Guest Commentary

California courts give low-income jurors $15 per day. As a result, people with financial hardships are excused, leading to juries that often fail to reflect local demographics. A bill on the governor's desk would expand a San Francisco pilot program and up the rate to $100 in four new counties.

Dianne Feinstein's greatest political achievements on gun safety, water issues and exposing CIA torture are well-known. Her lasting accomplishments, however, might be the generations of staffers she molded who use the lessons she instilled on a daily basis.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died on Thursday, was a true force of nature and the greatest senator in California history, a former staffer says. If there were more people like her in Washington D.C., America could find more common ground.

The budget-cutting efforts in Congress putting the U.S. government on the verge of a shutdown could become a fixture. The current spending proposals put Census Bureau funding on the chopping block, which could have lasting impacts if California's population remains undercounted.

After Congress did not extend a pandemic-era tax credit, California's poverty rate for children rose from 7.5% to nearly 17% in one year. The false narratives that describe people in poverty often don't reflect research or reality, and further harm them by stalling policy solutions.

A bill that would extend unemployment benefits to workers on a strike exceeding two weeks is awaiting a signature from Gov. Gavin Newsom. A Hollywood writer argues that striking workers deserve benefits from a fund their labor helps support.

California's beleaguered Employment Development Department could be asked to dole out benefits to striking workers if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a bill providing them the right. Critics say the EDD has enough problems to address before the next economic downturn.

A bill that would add caste to California’s fair employment and housing law and the education code is sitting on the governor's desk. Supporters are on a hunger strike, urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign the bill into law.

A Sacramento woman with bipolar disorder reflects on her own experience with involuntary hospitalization and the potentially fatal alternative she faced.

Voters in California are disproportionately older, richer, more educated and whiter than the overall population. Fully automatic voter registration and consistent investments in voter engagement could help California's political system better reflect its diversity.