Commentary
California can sidestep scandal and banish bias while counting votes
Open source voting systems are more transparent and cheaper than the state’s current contract with Smartmatic, which is facing bribery charges.
California lawmakers want to cut funds for local news at exactly the wrong time
California lawmakers are finalizing a budget that would cut aid for local newsrooms, walking away from a nascent effort to restore local reporting and build a more sustainable industry.
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.
Newsom handpicked a generation of California politicians. Can they help him run for president?
An entire generation of California elected officials owe their current jobs and their political prospects to Gavin Newsom.
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.
Yousef Baig
California Voices Editor
Denise Amos
California Voices Deputy Editor
Dan Walters
Columnist
Jim Newton
Contributor
Pedro Rios
Contributor
Robert Greene
Contributor
George B. Sánchez-Tello
Contributor
Commentary
California school systems face red ink despite boosts in education spending
While the state borrows $5.6 billion from education, districts throughout the state are struggling to balance their own budgets this year.
Commentary
Who’s running for California Insurance Commissioner? Here’s a look at the field of candidates
There are 15 candidates vying to be the state's top insurance regulator, a hot seat as thousands of LA residents try tapping insurance to help them recover from wildfires.
Commentary
Community schools are key ingredient of California’s tumbling crime rates
Community schools are becoming neighborhood hubs by prioritizing academics, youth and family services, mental health and restorative justice.
Reader Reactions
California schools that ban cellphones make students want them more
Punishing all for the noncompliance of a few breeds resentment. Schools should confiscate phones from students who repeatedly offend.
Commentary
Here’s how Newsom’s spending binge outstripped revenues, creating California’s chronic deficit
Obscure charts show how California's spending exploded under Newsom, far outstripping its stagnant population growth, inflation and a hefty increase in revenues.
Commentary
Candidate comment: Insurers’ blockbuster profits enrich shareholders and CEOs, not customers
Guest Commentary written by Jane Kim Jane Kim is a civil rights attorney, consumer advocate and a former San Francisco Supervisor With the first anniversary of the devastating Southern California wildfires approaching, CalMatters asked candidates for the 2026 state Insurance Commissioner race to share thoughts on what the state can do to help victims and […]
Reader Reactions
Good behavior musn’t determine if a California prison inmate lives in a safe environment
An incarcerated person's constitutional right to a safe and healthy environment in a single occupancy cell cannot be withheld on the condition that she or he be good.
Commentary
Could taxing multinational corporations erase California’s budget deficits? Not likely
As Gov. Gavin Newsom gears up for a presidential run, other California Democrats are weighing tax hikes to counter budget deficits and federal cutbacks.
Commentary
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.