Guest Commentary

We can safely use recycled water to drink, irrigate parks, support environmental uses, grow crops and produce energy. The state should invest at least $500 million in local projects.

Delays and exemptions sought by hospital lobbyists undermine legislation designed to upgrade buildings and ensure that communities can get care after an earthquake.

Californians deserve a consumer-first mentality when it comes to legal services, but innovations designed to provide consumers with affordable access need some form of oversight.

The climate crisis provides ample reason for the California Air Resources Board to strengthen measures to slash greenhouse gas pollution.

The rise of fentanyl overdose deaths is a crisis, and California public safety policy has failed to keep up. In absence of a state law, ask your local district attorney to issue notices to convicted dealers that they could be charged with murder if someone dies from fentanyl they supplied.

Managing droughts well requires extensive and organized preparation, which California sometimes lacks. Our losses will be greater if we manage poorly because of delay, complacency or panic.

Emergency conservation orders address short-term water shortages, but don’t move us toward the long-term goal of drought resilience. That requires strategic investments in local drought-resilient water supply projects.

The bill allows city councils and boards of supervisors to override voter-adopted initiative measures in exchange for higher-density housing, setting a troubling standard that could eventually render the initiative power meaningless.

When the legal battle over employees vs. contractors wrapped up in California, no one thought it could harm the independence of the scientific body charged with protecting Delta water. But it did. The governor needs to sign legislation to clarify that "independent" really means "independent."

Comprehensive social policies are essential for the women and children most affected by inequity but least represented in government relief and recovery efforts.