Commentary
Commentary: Republican tax plan would hit California hard
Tax policy has become another conflict between Democrat-dominated California and the Republican-dominated federal government.
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
Commentary: Sexual harassment cases put heat on legislative leaders
Some may have believed – or hoped – that the furor over sexual harassment in and around the state Capitol would soon fade away. Nope. The initial letter complaining about harassment, signed by 140 women, has exploded with many more names and a spate of personal accounts. The Los Angeles Times, which broke the initial […]
Commentary
Commentary: As gas taxes jump, motorists may wonder where they’re going
California's new gas taxes will do little, if anything, to relieve traffic jams. Most of the proposed improvements won’t be obvious.
Commentary
Commentary: Garcetti’s opt-out for governor may have saved Villaraigosa
That sigh you hear is Antonio Villaraigosa’s relief that Eric Garcetti won’t be running for governor next year. Garcetti, the current mayor of Los Angeles, would have been a strong contender vis-à-vis Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the frontrunner in all polls. But the most immediate beneficiary of Garcetti’s weekend announcement of non-candicacy is Villaraigosa, his […]
Commentary
Commentary: Cohesion thrives in Bay Area while Sacramento region bickers
The dramatic rise of the San Francisco Bay Area into a globally important cultural and economic powerhouse, and why it zoomed past its much larger rival in Southern California, is, among other things, a case study in regional cohesion.
Commentary
Commentary: California economy humming, but high poverty persists
Gov. Jerry Brown persistently cautions Californians that their pulsating economy cannot last forever. When, for example, he unveiled a revised state budget last May, he included what has become boilerplate, warning that “by the time the budget is enacted in June, the economy will have finished its eighth year of expansion – only two years […]
Commentary
Commentary: Health access too important for mere sloganeering
Sunday’s initial quasi-debate among the four declared Democratic candidates for governor strongly indicated that access to medical care may be a dominant campaign issue. However, it also strongly indicated that voters will likely see more sloganeering on the issue than reality-based prescriptions. That would be unfortunate, because it’s an issue that potentially affects not only […]
Commentary
Commentary: Four Democratic candidates want more spending, but not more taxes?
The four Democratic candidates for California governor mostly believe that dealing with the state's big issues will mean spending a lot more money. But they're murky on where that money should come from.
Commentary
Commentary: Jerry Brown 2.0 wins higher marks in crisis management
Not always fairly, history tends to judge political executives – presidents and governors, especially – by how they handle crises. Abraham Lincoln is rightly revered for his willingness to wage civil war rather than see the country disintegrate. Franklin Roosevelt is equally venerated for dealing with two immense crises, the Great Depression and World War […]
Commentary
Commentary: Weinstein sex scandal reverberates in California’s Capitol
The Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal that has roiled Southern California’s smugly cloistered entertainment industry reverberated last week in the equally smug and cloistered state Capitol. More than 140 women – legislators, Capitol staffers, lobbyists and political consultants – signed an open letter denouncing “pervasive” sexual harassment and other forms of misconduct in state politics. […]