California Voices

Viewpoints from across California

A suited public official speaks at a podium during a press conference, framed between blurred figures in the foreground. An American flag and part of the California state seal appear behind them as they gesture with their left hand while addressing the audience. A monitor with the words "California 2027-28 Budget Balanced" can be seen next to the public official.

Newsom and California legislators claim the budget is balanced. They need a reality check

Newsom and legislative leaders announced a balanced budget has been enacted, but the truth is California will continue overspending until the chronic deficit is addressed.

By Dan Walters

A graduate in cap and gown holds a bouquet of flowers while posing with an older man wearing a light-colored hat and sunglasses. The two stand together smiling in a crowded outdoor graduation venue, with other attendees visible in the background.

Immigration raids have made skin color top of mind for a new generation of California Latinos

As immigration agents conduct roving patrols, a Cal State Fullerton student reflects on the racial profiling her father experienced and how it inspires her to correct the narrative.

By Priscilla Preciado

An aerial view of homes and apartments along a hillside fills the frame.

Los Angeles sits on a sleeping giant of housing supply. It begins with starter home conversions

Los Angeles officials are fighting state housing reforms with a proposal that places the right type of housing in the wrong place. The city should instead be converting its aging housing stock.

By Arthur Gailes

People gather outside an evacuation shelter, many wearing hoodies, jackets or wrapped in blankets. An older person stands with a walker in the center of the scene, while signs for the American Red Cross and shelter services are visible in the background.

During Garden Grove evacuations, did seniors and people with disabilities get out safely?

The emergency at GKN Aerospace forced evacuations, but it was unclear how bedridden residents, hospice patients and homebound seniors could get to safety.

By Kelley Barrett

A person in a yellow shirt and dark green pants holds the hand of a child in a purple dress and the child roller skates on a sidewalk. To the left, another child in a black shirt and red pants stands on the sidewalk with arms extended.

Commentary

California spends a lot on education, yet teachers can’t afford to live near their schools

It’s expensive for schools in California to recruit and pay enough to fully staff their campuses. That means housing is an education issue, too.

By Sam Finn • July 3, 2026

A person wearing sunglasses walks past while carrying a large American flag, with the flag's red, white and blue stripes blurred in motion across the foreground and background.

Commentary

On USA’s 250th birthday, Californians should remember when we saved the world from tyranny

There is one event that encapsulates USA’s unique place in human history: World War II, when we saved the world during one of its darkest periods.

By Dan Walters • July 3, 2026

Colorful drones form a glowing "Happy 4th" message and fireworks symbol in the night sky above tall palm trees during a Fourth of July celebration. A crowd below watches and records the drone show with their phones.

Commentary

In fire-prone California, cities like Napa offer a safer way to celebrate July Fourth

As the safety calculus for fireworks changes across California, cities like fire-prone Napa have turned to drone lights to maintain the spectacle and tradition of the July Fourth holiday.

By Breyana Brandt and Liz Habkirk • July 2, 2026

Commentary

California unions want to unwind a landmark pension reform. Who will foot the bill?

California's labor unions want to loosen a pension reform from the recession era, but local governments fear the added costs and how it would widen unfunded liabilities.

By Dan Walters • July 2, 2026

Steam rises from industrial tanks and pipes at a fenced facility site. A large rust-streaked white storage tank stands beside smaller cylindrical tanks releasing vapor, while construction materials, scaffolding and a blue container occupy the foreground. RVs and trailers are parked beyond the facility in the background.

Commentary

Garden Grove’s chemical emergency is a warning for other communities near plastics factories

Researchers say about 800 plants are involved in plastics or plastics-chemicals in California. Many are in Southern California and are expanding.

By Veronica Herrera • July 1, 2026

The bottom half of a person can be seen as they stand in a room full of white voting booths decorated with the Fresno County seal and the U.S. Flag.

Commentary

California voters will decide 14 ballot measures, billionaire tax included. There could’ve been more

Capitol leaders resolved several ballot measure conflicts between rival interests, but notably the billionaire tax survived. It will likely be the most expensive ballot campaign this year.

By Dan Walters • July 1, 2026

Rows of wooden wine barrels sit on metal racks inside a winery production room, surrounded by large stainless steel tanks, hoses, and industrial equipment.

Commentary

How California can ensure wine labeled ‘American’ uses exclusively American grapes

If wine is labeled as "American," that doesn't necessarily mean the grapes were grown in the U.S. A California bill seeks to change that and aid the struggling industry.

By Jason Smith • June 30, 2026

Mary Yabroff strokes her husband Larry’s face during a visit at Chaparral House, the skilled nursing facility where Mary has been a resident since last year, in Berkeley on Feb. 25, 2021. Larry says his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer’s “still remembers me, still knows who I am and is happy to see me.” Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Commentary

Californians diagnosed with Alzheimer’s need information early to make life decisions

Many of the tests to diagnose Alzheimer’s aren’t consistently covered by insurance, putting answers out of reach for the people who need them most.

By Norm Enriquez • June 29, 2026

A firefighter walks past a heavily damaged warehouse at a street intersection as smoke and steam billow from the structure in the early morning light. Fire hoses, barricades and caution tape line the wet roadway while a ladder truck extends toward the building through the haze.

Commentary

Big box tinderboxes: Warehouses are exposing more Californians to costly, toxic disasters

The blaze at a massive cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights is simply the latest in a string of massive industrial facility fires in California.

By Susan Phillips • June 26, 2026