Dan Walters

The North Coast Railroad Authority has consumed tens of millions of taxpayer dollars but never delivered on its promise to resurrect rail service north of San Francisco Bay. Finally, the Legislature is poised to abolish it.

Democrats are likely to regain their two-thirds "supermajority" in the state Assembly this year. Whether they also enjoy that dominance in the state Senate depends on the outcome of one contest in rural California.

California legislators passed a hastily drafted bill purporting to protect Californians' personal and financial data from exposure and exploitation. But it could run afoul of the law of unintended consequences.

As local government officials ask voters for tax increases, they are reluctant to tell them that the extra revenue is needed to cover pension costs. But one city is not being coy about it.

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

Jerry Brown has signed his 16th and final state budget, bragging that he fixed California's financial mess. But that claim, and his claim of securing the state's fiscal future, are overblown.

Three initiatives that had qualified for the November ballot were dropped last week after their sponsors negotiated deals with the Legislature. Was it extortion? Not in the criminal sense, perhaps, but it was the adroit use of leverage.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declared that compelling non-members of public employee unions to pay dues is unconstitutional. California's unions are now scrambling to avoid an erosion of their memberships, their revenues and their political clout.

California once had a strong and successful Republican Party but over the last few decades, it has shrunken to a small minority of voters and if ti loses several congressional races this year, Democrats will have achieved total domination.

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