Commentary

A group of five people, dressed in professional attire, sit on chairs on a stage in front of a crowd, with a banner behind them reading “Governor Candidate Forum.” Four of the five people sitting on stage have their hands up to answer the question while a crowd of people watches in the dark.

No clear frontrunner for governor, but new poll names five with the best shot

A poll shows three Democrats and two Republicans have voter support percentages in the teens. The top two vote-getters in June will face off in November.

Dan Walters

A person in medical protective clothing, wearing a face mask and a hair net, pushes a hospital gurney through a hallway inside a hospital, viewed from an open door.

She spent six of her last years in arbitration with her HMO. Her husband’s still fighting the system

Arbitrators in medical disputes are supposed to be unbiased, but this couple suspected there is an incentive to favor HMO’s in arbitration.

By Stephen Martinez

Two people face each other as they speak: the person on the left has a happy expression and her arm to her chest, while the person on the right wears a grey suit jacket and glasses. Both people are standing in a park area on a sunny day. In the background is a fence to a baseball field.

A former political ally tests LA liberals’ allegiance to Mayor Karen Bass

Mayor Karen Bass isn't vulnerable on her right, but she may be on her left, as City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a Democratic Socialist and ex-supporter, runs against her.

Jim Newton

A close-up view of a person's hand holding a sign that reads "We wants answers! No more deaths!" and they stand at the front steps of a building surrounded by other people holding signs.

California promised accountability for inmate deaths in jails. A year later, no results.

Lawmakers passed a law creating a state department to review inmate deaths, but it hasn’t completed a single death review in its first year.

By David Myers

Commentary

Don’t dumb-down smart speakers

Voice recognition systems have streamlined our daily activities, from turning on the lights to important reminders about taking medications. Assembly Bill 1395 by Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, a Republican from San Luis Obispo, could halt this technology’s advancement.

Guest Commentary

• May 28, 2019

Income taxes are 70 percent of California's general-fund revenue. Image via Flickr

Commentary

California has a huge surplus. So why are legislators still trying to raise taxes?

Two tax increase measures have reached the floors of the Senate and Assembly. Both threaten to delete Proposition 13’s important taxpayer protections from the California Constitution. Put simply, Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1 and Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 would be taxes on California affordability.

Guest Commentary

• May 28, 2019

California Wildfires

We should not be forced to pay for costly electricity we don’t need

Senate Bill 772 by Sen. Steven Bradford, a Gardena Democrat, would force publicly-owned utilities and their ratepayers to pay for pumped hydropower storage, even if the utilities and their ratepayers don’t need it and would receive no benefit from it.

Guest Commentary

• May 27, 2019

Commentary

Trump pardon closes book on ‘Shrimpgate’ scandal

Donald Trump closes the book by California's "Shrimpgate" scandal by pardoning former Assemblyman Pat Nolan.

Dan Walters

• May 27, 2019

photo illustration of a young person smoking.

Commentary

We now have results for key laws advocates promised would ‘protect’ teenagers. They don’t.

In 2016, fewer than 6% of California adolescents reported trying cigarettes, down from 19% in 2003. Why on earth did legislators feel the need to intervene in such a hugely positive youth trend? For no apparent reason, they did. The results aren't pretty.

Guest Commentary

• May 26, 2019

Commentary

‘Fungibility’ means there’s no free lunch

"Fungibility," as applied to politics, means there's no free lunch despite politicians' efforts to persuade us otherwise.

Dan Walters

• May 26, 2019

Reader Reactions

Bar closing time

Michael J. Scippa, Alcohol Justice, Tiburon It would be more objective if all publications would include the public health perspective when covering the issue of extending last call at bars. Senate Bill 58 is Sen. Scott Wiener’s relentlessly dangerous 4 a.m. bar bill. It marks the third consecutive year in which he has attempted to […]

Guest Commentary

• May 24, 2019

Commentary

Weekly Walters 05/24/2019

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

Dan Walters

• May 24, 2019

Commentary

Service tax proposal is a veiled tax increase

Some California legislators are considering a sales tax on services. A services tax won't reduce California's budget volatility and would worsen the state's affordability crisis. With record budget surpluses, talk of new taxes should be political malpractice.

Guest Commentary

• May 24, 2019

Commentary

Restoring local control

Ralph W. Guida IV, president of American Council of Engineering Companies-California, Yorba Linda, and Benjamin I. Kasdan, president of American Institute of Architects-California Council, Santa Ana CALmatters’ columnist Dan Walters severely misconstrues Assembly Bill 626. Recent ambiguous court rulings have upended decades of local contracting practice and created chaos for local agencies. The result is […]

Guest Commentary

• May 23, 2019

California Voices

Viewpoints from across California