Commentary
California tax revenue is soaring
State and local tax revenue is up sharply—at odds with the propaganda from those who want to tax more.
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
In the Dynamex fight, California lawmakers can be pro-worker and pro-innovation
Jim Wunderman, Bay Area Council: Legislators must consider the serious implications of Dynamex—an overly restrictive ruling that threatens our innovation economy. California should lead to make independent work a viable and beneficial option for those who choose it.
Dan Walters
Trump and California at it again
A bill requiring presidential candidates to reveal their tax returns is the latest conflict between Donald Trump and California Democrats.
Commentary
A modest proposal to deregulate NCAA sports
William L. Rukeyser, former reporter and communications specialist: College football and basketball players are hard workers and deserve to the paid that way. Unfortunately for the vast majority of them, the teams they currently work for are as close to the majors as they'll ever get and the system is intent on denying them the pay day they deserve. Many will leave the halls of academe without a degree and without a future. They deserve better.
Commentary
The day Jerry Brown stood me up and Ross Perot came to the rescue
Gregory Favre, CalMatters board member: Agree or disagree with his politics, H. Ross Perot collected the most votes ever (nearly 20%) for an independent candidate who ran on his own.
Commentary
California’s new Public Utilities Commission president must lead us to a gas-free future
Gladys Limón and V. John White, California Environmental Justice Alliance: Under Marybel Batjer’s leadership, the California Public Utilities Commission must prepare California to move beyond gas. Creating an equitable, safe and secure phase-out of gas in coming decades will be no small feat. But Batjer has demonstrated she is not afraid of taking courageous action and shaking things up.
Commentary
UC Library’s hasty implementation of a complex plan means academic researchers lose
Daniel Marti, RELX parent to Elsevier: Elsevier proposed a series of arrangements that would contain costs for the University of California, achieve the objectives of the Academic Senate and provide students, faculty, researchers and medical professionals with uninterrupted service to the research platform that supports their work.
UC Library negotiators rejected all offers.
Commentary
In California, we long ago ended the ‘War on Coal’
Jan Smutny-Jones, Independent Energy Producers Association: If there is a war on coal—as President Trump claims—it’s long been decided in California and most of the West. In 2008, coal comprised 18.2% of California’s electricity mix. By 2018, that number had fallen to 3%, with virtually all the coal coming from a single plant in Utah.
Commentary
California refuses to enlist clean, cheap hydropower in fight against climate change. It makes no sense
Assemblyman Adam Gray: California classifies solar, wind and geothermal as renewable but inexplicably excludes the most well-developed renewable energy of all: hydropower. A state constitutional amendment would change that. Here's why it's needed.
Commentary
Forty years of lies stigmatizing ‘teenage pregnancy’ are enough
Mike Males, author of “Teenage Sex and Pregnancy: Modern Myths, Unsexy Realities”: From the 1990s to 2017, the birth rate among California teens fell by a staggering 80%. Why did this happen? Ignore the interest groups clamoring for credit. The reason is not sex education in California or contraceptive programs in Colorado. Teens themselves are reducing births, especially those involving adult partners.