California Voices

Viewpoints from across California

A person stands at a podium smiling while speaking to a crowd, with large teal campaign signage in the background reading “Becerra for Governor.” Four other people stand on the left side of stage as they look towards the speaker.

If California’s race for governor is a stress test for democracy, it’s failing

The top-two primary system can produce chaos and disengaged voters. This year’s picks for governor are coming from a small share of voters.

By Daniel Wolf

A person smiles and applauds while standing in front of a large blue-and-yellow campaign sign. They wear a floral-patterned outer layer over dark clothing and are photographed outdoors in daylight.

Pratt out, Raman in: What Los Angeles voters can now expect in the mayoral race

Nithya Raman's success at making the runoff in the L.A. mayor's race means Karen Bass will need to answer difficult questions about high living costs and public safety.

By Jim Newton

A side-view of a person with short gray hair and wearing a black blazer, as look towards another person. A stage with red, blue curtains and a banner that reads "Voters Decide" can be seen in the background, alongside blurred people.

Mahan, Villaraigosa just learned why so few California mayors make the leap to governor

Few California mayors ever become governor. Their skills might be perfectly suited to the job, but those exact same skills, when exercised, may be precisely what makes voters wary of them.

By Robert Greene

A person wearing a baseball cap and a pink scarf over a white shirt places yellow flowers on a pile of other flowers on the concrete outside of a detention center. The person is inside a circle of people during a vigil around a flagpole outside the detention center.

Long after protests ended, this interfaith group rallies to remember LA immigrants taken by ICE

An interfaith group known as the "godmothers of the disappeared" meets weekly at the federal courthouse in Los Angeles to remember and advocate for the people detained by immigration authorities over the last year.

By George B. Sánchez-Tello

Capitol

Amendment to clean-up bill for AB 5 needed to protect professional translators and interpreters

Assembly Bill 2257 falls short of fixing the problems with AB 5, threatening to impose red tape on professional interpreters like me.

By Guest Commentary • August 11, 2020

Commentary

How should California define student success in 2020?

Schools will look different this year, so educators should reset measures for student success to align with a set of more holistic outcomes.

By Guest Commentary • August 11, 2020

Reader Reactions

Allowing hemp CBD to be used in food, cosmetics would provide California with much needed revenue

Studies project a hemp CBD market for food and beverage at more than $2 billion next year; California is falling behind of this revenue train.

By Guest Commentary • August 11, 2020

Commentary

Schools cannot reopen on their own; a national crisis requires a national response

Working with UC San Diego experts, we have created a standard to safely reopen schools. But we cannot do it alone, and the mitigations are expensive.

By Guest Commentary • August 10, 2020

Commentary

An answer for an expected tsunami of evictions during COVID-19

A federal moratorium on evicting tenants from federally-aided housing expired Aug. 1; here is an answer to dramatically change eviction process outcomes.

By Guest Commentary • August 10, 2020

California Capitol, home of the Assembly and Senate. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Dan Walters

California’s immense pension dilemma

California's public pension system faces a huge unfunded debt but dealing with it involves increasing risk.

By Dan Walters • August 10, 2020

Commentary

The fallacy behind private surveillance cameras in San Francisco

San Francisco tightly restricts video surveillance by its police, but a millionaire has created an unaccountable neighborhood surveillance system.

By Guest Commentary • August 9, 2020

Dan Walters

Another version of ‘ethnic studies’

California's plan for "ethnic studies" has been revised in response to criticism but is still colored by leftish ideology.

By Dan Walters • August 9, 2020

Commentary

Protection of the California agriculture-port relationship should be a top priority

California should review regulatory policies that affect the agriculture-port relationship with having a goal of economic resilience.

By Guest Commentary • August 8, 2020

Capitol

Legislature should acknowledge nurse practitioners’ value and remove restrictions

Assembly Bill 890 will remove restrictions on patient access to nurse practitioners and help fill California's primary care provider gap.

By Guest Commentary • August 7, 2020