California Voices

Pat Barry, Laguna Hills Justin Knighten asks what our leaders are doing to protect immigrants but ignores the benefits and rights of those living in the United States who built the country and made it desirable for those wishing to come here. The United States has no legal obligation to take in economic refugees seeking […]

A new study of California's K-12 schools concludes that the "achievement gap" remains large, and more efforts—along with a lot more money—are needed to close it.

Yes on Proposition 8: Kidney dialysis centers need more regulation for patient safety. No on Proposition 8: This initiative would harm patient care.

Gov. Brown wants California to be a global leader in reducing or eliminating carbon emissions to fight global warming. But what that entails, and how much it costs, are blanks to be filled in later.

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

By Mark Herbert Mark Herbert of Concord is Small Business Majority’s California director, mherbert@smallbusinessmajority.org. He wrote this commentary for CALmatters. Loans can make an entrepreneur’s dreams come true, but they can just as easily destroy those dreams. Leila Bardales found that out the hard way. Leila and her husband, part of Small Business Majority’s network […]

Overcoming powerful opposition, the Legislature passed two bills that would, if signed, make it easier for adolescent students to learn and easier for older students to obtain college degrees.

By Peter Dreier Peter Dreier is E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics and founding chair of the Urban & Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College, dreier@oxy.edu. He wrote this commentary for CALmatters. Almost half of California’s population–17 million people–are renters. Many of them spend more than half of their income on rent, plunging many full-time […]

California's U.S. senators, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris both played big roles in last week's confirmation hearings on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. While Feinstein was critical of the circus-like atmosphere of the hearings, Harris contributed to it. But both were pursuing personal political goals.

By Grant Deary and Carol Burger Grant Deary is executive vice president overseeing marketing and external affairs for Nor-Cal Beverage Co., grantd@ncbev.com. Carol Burger is president of Burger Rehabilitation Systems, info@burgerrehab.com. They wrote this commentary for CALmatters. Family business owners look to the next quarter-century, not just the next quarter. We treat our employees as […]