Commentary
A blast from the past
A former state Assemblyman who pleaded guilty last month to charges of misleading investors was an enigmatic figure during his terms in the Capitol.
No clear frontrunner for governor, but new poll names five with the best shot
A poll shows three Democrats and two Republicans have voter support percentages in the teens. The top two vote-getters in June will face off in November.
She spent six of her last years in arbitration with her HMO. Her husband’s still fighting the system
Arbitrators in medical disputes are supposed to be unbiased, but this couple suspected there is an incentive to favor HMO’s in arbitration.
A former political ally tests LA liberals’ allegiance to Mayor Karen Bass
Mayor Karen Bass isn't vulnerable on her right, but she may be on her left, as City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a Democratic Socialist and ex-supporter, runs against her.
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.
Yousef Baig
California Voices Editor
Denise Amos
California Voices Deputy Editor
Dan Walters
Columnist
Jim Newton
Contributor
Pedro Rios
Contributor
Robert Greene
Contributor
Commentary
Committed to California
Re “California is a wondrous place. I’m leaving,” Dec. 15, 2019: California’s history is full of people like Andrew Malcolm. They come expecting California to live up to some Hollywood ideal; they leave disappointed. California is a real place. We have real wonders and real ugliness. Accepting any place as your life home requires a […]
Commentary
California is a wondrous place. I’m leaving
Andrew Malcolm: California is a special place. I've lived here by choice twice, nearly a quarter-century in total. I have no regrets about living here. And I don't regret leaving here. As the neighbor said, "California's not the same anymore."
Commentary
Shaking things up by moving to the Golden State
Dane Strother, Sacramento-based Democratic strategist: I moved to California to learn. I’m here to watch. I’m here to work. I’m slowly not adding three hours every time I check the time. I’m grudgingly waiting for the walk sign. I have one professional chapter left to write in life and the new drawings on the Etch-A-Sketch are of new friends and a place I believe in.
Commentary
California’s half-a-loaf syndrome
California voters and politicians tend to issue sweeping policy changes but then settle for half-a-loaf implementation.
Commentary
Partisan differences aside, California’s fellowship program trains Republicans and Democrats
Erica Costa, former Assembly Fellow: Differences between Republicans and Democrats permeate much of what occurs in the Capitol. But the California’s Assembly Fellowship Program can prepare people for meaningful careers in a highly charged partisan atmosphere, regardless of their party affiliation.
Commentary
One tax measure goes away
It appeared that California voters would be deciding two multi-billion-dollar tax increases next year, but one was dropped and the second is not a slam dunk winner.
Commentary
Electric vehicle fees won’t fix the transportation funding gap
Austin Brown and Dan Sperling, UC Davis: Imposing fees on electric vehicles in California could reduce their sales by 10–24%. The result would be a small increase in transportation funding would come at the expense of the long-term benefits that electric vehicles deliver for individuals and for society. The upshot is that imposing new fees won’t solve our transportation problems. It will only make them worse.
Commentary
An epic Capitol power struggle recalled
Forty years ago today, a year-long power struggle erupted in the state Assembly, one that fundamentally changed the Capitol's culture.
Reader Reactions
Taxation and schools
Re “‘Tax exhaustion’ may be on the horizon,” Dan Walters, Dec. 9, 2019. Conflating Marin and Los Angeles parcel tax defeats misses the billion-dollar elephant in the room. In the four highest cost counties in California—Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara—well over half a billion dollars of property tax, collected for and allocated […]