Dan Walters

Dianne Feinstein, who died Thursday night, will be remembered as a trailblazing politician who always insisted on doing things her way.

For more than a quarter-century, legislative bills on the California Chamber of Commerce's "job killer" list have mostly died, but it was a bit different this year.

Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to be following predecessor Jerry Brown's "canoe theory" of politics, paddling alternatively on the left and right with his vetoes and bill signings.

The California Legislature adjourned this month without resolving the issue facing homeowners and their declining ability to acquire fire insurance. A move by the insurance commissioner to try and intervene seemed to double down on a major tradeoff.

As California's homelessness crisis continues, its politicians are carping over who should be held responsible for resolving it.

Emulating previous California politicians, Gov. Gavin Newsom is singling out the oil industry as he tries to build his national political image.

With a new leader at the helm, California's labor unions achieved major gains in this year's legislative session, even though only 17% of the state's workers belong to unions.

An 11th hour compromise in the Legislature settled a conflict over whether a new state agency would set wages and working conditions in the fast food industry and implicitly undermine the franchise business system.

Three measures to overhaul state oversight of water use, giving the state water board more authority over holders of senior water rights, were introduced in the Legislature this year but the most important two died.

California has retained its position as having the worst poverty of any state, thanks to its very high living costs and a large low-income underclass.