Commentary
A cross-continental game of political chicken
One of the most significant of the many conflicts between California and President Donald Trump is over auto fuel economy standards.
No clear frontrunner for governor, but new poll names five with the best shot
A poll shows three Democrats and two Republicans have voter support percentages in the teens. The top two vote-getters in June will face off in November.
She spent six of her last years in arbitration with her HMO. Her husband’s still fighting the system
Arbitrators in medical disputes are supposed to be unbiased, but this couple suspected there is an incentive to favor HMO’s in arbitration.
A former political ally tests LA liberals’ allegiance to Mayor Karen Bass
Mayor Karen Bass isn't vulnerable on her right, but she may be on her left, as City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a Democratic Socialist and ex-supporter, runs against her.
California promised accountability for inmate deaths in jails. A year later, no results.
Lawmakers passed a law creating a state department to review inmate deaths, but it hasn’t completed a single death review in its first year.
Yousef Baig
California Voices Editor
Denise Amos
California Voices Deputy Editor
Dan Walters
Columnist
Jim Newton
Contributor
Pedro Rios
Contributor
Robert Greene
Contributor
Commentary
Stop raiding California’s cap-and-trade funding
Fabian Núñez: Important progress may be threatened by diversions of cap-and-trade funds for investments that are barely related to the original intent of AB 32. The last thing our state and the planet can afford is for cap-and-trade funds to be turned into a slush fund for pet projects that do little or nothing to improve our environment.
Commentary
Bringing high-speed rail to California, one building block at a time
Lenny Mendonca, High-Speed Rail Authority chairman: The high-speed rail’s building block approach starting in the Central Valley makes sense. To hear some say that this project is something that is not important to California is insulting. Ensuring that we are all connected is essential to the California Dream. It always has been, and it always will be.
Commentary
Newsom faces his first defining crisis
Gov. Gavin Newsom says he has a plan to resolve California's wildfire crisis that threatens the state's utilities. His political standing may hinge on its outcome.
Health
Mental health care
Michelle Doty Cabrera, executive director of County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, Sacramento California’s public mental health system is unique in that counties serve Medi-Cal, uninsured, and commercially insured individuals. However, we had concerns with how our responsibilities and the availability in certain services was represented in your piece. County mental health plans do […]
Commentary
Workers are changing. California Legislature must face that reality
Allan Zaremberg, California Chamber of Commerce: The heart of the debate over the gig economy is how can we improve protections for workers, without losing the control and flexibility they value. You can’t have it both ways. Having job security means the employer will schedule your hours. Without that control, you couldn’t get morning coffee if one day all the baristas choose to sleep in.
Commentary
California’s new budget invests in overlooked piece of health care puzzle: workers
Gov. Gavin Newsom is poised to sign the largest, most comprehensive set of proposals in years to expand California’s health workforce pipeline—tapping $300 million in the 2019-20 budget to address an often overlooked threat to our health care system: a shortage of qualified health professionals.
Commentary
In Gavin Newsom’s ‘California For All’ budget, undocumented immigrants are not included
Dani Carrillo, UC San Francisco: Undocumented workers comprise 9% of California labor force and contribute $3 billion in state and local taxes each year. They do some of the most arduous work, including landscaping, construction, restaurant work, and taking care of children and seniors. But if their health is compromised, they have few places to go.
Commentary
Arbitrary tax policy spawns an offspring
California politicians dislike Donald Trump's federal; tax overhaul but are adopting portions of it to raise revenue.
Commentary
Congress needs to start over on nuclear waste
Geoffrey Fettus, Natural Resources Defense Council: We need a solution for the waste stuck at San Onofre and the other California reactors. But in their desperation to move the threat away from the Golden State, some California lawmakers are making two grave errors.