Dan Walters

The harsh reality is that California's Employment Development Department botched the management of unemployment insurance for jobless workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed massive fraud in the dispersal of federal benefits, and still hasn't fixed its problems.

Tens of thousands of California workers have gone on strike this year to seek better wages and working conditions. As the strikes continue, unions are mounting a full-court press in the Legislature to achieve those same goals.

The San Francisco Bay Area has enjoyed economic and political dominance over Southern California, but the region's once-united front is cracking as a recent dispute over toll increases revealed.

California's Department of Education tried to block academic researchers from testifying in a lawsuit alleging that the state's school closures damaged academic achievement, but finally backed down – partially.

A chess move by California Capitol leadership last week could undercut a pending ballot measure seeking to restrict new taxes. A similar strategy was used by Republicans in Ohio attempting to restrict abortion rights.

Four decades ago, Jerry Brown proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to bolster his bid for the White House, but failed. Today, Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying the same strategy.

California has spent billions of dollars on its worst-in-the-nation homelessness crisis but has little to show for it, in part because of squabbling among state and local officials.

The Legislature has returned to Sacramento for the final month of its 2023 session but will adjourn without acting on several major issues, including a crisis in fire insurance availability.

California's 45-year-long war over tax restrictions will be placed before voters next year. But a new appellate court ruling has also opened a new source of conflict.

California voters last year rejected a ballot measure that could have settled a long-running feud between casino-owning tribes and poker parlors. Now the battle over betting turf is being revived in the Legislature with a tribe-backed bill.