In summary

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

Election boosts advocates of higher taxes

This month’s election was good news for those who believe that Californians should pay more taxes. One indication is that about three-quarters of local tax and bond issues were approved by voters.

The politics of California’s killer wildfires

There’s no escaping political fingerpointing as two killer wildfires strike in California.

Newsom will find stack of Brown’s leftovers

While Gavin Newsom won’t face a budget crisis when he is inaugurated in January, he will find a stack of leftover issues on his desk from outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown.

Newsom won’t have budget crisis, but can it last?

Gavin Newsom will be only the second governor in the last half-century to begin his first term without a major budget crisis to be solved. But keeping the state in the black may be difficult, particularly as he pursues an expansionist agenda.

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Dan WaltersOpinion Columnist

dan@calmatters.org

Dan Walters has been a journalist for more than 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times...