California Voices

Having acted twice to protect California's children, Gov. Gavin Newsom can have a trifecta by signing legislation to mandate later school starting times.

Kim Delfino, Defenders of Wildlife: In his State of the State speech, Gov. Newsom said that to protect our water supply and delta fisheries, we “have to get past the old binaries.” After the veto of SB 1, the question is whether the governor and his administration will break the “old binaries,” and demand from the water users what is truly necessary to ensure a future that includes a healthy Bay Delta for all.

Can a nine-county regional agency in the San Francisco Bay Area solve its chronic and acute shortage of housing?

Monte Ward, Hollister Ranch Owners Association: For years, the state of California has wanted to expand public access to the beaches at Hollister Ranch in Santa Barbara County. The state has been unsuccessful, some claim, because rich property owners have thwarted the will of the people This is nonsense.

Sandi Matsumoto, The Nature Conservancy: Five years ago, California became the last state in the West to regulate groundwater. Many thought this would be impossible until the need for groundwater management became overwhelmingly clear during the last drought. We should not wait for the next drought to finish what we’ve started

California is enjoying multibillion-dollar surpluses, but voters could still face a dizzying array of tax increases on the ballot next year.

Rob Lapsley and Allan Zaremberg, Business Roundtable and California Chamber of Commerce: A split-roll initiative would remove Proposition 13’s protections for commercial and industrial property and raise their property taxes by billions of dollars a year. Businesses would have no choice but to pass those increased costs onto you and me, raising the prices on everything we buy, from gasoline to groceries, while also raising our utility and healthcare bills.

Local officials may mislead voters about tax and bond measures, but they can't lie to bankers without the feds investigating.

Joe Nation, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research: Legislative attempts at reform of public employee pensions barely made a dent in the problem. Public pension debt will continue to grow. The question is whether California’s leaders have the courage to acknowledge and implement the aggressive and comprehensive reforms that are so clearly required.

Gary E. Mead, former associate director of the U.S. Marshal Service: If private prisons are not meeting the needs of the state, steps should be taken to address those needs. But a ban on much needed private prisons is not the answer, at least not if Gov. Newsom’s goal is to improve the conditions for state inmates, and the treatment of immigrants in custody.