Dan Walters

Commentary

How will California deal with budget deficits that seem here to stay?

California faces a large budget deficit for the forthcoming fiscal year and chronic shortfalls for years thereafter. How to deal with them is going to be a major problem for the state's politicians.

By

Dan Walters

• May 30, 2023

From left, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photos by Rebecca Blackwell, AP Photo and Miguel Gutierrez Jr, CalMatters

Commentary

How California and Florida both use schools to fight the culture wars

Despite how Gov. Gavin Newsom portrays it, Florida and California both use their education systems to promote ideological agendas.

By

Dan Walters

• May 29, 2023

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference surrounded by workers at the construction of the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for the future site of Proxima Solar Farm in Stanislaus County on May 19, 2023. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pledged to fast-track hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of construction projects throughout the state, including a pair of large water endeavors that have languished for years amid permitting delays and opposition from environmental groups. Photo by John G. Mabanglo, AP Photo

Commentary

The stakes for Newsom’s big plan to streamline big California projects

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to decarbonize California's economy but the California Environmental Quality Act is an impediment. So, he wants to streamline the law's application for big public works projects.

By

Dan Walters

• May 28, 2023

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is flanked by aides as she returns to the Senate Judiciary Committee following a more than two-month absence as she was being treated for a case of shingles, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, May 11, 2023. Feinstein’s office said Thursday, May 18, that she is suffering from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a complication from the shingles virus that can paralyze part of the face, and that she contracted encephalitis while recovering from the virus earlier this year. Photo by J. Scott Applewhite, AP Photo

Commentary

Feinstein’s health has Newsom in a political trap of his own making

After suffering a bout of shingles, Dianne Feinstein's return to the Senate did not stop the calls for her resignation, which would create a huge political problem for Gov. Gavin Newsom.

By

Dan Walters

• May 24, 2023

The Klamath River flows outside of Happy Camp on Aug. 29, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

Commentary

California taxpayers on the hook to save two unhealthy Western rivers

Two big rivers, the Klamath and the Colorado, are being resuscitated after becoming dangerously unhealthy. In both cases, taxpayers are footing the hefty costs rather than those who profit off the rivers.

By

Dan Walters

• May 23, 2023

Assemblymembers convene during session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Jan. 19, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Commentary

New wave of demands add pressure to California’s budget squeeze

With California experiencing a serious budget deficit and the fiscal squeeze tightening, Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators also face demands for billions of more dollars for troubled vital services.

By

Dan Walters

• May 22, 2023

Students at Willie L. Brown Jr. Middle School in San Francisco on Feb. 23, 2023. Photo by Shelby Knowles for CalMatters

Commentary

California’s achievement gap defies extra billions in school spending

For the past decade, California has spent billions of dollars to improve the education of at-risk children, but there's scant evidence that it had the intended effect.

By

Dan Walters

• May 21, 2023

A bronze statue of the Lady of Justice. Photo via iStock Photo

Commentary

California’s two-decade battle over PAGA labor law still rages

A two-decade-long battle over California's labor laws, spurred by the Private Attorney General Act, is entering a new phase with a state Supreme Court case and a pending 2024 ballot measure promising to change how they're enforced.

By

Dan Walters

• May 17, 2023

Screen displaying "Governor's Budget May Revision 2023-2024" before Gov. Gavin Newsom arrives to unveil his revised budget proposal for 2023-24 during a press briefing at the state Natural Resources Agency in Sacramento on May 12, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Commentary

How California budget process became a quagmire

The process of writing budgets for California's state government has become a political quagmire.

By

Dan Walters

• May 16, 2023

An Amazon worker delivers boxes in Los Angeles on Oct. 1, 2020. Photo by Damian Dovarganes, AP Photo

Commentary

Who benefits from Amazon’s immense sales taxes in California?

Twelve years ago California made a deal with Amazon to establish how to collect sales taxes for online purchases. But while Amazon has become a retail giant in California, the taxation issue still reverberates.

By

Dan Walters

• May 15, 2023