal lawmakers, California’s community colleges are trying to crack down on financial aid fraud. Scammers have increasingly infiltrated the state’s 116 community colleges, posing as students in an effort to steal financial aid from the state and federal government.
At a meeting Tuesday, the board that oversees California’s community colleges voted to require all students to verify their identity, which is currently optional for most applicants. The board also considered asking the Legislature for approval to charge students a nominal application fee — which many said should be no more than $10. But after more than two hours of debate, the board rejected that proposal and instead asked staff to “explore” a fee policy.
“Some of you were asking questions, ‘Why is this happening so fast?’” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian. “Because on April 8, CalMatters ran an article that got national press. Guess what happened after that? Nine of our congressional leaders emailed the Secretary of Education of the United States and emailed the Attorney General asking them to start an investigation of the California Community Colleges.”
