Commentary

School buses are seen parked at First Student Charter Bus Rental in San Francisco April 7, 2020. Photo by Stephen Lam, Reuters

With chronic absenteeism on the rise, why is California making school transportation harder?

by Guest Commentary May 31, 2023May 30, 2023

A California bill seeking to further regulate school transportation could make it needlessly difficult for third-party services that support vulnerable students, such as foster or homeless youth, to meet the arduous requirements.

A Sacramento Regional Transit light rail bus in Sacramento on Nov. 30, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Commentary

California transit systems’ pleas for aid haven’t moved the Capitol

by Dan Walters May 31, 2023May 30, 2023

Interim Los Angeles City Council President Mitch O'Farrell, second from right, talks to city staff before the cancellation of the Los Angeles City Council meeting Oct. 12, 2022 in Los Angeles. Photo by Ringo H.W. Chiu, AP Photo

Commentary

Rooting out local government corruption in California starts by ending pay-to-play

by Guest Commentary May 30, 2023May 26, 2023

Commentary

How will California deal with budget deficits that seem here to stay?

by Dan Walters May 30, 2023May 30, 2023

From left, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photos by Rebecca Blackwell, AP Photo and Miguel Gutierrez Jr, CalMatters

Commentary

How California and Florida both use schools to fight the culture wars

by Dan Walters May 29, 2023May 25, 2023

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference surrounded by workers at the construction of the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for the future site of Proxima Solar Farm in Stanislaus County on May 19, 2023. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pledged to fast-track hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of construction projects throughout the state, including a pair of large water endeavors that have languished for years amid permitting delays and opposition from environmental groups. Photo by John G. Mabanglo, AP Photo

Commentary

The stakes for Newsom’s big plan to streamline big California projects

by Dan Walters May 28, 2023May 26, 2023

Students rallied with undocumented students, urging University of California leaders to remove hiring restrictions for undocumented students in front of Kerckhoff Hall at UCLA in Los Angeles on May 17, 2023. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

Commentary

How California can simplify the financial aid process for undocumented students

by Guest Commentary May 25, 2023May 24, 2023

Commentary

Black women in California need more than short-term solutions for maternal health disparities

by Guest Commentary May 24, 2023May 23, 2023

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is flanked by aides as she returns to the Senate Judiciary Committee following a more than two-month absence as she was being treated for a case of shingles, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Feinstein’s office said Thursday, May 18, that she is suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a complication from the shingles virus that can paralyze part of the face, and that she contracted encephalitis while recovering from the virus earlier this year. Photo by J. Scott Applewhite, AP Photo

Commentary

Feinstein’s health has Newsom in a political trap of his own making

by Dan Walters May 24, 2023May 23, 2023

The Klamath River flows outside of Happy Camp on Aug. 29, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

Commentary

California taxpayers on the hook to save two unhealthy Western rivers

by Dan Walters May 23, 2023May 24, 2023