Commentary

A group of five people, dressed in professional attire, sit on chairs on a stage in front of a crowd, with a banner behind them reading “Governor Candidate Forum.” Four of the five people sitting on stage have their hands up to answer the question while a crowd of people watches in the dark.

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.

Dan Walters

A person in medical protective clothing, wearing a face mask and a hair net, pushes a hospital gurney through a hallway inside a hospital, viewed from an open door.

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.

By Stephen Martinez

Two people face each other as they speak: the person on the left has a happy expression and her arm to her chest, while the person on the right wears a grey suit jacket and glasses. Both people are standing in a park area on a sunny day. In the background is a fence to a baseball field.

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.

Jim Newton

A close-up view of a person's hand holding a sign that reads "We wants answers! No more deaths!" and they stand at the front steps of a building surrounded by other people holding signs.

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.

By David Myers

Reader Reactions

Bring back blanket primary

RE: “A million independent voters risk being irrelevant in California’s presidential primary,” June 19, 2019. CALmatters’ Ben Christophe reports that Chad Peace wants a presidential primary ballot that lists all the presidential candidates. Ironically, California had a presidential primary like that in 2000. There was one presidential primary ballot that listed all the candidates of all six […]

Guest Commentary

• June 29, 2019

California Wildfires

California provides access to money for building resilient neighborhoods

James Gore, Sonoma County Board of Supervisors: Getting educated about how to build more fire-resistant homes and buildings is an essential step to strengthen our triple bottom line of the economy, the environment and the social fabric of our neighborhoods.

Guest Commentary

• June 29, 2019

Commentary

Weekly Walters 06/28/2019

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

Dan Walters

• June 28, 2019

Students are joining teachers in the rain today on the picket line at Marshall High School in Los Angeles, as an LAUSD teachers strike began. Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News

Commentary

If L.A. won’t raise taxes for schools, will Californians vote to overhaul a Proposition 13?

With the prospect of a major battle over Proposition 13 on next year’s ballot, the likely combatants on both sides of the split roll fight are sifting through the results from this month’s special election in Los Angeles in which an effort to increase taxes on business properties was soundly defeated.

Guest Commentary

• June 27, 2019

Commentary

A cross-continental game of political chicken

One of the most significant of the many conflicts between California and President Donald Trump is over auto fuel economy standards.

Dan Walters

• June 27, 2019

Commentary

Stop raiding California’s cap-and-trade funding

Fabian Núñez: Important progress may be threatened by diversions of cap-and-trade funds for investments that are barely related to the original intent of AB 32. The last thing our state and the planet can afford is for cap-and-trade funds to be turned into a slush fund for pet projects that do little or nothing to improve our environment.

Guest Commentary

• June 26, 2019

Commentary

Bringing high-speed rail to California, one building block at a time

Lenny Mendonca, High-Speed Rail Authority chairman: The high-speed rail’s building block approach starting in the Central Valley makes sense. To hear some say that this project is something that is not important to California is insulting. Ensuring that we are all connected is essential to the California Dream. It always has been, and it always will be.

Guest Commentary

• June 26, 2019

California Governor Gavin Newsom during the Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony in Sacramento, Calif. Monday, May 6, 2019. Photo by Randall Benton for CALmatters.

Commentary

Newsom faces his first defining crisis

Gov. Gavin Newsom says he has a plan to resolve California's wildfire crisis that threatens the state's utilities. His political standing may hinge on its outcome.

Dan Walters

• June 26, 2019

Health

Mental health care

Michelle Doty Cabrera, executive director of County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, Sacramento California’s public mental health system is unique in that counties serve Medi-Cal, uninsured, and commercially insured individuals. However, we had concerns with how our responsibilities and the availability in certain services was represented in your piece. County mental health plans do […]

Guest Commentary

• June 25, 2019

An Uber drives gives a passenger a ride. Photo by Alexander Torrenegra via Wikimedia Commons

Commentary

Workers are changing. California Legislature must face that reality

Allan Zaremberg, California Chamber of Commerce: The heart of the debate over the gig economy is how can we improve protections for workers, without losing the control and flexibility they value. You can’t have it both ways. Having job security means the employer will schedule your hours. Without that control, you couldn’t get morning coffee if one day all the baristas choose to sleep in.

Guest Commentary

• June 25, 2019

California Voices

Viewpoints from across California