Dan Walters

A 2016 penal reform ballot measure proposed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown had loopholes that eventually benefitted perpetrators of sex crimes. The Legislature recently voted to close one loophole that allowed notorious serial rapist Andrew Luster to be granted parole.

Culminating years of debate over the environmental impacts of Southern California's massive array of warehouses, the Legislature has passed a bill regulating future construction.

California officials point fingers of blame at each other over the growing homelessness crisis, but hard data on how money has been spent and what effect it's had is lacking.

Now that his campaign for national prominence has ended, Gov. Gavin Newsom is learning his status in California also has taken a beating.

California's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has been sluggish and a new analysis blames poor state policy choices.

In November voters in Los Angeles and San Francisco will decide whether to overhaul the structure of their local government.

After months of political maneuvering and negotiations, California's fast food workers got a minimum wage hike. Whether that resulted in fewer jobs is still in dispute.

In his second term, Newsom still has 28 months as governor. Will he pay more attention to his governance record, or will he continue his quest for national relevance?

With Vice President Kamala Harris anointed as the nominee for president, Gov. Gavin Newsom's presidential ambitions, if any, are blocked at least for the time being.

Oakland often seems like California's municipal basket case with problems almost too numerous to list. It needs some adult supervision. How about Jerry Brown?