Dan Walters

Lately, Capitol politicians have been shrinking transparency and accountability in making policies that affect nearly 40 million Californians.

It's increasingly common for California legislators to bequeath their seats to offspring or spouses, but the phenomenon is anti-democratic and anti-American.

California's changing weather patterns have made the state's water apparatus less capable, but making much-needed change runs into byzantine procedural hurdles.

As California's officials pass laws and regulations to push cities into becoming more receptive to housing development, local officials push back with delaying tactics.

The "true believers" that philosopher Eric Hoffer defined seven decades ago threaten to undermine civic and political life.

The dream of progressives to make California more like Western Europe suffered a setback when two of their priority bills, including single-payer health care, stalled out in the state Assembly.

Would a new centrally managed health care program be any more effective than the Employment Development Department or the state's other bungling bureaucracies?

Gov. Gavin Newsom is the man in the middle of an intense battle over payments to rooftop solar panel owners for their excess power.

With Gov. Gavin Newsom a shoo-in for re-election the year's most significant statewide race will be for attorney general while its most interesting will be for insurance commissioner.

Another heated confrontation over vaccinations is looming in California's Capitol and once again Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to straddle the fence.