Dan Walters

The latest academic test results administered by federal and state governments indicate again that California has a severe and potentially disastrous crisis in public education.

In 2018, California voters passed a law barring sales of pork products from hogs not reared in prescribed humane conditions. The U.S. Supreme Court now is weighing whether the law unconstitutionally interferes with interstate commerce.

With scanty participation in voluntary water reductions, the drought is raising questions about mandatory cuts.

As California ramps up pressure on local authorities to build more housing, it also should be more specific on where that housing can and cannot be built in light of California's propensity for destructive wildfires.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has called a special legislative session to impose taxes on oil companies for what he says are price-gouging profits, but he has yet to offer proof.

The Legislature has created commissions to redraw county supervisor districts in five counties after every census. However, unlike the state redistricting commission, these local bodies are stacked in favor of a county's dominant political party

The California Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom have enacted dozens of bills to relieve the state's housing shortage but high development costs suppress construction.

As the battle over speakership of the state Assembly becomes more intense, it resembles a similar intraparty squabble 42 years earlier.

The 2022 session of the California Legislature saw the state move close to the Western European model of extensive public services and benefits.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom insists that he's not running for president but continues to cultivate a national political profile that may indicate otherwise.