Dan Walters

Southern California’s disaster again demonstrates that while wildfires were once mostly confined to rural timbered areas during summer and fall months, a warming climate means they can and do strike anywhere and anytime, including residential neighborhoods in the middle of winter.

When the Democrat-dominated California Legislature reconvened this week, its members chanted a new mantra about trying to reduce living costs in a state where those costs — particularly for housing and utilities — are at or near the nation’s highest.

With two years to go, Gavin Newsom is at a political inflection point. Will he choose to finish his stint as governor and return to his wine and restaurant business, or will he mount a campaign for the White House?

California would have 45% more for its budget if certain tax breaks, called tax expenditures, were eliminated, a fiscal consultant for the Legislature said.

Recent decisions by the Supreme Court and the EPA appear to favor California's 2035 ban on gas-powered cars and trucks, but another important lawsuit, a Republican-dominated Congress and President Donald Trump are still there to challenge it.

Gavin Newsom began his governorship with promises of decisive action on key issues, homelessness among them. Despite billions of dollars in spending, the population has increased and the crisis remains a weapon for Newsom's opponents.

The state's elected insurance commissioner formally unveiled a large chunk of his plan to stem the exodus of insurers from California. Adoption of the plans may result in premium hikes, but maintaining a viable market is vital to the state's economy.

UC Merced has fallen far short of enrollment goals, spends more to operate than other UC campuses and has had less economic impact than expected.

Three years of expert, hands-on help pulled up two schools' test scores. The rest of the state's average scores remain below pre-pandemic levels.

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently moved to Marin County, home to wealthy enclaves that are notorious for resisting his pro-housing policies.