Dan Walters

Polling and other political tests show Newsom as the unofficial Democratic frontrunner, three years before voters will elect the next president.

In the final week of the legislative session, state and local officials are arguing over a housing density bill and how much local governments can share in workers' on-the-job injury money.

The tools and tricks employed to close California's budget deficits come from an inventory of techniques developed over decades. A recent lawsuit spotlighted a strategy used in 2004.

The legislation removes environmental delays but includes language that could allow local governments to add "vehicle miles traveled" fees to a project's cost.

As Newsom and other California Democrats posture as saviors of democracy, they are no stranger to infringing on constitutional rights themselves, as recent court rulings on gun rights and free speech show.

George Sheetz could never have imagined a routine administrative transaction levied on a home-building project would turn into a legal dispute that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and remains unresolved almost a decade later.

California's public schools have struggled to improve test scores in recent years. A return to phonics instruction could turn the tide on reading, a move that comes as many schools overcome pandemic-era absenteeism.

Two of the most prominent potential Democratic candidates have checked out of the California governor's race, and those who remain in the field are — in political terms — middleweights at best.

The stakes for the November special election to gerrymander California are enormous.

There are several issues to resolve in the remaining weeks of California's legislative session. Many are fraught with political conflict, but the cap and trade program is particularly complex.