Dan Walters

Last year, California's state budget assumed a $97.5 billion surplus, but the state now faces a hefty budget deficit and the Legislature's budget analyst says it's likely even larger than predicted.

Two of California's most important economic sectors, Southern California's logistic industry and the tech industry in Silicon Valley, are facing threats to their futures.

The California Public Records Act grants the public access to government documents, with some exceptions. But using the act can sometimes be difficult.

Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon lift the state of emergency he declared nearly three years ago due to COVID-19, but the negative effects will linger on for many years.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to close a loophole that allows wealthy Californians to escape state income taxes. It has intriguing aspects, including its potential to affect some of his closest allies.

A long-running conflict between the state and local governments over housing is entering a new and more confrontational phase. Several jurisdictions in the Bay Area failed to submit housing plans on time, prompting at least 12 lawsuits that could potentially give the state greater authority on local housing decisions.

Seven western states are playing a high-stakes game of chicken over how diversions from the crisis-ridden Colorado River will be reduced.

By happenstance, two long-serving veterans of Capitol politics died within hours of one another. Since their deaths, Allan Zaremberg and Rex Hime have been widely praised, and the plaudits are richly deserved.

While Gov. Gavin Newsom touts California as a model state, he increasingly tries to shift blame for the state's unseemly features.

California's politics have become highly polarized over the last quarter-century but the state is not alone, new research has found.