February 7, 2019

Tragedy strikes, California responds. But how did a state once the epitome of the gun-slinging wild, wild west wind up with more gun control laws than another state in the country?

Three years after California stopped allowing families to easily opt out of childhood vaccines, the number of kids getting medical waivers has tripled—the result, critics say, of some doctors loosely issuing exemptions to help families get around the law. Legislators and health experts are debating what to do next. One proposal would be modeled on an existing state requirement that any veterinarian seeking to exempt a sick dog from rabies vaccination must obtain approval from a health official.

Tuition-free community college programs are springing up around the country, including in California. But to many struggling students, “free” doesn’t really mean free.

California faces a serious gap in health care workers. Seven million Californians, the majority of them Latino, African American, and Native American, live in Health Professional Shortage Areas — a federal designation for counties experiencing shortfalls of primary care, dental care, or mental health care providers. The California Future Health Workforce Commission offers solutions.

Self-driving vehicle technology could exacerbate entrenched social and environmental problems, if we don’t make deliberate policy choices, especially for marginalized groups. We can easily imagine a dystopian scenario in which people with money purchase personal self-driving cars, while the rest of us are mired in congested streets, with reduced mobility as public transit gets short-changed due to ridership loss.

A new California poll shows the Golden State loves Pelosi. Newsom settles a bet and spotlights housing. CA's new online college gets a tech CEO.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blames a shortfall in state income tax revenues on the flight of rich taxpayers to Florida because federal tax laws no longer allow them to write off state and local taxes. What about California?