Guest Commentary

As the first generation to grow up in a digital world, teens are susceptible to influencer marketing, staged content and misinformation. A legislative proposal would help add media literacy to K-12 education so California children are better equipped for life on social media.

Since 2011, 80% of the credits issued by a California program aiming to reduce pollution have gone to biogas and biofuel projects that have their own environmental drawbacks. Meanwhile, communities near oil refineries and dairies suffer the brunt of the impact from ongoing emissions.

California leads the country with its comprehensive paid family leave laws, but parents with children born prematurely need more support.

In California's 173-year history, only three sitting lieutenant governors have been elected governor. The first time was in 1922. The second was 76 years later.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving free speech protections and immigration law reaffirmed a longstanding view that could help lawmakers in California and elsewhere attempting to regulate harmful social media algorithms.

Idle and orphaned oil wells pose not just a public health risk but could cost an estimated $21.5 billion to clean up. California lawmakers can take several steps to ensure taxpayers are not forced to cover the tab.

The most traumatized people in a courtroom are the victims, survivors and bystanders who witnessed a crime. But judges experience secondary trauma as people retell their experiences. A Sacramento area judge with anxiety argues the importance of seeking out mental health care.

The California Coastal Commission's opposition to contentious legislation this year has led to misperceptions that the board is anti-housing. That's not true, says the commission chair.

California has spent billions of dollars in recent years to reduce homelessness, but the problem is only getting worse. Lawmakers should rethink their approach and consider solutions that involve the private sector and repeal laws that make it too expensive to build housing.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the legislature need to put aside any lingering animosity over a package of contentious infrastructure bills and take the next steps to make California's clean energy goals possible. There's no time to waste.