Dan Walters

Californians have a unique combination of high living costs, high poverty rates and large amounts of debt, factors that will likely influence debates over the state's budget deficit.

San Francisco is coping with a "doom loop" of declining employment and business activity in its downtown core, but a new study suggests Sacramento may be in worse shape.

California has amassed a catalog of programs and projects that fail to deliver as promised. The list of dysfunctional efforts has a couple of new entries.

Household use is a tiny fraction of California's overall water supply, but the state wants to spend billions of dollars to make a tiny reduction in that already infinitesimal bit of water consumption.

The revenue estimates in Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent budgets have been off by as much as $17 billion, fueling skepticism about his outlook on the state's financial reality.

The four leading candidates for California's U.S. Senate race had their first debate Monday night. The question it raised is whether Republican Steve Garvey can finish second in the March primary to win a spot on the November ballot.

The Private Attorneys General Act is a unique California law making it easier for employees to sue their bosses. For two decades, it's been the subject of political and legal infighting but a pending ballot measure would decide its fate.

California is the state that the rest of the nation loves to hate, but a new poll finds that Californians, by a wide margin, are also sour on the state's direction.

California could see another very wet winter, or it might not. The unpredictability proves that the state should be building infrastructure to handle climate swings.

California's Employment Development Department got a much-deserved black eye for mismanaging unemployment insurance benefits during the pandemic. There's a lingering aspect to the meltdown, and it could cost the state billions.