Darrell Steinberg

California cities face budget deficits as a pandemic-induced recession sets. Mayors are calling for federal bailouts in what's expected to be a long recovery.

Ben Carson and Eric Garcetti discuss solutions to homelessness. Sanders lights into PG&E. Sacramento Bee owner files for bankruptcy.

Options for addressing the state's most pressing social problem  range, at best, from limited to imperfect. What would you choose?

Recommendations by Gov. Gavin Newsom's task force on homelessness in California call for a legally enforceable 'mandate to end homelessness' on the November ballot, echo the governor's request for more funding and call for a homelessness czar. 

California inches toward making it easier to compel treatment for mental illness, but serious questions remain. Among them: Do treatment options even exist?

Newsom meets with PG&E chief to discuss utility's future. Audit finds problems in school funding. Certain groups miss out on food stamps.

While the housing first model does not require sobriety, it clearly encourages sobriety. It has been shown that people who voluntarily sign up for supportive services are more likely to discontinue substance use, participate in job training programs, and attend school.

Shooting first and asking questions later might have been acceptable police conduct in 1872 California. It can’t be in the 21st century.

The historical record no longer brackets what we can expect in intensity or duration from drought, flood, or wildfire. So we cannot move quickly enough to cut emissions from our millions of tailpipes in California, and we must change state governance, funding, and planning as necessary—no matter how difficult—to get ready for the worst.

Gavin Newsom gets expert environmental advice, the feds estimate California wildfires' carbon footprint, Toni Atkins introduces some 'Trump insurance, wrecking levees to avert floods, a possible Newsom advisor, and a California air filter trend.