Reader Reactions

Elizabeth Hansburg, Fullerton I am 42 and the mother of an only child, age 11. I made the choice Angela George is contemplating in your piece—to have one child—and housing costs were definitely a factor. Giving your children opportunities costs money, and money spent on housing is less money available for youth sports, music lessons […]

Bill Jurkovich, Citrus Heights President Donald Trump has been attacked constantly by some of the major media outlets in editorials and with biased and slanted news. Is it surprising that he fights back? I believe these outlets do this on purpose to increase their circulation. Trump can only bluster. He can do nothing about the First […]

Your story on the Fair Political Practices Commission offered a welcome opportunity to look at our important role in the political process. However, it promulgated a major misconception. You mistake our caseload for a backlog. Cases come in and are either dismissed or acted upon. Then they’re out of the queue. The FPPC Enforcement Division received 124 complaints […]

Dams like humans have a lifespan. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is almost a century old. We need a rational, adult discussion on how to best store water safely in California.  Even “youthful” dams can pose a danger. The failure of Oroville Dam comes quickly to mind. One source noted that 90 California dams need major upgrades.  […]

The Trump administration’s rule authorizing the expansion of short-term insurance plans is bad news for small businesses, small business employees and solo entrepreneurs in California that depend on the Affordable Care Act for quality, affordable insurance. The rule says short-term insurance plans may last up to 364 days, and allows insurance companies to renew these […]

CALmatters commentator Dan Walters comments that “legislators lift the red tape imposed by the law for sports arenas, but not for housing.” I often hear the high cost of housing described as a crisis, as if a recent change caused housing prices to rise. But it’s not new or sudden; The California Environmental Quality Act […]

According to California's Legislative Analyst's Office, per‑pupil spending in California ranks in the middle of the states yet your article asserts that California ranks near the bottom and sources an article that reaches no such conclusion.

Editor’s note: Thank you for your letter about our report on single-payer health care. We encourage feedback and will update our work as appropriate. Trust and the integrity of our work is at the core of all we do at CALmatters. We are committed to a fair and balanced report on California policy and politics and […]

Editor’s note: Thank you for your letter about our report on retirement debt for public employees. As we wrote in our post, “we encourage” feedback and will update our work as appropriate. Trust and the integrity of our work is at the core of all we do at CALmatters. We are committed to a fair […]

Reader reaction to “Retirement Debt: What’s the problem and how does it affect you?“ Great article. Clear and informative. I would have preferred that there was more detail re Gray Davis’s 1999 benefit increase. It wasn’t just an “enhancement.” It was a huge and disastrous increase. By changing from 2 percent to 3 percent, that […]