Dan Walters

California's capital city, Sacramento, has become a startling example of official sneakiness in how it conducts its business.

Six weeks ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a budget that would close a $38 billion deficit, but his elaborate financial maneuvers might not be enough.

California's efforts to care for the mentally ill date back to its admission as a state in 1850. The latest wrinkle is Proposition 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom's overhaul of mental health services.

For years, school unions have waged a political war with charter school advocates. Los Angeles has been a major battleground. A new school board majority wants to evict some charters from its school buildings.

The ability to read is foundational for all other learning but California is not doing well. Adoption of a phonics-based system dubbed the "science of reading" has proven to be effective and should be universally adopted.

After much political angst, California's community colleges have received limited authority to award four-year degrees. It's been a success for students that should be expanded.

California has many long-term public policy issues, but politicians tend to have short attention spans. A new legislative report that catalogs major issues could spur action.

Sunday's Super Bowl in Las Vegas, the world capital of gambling, symbolizes the new alliance between professional sports leagues and the gambling industry. However, residents of the states with teams in the game, California and Missouri, cannot legally bet on it.

California's economic personality has undergone several dramatic changes over its 174-year history. How will state leaders address the economy's underlying problems and prepare for its uncertain future?

Over the last four decades, as California's state budget became more complicated, governors and legislators have used "trailer bills" to sometimes pass major legislation with little or no public input.