Commentary: California Voices

Gov. Gavin Newsom has recognized California's high living costs, but government is a major driver of those costs.

Yosemite was a refuge where I could momentarily escape thoughts of petty politics and news of the day that typically consume most of my waking hours as a journalist. This time, though, a political stunt encroached into this natural refuge.

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

Newly inaugurated Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes his first budget, takes cautious approach to spending and outlines assault on housing shortage.

As California looks to build the ramp that will help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds cross the opportunity gap, it is critically important that early educators fighting to give our kids a stronger future have a voice in building the system that best serves children and families. That’s why this year we at Service Employees International Union will continue our fight for legislation allowing us to form a union.

California chronically fails in using technology to improve state government operations, but Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to fix it.

California’s state and local agencies have $187 billion in unfunded retiree health care and other benefit liabilities that threaten to crowd out public services, such as public safety and education, that Californians expect government to provide. Government must confront the debt.

Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom have similar political problems in delivering on promises they made during their campaigns.

Some people say that climate change has made megafires inevitable. Others claim that forest thinning and fuel reduction treatments may actually increase fire intensity. Neither argument should be an excuse for inaction. So what can be done to reduce the chance of another Paradise type disaster? Here are a few steps:

Public-private partnerships offer opportunities that share risk, save money and yield the best value for all—public agencies, users, and taxpayers. For the sake of commuters and our economy, California lawmakers should reauthorize public-private partnerships.