California Voices

Tom Martin, American Forest Foundation: California cannot win its fight against wildfires if we do not empower family forest owners with the resources needed to take action. We look forward to the day when our forest conditions let us return prescribed fire safely across the region to increase our forest vitality.

Legislature finally changes long-standing law governing the use of deadly force by police, driven by two egregious cases in Sacramento.

Dr. J. Douglas Kirk and Mel Levine, University of California: ACA 14 would be disastrous not only for hospitals, but for the entire UC. It would prohibit UC from using contracted workers for a wide range of functions, from increased security for commencement and other special events to occasional landscapers who have specialized skills and equipment.

Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, San Luis Obispo Republican: The epidemic of teenage vaping, like those of the past, deserves a robust and comprehensive public policy response. Bipartisan legislation developed in concert with recommendations by health experts is the response our children need and deserve.

Rising costs for public employee pensions threaten city services and will require higher taxes.

William L. Rukeyser, political commentator: Recognizing the powerful effects of negative feelings, and recognizing that some elections are between two widely unpopular candidates, what can we do to harness those emotions and translate them into more public participation? The answer may be simpler than you think.

The factors affecting California's economic future are very volatile, making it difficult to forecast the next recession.

Vern Pierson, El Dorado County District Attorney: The media and many politicians appear to see each mass shooter as unique. They are not. Instead, these actors and their narrative should be viewed as pieces of a larger puzzle. Rather than staring at the individual piece trying to understand it, we need to examine its broader context for commonality with other attackers.

Sponsors of a "split roll" ballot measure to increase property taxes on commercial real estate are withdrawing it from the 2020 ballot and will seek to place a revised version before voters next year.

Chris Martin and Sharon Rapport, Housing California, and Corporation for Supportive Housing: Shelters are short-term responses, not the long-term solution to California’s homelessness crises. That’s why our policies and resources should focus on the right to housing, not a right to shelter.