Dan Walters

Nearly a third of California's public school students are chronically absent, but the crisis is not getting the attention it deserves.

The record rain and snow falling on California since late last year may have relieved the drought that plagued the state for the last three years, but the battles over water management will continue.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is waging a crusade against "authoritarians" in red states, but he should look in the mirror, too.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom claims victory in his crusade against the oil industry, but regulating the prices Californians pay for fuel will be a very tricky process.

California Gov. Gavin Newson shunned a traditional State of the State address this month and instead toured the state to unveil new programs for social ills.

After two false starts, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying again to set limits on oil refinery profits and impose penalties for exceeding them.

California business interests increasingly use ballot measures to block or delay laws imposing new regulations. Progressive groups want to make such actions more difficult.

A California appellate court ruling added a new twist to the legal and political battle over the status of gig workers, which dates back to 2004. However, the conflict is likely just shifting to another arena.

Marion Joseph battled for years to improve the reading skills of California youngsters through phonics instruction. She died last year but phonics is becoming the state's favored method of overcoming California's literacy crisis.

California was once home to the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, but Tulare Lake disappeared as water was diverted to irrigate crops. This year, however, the lake will once again re-emerge.