Dan Walters

Commentary

Commentary: Long-running judicial feud has a new battleground

The size and cultural complexity of California spawns many unique political conflicts, and none more so than a years-long, multi-party squabble within the nation’s largest judicial system. The new year will doubtless see renewal of the power struggle, which grew out of the 2002 decision by the Legislature and then-Gov. Gray Davis to consolidate what […]

By

Dan Walters

• January 4, 2018

Commentary

Commentary: Uncle Sam gives school reformers a gift

A new year brings renewal of hope, it’s said, but it also means renewed political and legal hostilities over the direction of California’s public school system. For years, an “Equity Coalition” of civil rights and education reform groups has battled the state’s education establishment – state schools Supt. Tom Torlakson, the state Board of Education […]

By

Dan Walters

• January 3, 2018

Commentary

Commentary: California’s Capitol wakes up to a new ambience

Will 2018 change California's power equation?

By

Dan Walters

• January 1, 2018

Commentary

Commentary: Demography may be California’s destiny

California is getting old. Young people are leaving.

By

Dan Walters

• December 31, 2017

Commentary

Commentary: State auditor blocked in seeking judicial records

State Auditor Elaine Howle has a fearsome reputation for tunneling deeply into public agencies and finding nuggets of information that officials would prefer to remain hidden. Recently, for instance, the Legislature directed Howle to delve into the complex finances of the University of California, and its cloistered executives, especially President Janet Napolitano, went into full […]

By

Dan Walters

• December 28, 2017

Commentary

Commentary: Will California spend its surplus, or save it?

In November, the Legislature’s budget analyst, Mac Taylor, issued his annual “fiscal outlook” that sets the stage for the next state budget cycle. In early January, Gov. Jerry Brown will offer his own fiscal outlook as he proposes a 2018-19 budget, his last. Chances are, Brown’s take will not vary much from Taylor’s – that […]

By

Dan Walters

• December 27, 2017

Commentary

Commentary: California ports celebrate a merry Christmas

Very young children may still believe that on Christmas eve, Santa Claus and his reindeer-drawn sleigh deliver toys that his elves build in a North Pole workshop. However, as the rest of us know, before magically appearing beneath Christmas trees, the holiday’s electronic gadgets and toys are overwhelmingly produced in Asia and transported not by […]

By

Dan Walters

• December 25, 2017

Commentary

Commentary: 2018’s slate of ballot measures still cloudy

With 2018 just days away, we pretty much know who will be running for which major California offices next year – except for the intentions of billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, who’s making all the moves, but remains coy about what, if anything, he’ll do. The biggest uncertainty is that we don’t know what initiative measures […]

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Dan Walters

• December 24, 2017

Commentary

Commentary: Community colleges needed to close degree gap

California’s looming shortage of college-educated workers has been well-documented, particularly in a series of reports by the Public Policy Institute of California. PPIC and others point out deficiencies in the state’s K-12 system that prepares too few students for college admission and – more importantly – college success and the physical and organizational shortcomings of […]

By

Dan Walters

• December 21, 2017

Commentary

Commentary: How would federal tax overhaul hit California?

As we weigh the impact of the federal tax overhaul, now being wrought by President Trump and the Republican Congress, on California, we should keep in mind the first and foremost axiom about taxation. What and who are taxed and the levels of those levies are purely arbitrary decisions that are completely divorced from logic, […]

By

Dan Walters

• December 20, 2017