California Voices

Viewpoints from across California

Journalists and television camera crews gather around a podium crowded with microphones during a news conference on a city sidewalk. A person at the podium reviews papers while reporters, photographers and members of the public look on.

California lawmakers want to cut funds for local news at exactly the wrong time

California lawmakers are finalizing a budget that would cut aid for local newsrooms, walking away from a nascent effort to restore local reporting and build a more sustainable industry.

By Martin Reynolds

A graduate in cap and gown holds a bouquet of flowers while posing with an older man wearing a light-colored hat and sunglasses. The two stand together smiling in a crowded outdoor graduation venue, with other attendees visible in the background.

Immigration raids have made skin color top of mind for a new generation of California Latinos

As immigration agents conduct roving patrols, a Cal State Fullerton student reflects on the racial profiling her father experienced and how it inspires her to correct the narrative.

By Priscilla Preciado

Two people in suits stand face-to-face on a stage in front of a crowd holding signs supporting voting rights and democracy. A podium sign in the foreground reads “Election Rigging Response Act.”

Newsom handpicked a generation of California politicians. Can they help him run for president?

An entire generation of California elected officials owe their current jobs and their political prospects to Gavin Newsom.

By Robert Greene

People gather outside an evacuation shelter, many wearing hoodies, jackets or wrapped in blankets. An older person stands with a walker in the center of the scene, while signs for the American Red Cross and shelter services are visible in the background.

During Garden Grove evacuations, did seniors and people with disabilities get out safely?

The emergency at GKN Aerospace forced evacuations, but it was unclear how bedridden residents, hospice patients and homebound seniors could get to safety.

By Kelley Barrett

The reflection of people from a nearby window as they stand in front of gray voting booth in an outside area covered by a yellow canopy tent.

Commentary

Voters in deep blue California are souring on ballot measures that add new taxes

The November ballot will be full of local and state initiatives that will reveal the appetite of California voters for raising the state’s tax burden.

By Dan Walters • June 24, 2026

An aerial view of homes and apartments along a hillside fills the frame.

Commentary

Los Angeles sits on a sleeping giant of housing supply. It begins with starter home conversions

Los Angeles officials are fighting state housing reforms with a proposal that places the right type of housing in the wrong place. The city should instead be converting its aging housing stock.

By Arthur Gailes • June 24, 2026

A lawmaker, wearing a navy blue suit, holds up a piece of paper with their signature while surrounded by other lawmakers who clap their hands.

Commentary

Will Democrats win the congressional seats Newsom’s gerrymander made competitive?

Democrats might not gain all five seats that Proposition 50 was designed to shift. Republicans have a fair shot at preserving one, and outside chances in two other races.

By Dan Walters • June 23, 2026

Incarcerated men are seen in the recreation yard during a media tour at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin on July 26, 2023. Photo by Eric Risberg, AP Photo.

Commentary

Why California prisons should be barred from abruptly canceling visiting hours

California prisons sometimes cancel visitation periods at the last minute, creating hardships for people making rare trips or long journeys. A bill would rightly protect those visits.

By Victoria Valenzuela • June 23, 2026

Silhouettes of Joshua trees stand tall against a golden-orange sunset, with the sun partially hidden behind a ridge of mountains, sending rays of light through the clouds.

Commentary

Thousands of Joshua trees are dying as the Mojave region develops. They must be saved

Solar and rare earth projects are displacing Joshua trees, which bring millions of tourists and revenue to the region and support some rare species.

By Jacob Mull • June 22, 2026

Commentary

On Juneteenth, Californians should ask: What will it take for Black communities to thrive?

Amid a national backlash, is California willing to move from celebrations of freedom to building the structural conditions for Black people to permanently thrive?

By Kaci Patterson • June 19, 2026

A fast food employee stands and talks to customers behind the restaurant counter with the menu displayed behind them. In the foreground is the over-the-shoulder view of two customers as they talk to the employee.

Commentary

California turns to minimum wage hikes to offset high living costs. There’s a downside

California frequently turns to minimum wage hikes to offset the state's high living costs, but that creates economic pressures that can also squeeze households stuck in the middle.

By Dan Walters • June 19, 2026

A woman wearing a mask sits in a small medical exam room next to a desk with a computer, facing a healthcare worker who is partially obscured behind the monitor. The photo is taken from the hallway, looking into the room, where a wall-mounted hand sanitizer dispenser and document holders are also visible.

Commentary

Single-payer healthcare in California is possible. An economic and political thicket stands in the way

A pathway to single-payer healthcare may be possible, but hacking it through the thicket of healthcare economics and politics would require dozens — or even hundreds — of difficult choices.

By Dan Walters • June 18, 2026

Students wearing black cap and gowns with red stoles, wait in a line to receive their diploma during a commencement ceremony. The photo focuses on a person in the center of the line, who's red stole includes green and brown camouflage details to symbolize the U.S. military.

Commentary

Higher ed funding for California veterans is under threat. How a $12 billion bond could help

A program that lets veterans trade fatigues for a lab coat took a hit when federal officials tried freezing millions in grant dollars. It sparked support for a legislative fix.

By Jason Williams and Angel Fulgencio • June 17, 2026