Commentary
Unions win big, to what avail?
California unions scored big wins in the Legislature this year, hoping to arrest declining union membership in the state.
No clear frontrunner for governor, but new poll names five with the best shot
A poll shows three Democrats and two Republicans have voter support percentages in the teens. The top two vote-getters in June will face off in November.
She spent six of her last years in arbitration with her HMO. Her husband’s still fighting the system
Arbitrators in medical disputes are supposed to be unbiased, but this couple suspected there is an incentive to favor HMO’s in arbitration.
A former political ally tests LA liberals’ allegiance to Mayor Karen Bass
Mayor Karen Bass isn't vulnerable on her right, but she may be on her left, as City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a Democratic Socialist and ex-supporter, runs against her.
California promised accountability for inmate deaths in jails. A year later, no results.
Lawmakers passed a law creating a state department to review inmate deaths, but it hasn’t completed a single death review in its first year.
Yousef Baig
California Voices Editor
Denise Amos
California Voices Deputy Editor
Dan Walters
Columnist
Jim Newton
Contributor
Pedro Rios
Contributor
Robert Greene
Contributor
Commentary
California-Mexico relations are strong. This bill can help make them stronger
Jerry Sanders and Alfredo Pedroza, San Diego Chamber of Commerce: Gov. Gavin Newsom can help improve that vital relationship by signing Senate Bill 558. It’s a bill that will grant official recognition to the importance of our close proximity and shared values, which have resulted in one of the strongest economic, cultural, and social regions in the world.
Commentary
To fight climate change, California needs to plug into offshore wind
Dan Jacobson, Environment California: To slow the spread of forest fires, drought, and rising sea levels, we need to accelerate every one of our clean energy strategies. We need to expand our horizons and find a way to harness the wind off our coast to power an electric grid that will rely more than ever on clean, renewable energy.
Commentary
44-year political battle flares anew
A 44-year-old political battle about payouts for medical malpractice may be headed back to the ballot, unless doctors and lawyers reach agreement.
Commentary
This legislation threatens the health and safety of dialysis patients
LaVarne Burton, American Kidney Fund: For 22 years, the neediest patients in California have turned to the American Kidney Fund for help staying insured. We help only low-income patients. If Gov. Gavin Newsom signs AB 290, signed, the American Kidney Fund will end our program for the 3,700 dialysis and transplant patients we help in California and all those who might need our assistance in the future.
Commentary
Doctor’s orders: Provide affordable housing, and people’s health will improve
Leslie Teicholz and Leif Wellington Haase, writer and consultant: The need for affordable housing scarcely requires more justification. But now that the state’s largest health care providers and reform advocates are backing affordable housing initiatives, it brings new momentum and ideas to debates in Sacramento.
Commentary
Gov. Newsom can help improve child health and the environment by signing this bill
Becky Boblak, a Berkeley mom: Only about 10% of students travel on their own steam to school. One-third take buses and about 50% get to school via car.
I understand why. It just isn’t safe. Too often, the danger is from a car speeding down the street.
Reader Reactions
California water
Re: “With Gov. Newsom’s veto of SB 1, California seems stuck in same old water fight ‘binaries’,” Sept. 29, 2019. It’s easy to get caught up in the heated rhetoric of the moment as did Kim Delfino in her guest commentary. Water users working to finalize the voluntary agreements were faced with a difficult situation. […]
Commentary
Gov. Newsom can protect Californians by closing private prisons
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a chilling proposal earlier this year to double detention capacity in California with 5,600 new beds, all near those offices. If built, these facilities will further entrench incarceration for generations to come. That’s one reason why Gov. Newsom should sign AB 32. It would provide a critical check on this underhanded move.
Commentary
A trifecta for children?
Having acted twice to protect California's children, Gov. Gavin Newsom can have a trifecta by signing legislation to mandate later school starting times.