Dan Walters

California Gov. Gavin Newson shunned a traditional State of the State address this month and instead toured the state to unveil new programs for social ills.

After two false starts, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying again to set limits on oil refinery profits and impose penalties for exceeding them.

California business interests increasingly use ballot measures to block or delay laws imposing new regulations. Progressive groups want to make such actions more difficult.

A California appellate court ruling added a new twist to the legal and political battle over the status of gig workers, which dates back to 2004. However, the conflict is likely just shifting to another arena.

Marion Joseph battled for years to improve the reading skills of California youngsters through phonics instruction. She died last year but phonics is becoming the state's favored method of overcoming California's literacy crisis.

California was once home to the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, but Tulare Lake disappeared as water was diverted to irrigate crops. This year, however, the lake will once again re-emerge.

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank struck California's economically important high-tech industry while it was already facing difficult headwinds. The question is whether the bank’s failure is a harbinger of Silicon Valley’s decline.

Six years ago while running for governor, Gavin Newsom pledged an all-out effort to build 3.5 million new housing units by 2025. As that date nears, only a small fraction of that goal has materialized despite dozens of new laws and increased pressure on local governments.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to tweak the state's program for improving educational outcomes of at-risk students, but his proposal doesn't fix its fundamental flaws.

Last year, the Legislature voted to curb campaign contributions to local government officials from those affected by official business. While the new law is very narrow, it now faces a legal challenge.