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

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

Commentary

California’s new budget invests in overlooked piece of health care puzzle: workers

Gov. Gavin Newsom is poised to sign the largest, most comprehensive set of proposals in years to expand California’s health workforce pipeline—tapping $300 million in the 2019-20 budget to address an often overlooked threat to our health care system: a shortage of qualified health professionals.

Guest Commentary

• June 25, 2019

Commentary

In Gavin Newsom’s ‘California For All’ budget, undocumented immigrants are not included

Dani Carrillo, UC San Francisco: Undocumented workers comprise 9% of California labor force and contribute $3 billion in state and local taxes each year. They do some of the most arduous work, including landscaping, construction, restaurant work, and taking care of children and seniors. But if their health is compromised, they have few places to go.

Guest Commentary

• June 24, 2019

Commentary

Arbitrary tax policy spawns an offspring

California politicians dislike Donald Trump's federal; tax overhaul but are adopting portions of it to raise revenue.

Dan Walters

• June 24, 2019

Commentary

Congress needs to start over on nuclear waste

Geoffrey Fettus, Natural Resources Defense Council: We need a solution for the waste stuck at San Onofre and the other California reactors. But in their desperation to move the threat away from the Golden State, some California lawmakers are making two grave errors.

Guest Commentary

• June 23, 2019

California Voices

Viewpoints from across California