California’s small business owners fight to save state aid

By Levi Sumagaysay | CalMatters

Lina Mills recalls how she came to this country from Colombia at age 16 having never worked a day in her life.

Once she arrived, she found work in restaurants. “I had to provide for myself,” Mills told CalMatters recently. “I basically ran from home.”

She knew some English, learned more, and worked her way up to catering manager. Now, 36 years later, she owns two businesses in San Francisco.

She employed a dozen workers at Creative Ideas...