Dan Walters

Democratic big-money donors wait to see if former Vice President Kamala Harris will run for governor, which could thin out a crowded primary contest in June.

The dynamics of California's Capitol haven't changed much in the last 50 years. In fact, many conflicts from 1975 can still be found in bills this year.

Los Angeles' leaders got plenty of warnings they've been overspending for years. Now they're using January's fires to seek a state bailout.

As lawmakers debate whether transgender athletes can play sports, they're missing a more widespread education issue — low test scores, especially in reading.

California’s governors and legislators have a number of irritating habits, but the worst is their tendency to enact sweeping programs or policy decrees without weighing the risks.

Given the expected decline in gas sales under California's zero-emission vehicle mandates, the politics for implementing a new revenue source will be as thorny as the gas tax has been for 102 years.

President Trump's crackdown on DEI means campuses like UC Davis have stopped making faculty applicants submit statements describing their diversity efforts.

The number of people registered to petition California's elected and appointed officials and its agencies has tripled in the past decade. California's budget is one reason why.

The Newsom administration released a new plan for addressing California homelessness, but the report failed to specify key details that will ultimately determine if its successful.

A phantom budget surplus in 2022 continues to haunt Gavin Newsom and state legislators after lavish spending, including a costly Medi-Cal expansion, has added billions more to California's chronic budget deficit.