Commentary

A "No Dumping. No Parking. No Trespassing." sign sits behind a double-chain-linked fence. A dilapidated, white, one-story building sits behind the sign. The area looks abandoned.

As Caltrans sells homes it bought for defunct road project, some LA residents are being shut out

Caltrans road projects destroyed homes and sliced through neighborhoods often occupied by Black or Latino families. Now the agency is trying to repair the damage by selling back hundreds of homes.

By Denise Amos

A voter fills out their ballot at a polling station at the American Legion in Shasta Lake, California, during a special election in Shasta County November 7, 2023.

California’s representative democracy isn’t very representative of democracy

If California adopted proportional representation, its state legislature would have more political parties, resulting in more coalitions, compromise and responsive policies.

By Caledon Myers

The skyline of San Francisco as seen from Bernal Heights Hill on March 16, 2020. Photo by Jeff Chiu, AP Photo

California’s political clout will fade as long as population growth remains slow

California’s clout in both presidential and congressional elections is shrinking. It’s a stark reminder of the old adage that demography drives destiny.

By Dan Walters

Development near the Ballona Wetlands in the Playa Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 4, 2024. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters

Unfinished wetlands from Playa Vista pact capture the promise, perils of California housing

Playa Vista, a West LA community that took decades to build, is an extraordinary accomplishment in a city where housing is notoriously difficult to create. Yet one piece remains: the wetlands restoration. It's being blocked, paradoxically, by environmentalists.

By Jim Newton

A patient waits in line to pick up a prescription at La Clinica in Oakland on Sept. 26, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Commentary

California voters deliver accountability to health care providers exploiting drug program

Proposition 34 confronts the longtime abuse of the federal 340B prescription drug program and will hold bad actors accountable if providers don’t spend their revenue on patients. California voters got it right.

By Julie Gill Shuffield • November 27, 2024

A person in a suit speaks at a podium labeled "GOOD-PAYING JOBS," gesturing with their hands. Behind them, two individuals stand near informational boards with text and graphics. The setting appears to be an indoor event space with industrial lighting.

Commentary

The best way California can prepare for Trump? Fix its state government

Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan to "Trump-proof" California takes a defensive approach to solving a problem that will outlast Trump: improving the effectiveness of our state government.

By Bob Stonebrook • November 25, 2024

Two people are crossing the street in almost deserted downtown Sacramento, and cars are driving down the street.

Commentary

Sacramento region gained people but flubbed economic opportunities over 50 years

Sacramento-area growth has concentrated in its suburbs. The city is no longer the center of the region, which has missed chances to expand.

By Dan Walters • November 22, 2024

A person wearing a navy blue suit and sitting on a chair behind a desk as they hold a stack of papers that read "The 2021-22 Budget" and "California's Fiscal Outlook".

Commentary

$165 billion revenue error continues to haunt California’s budget

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst warns government spending could expand California's small budget deficit over the next few years.

By Dan Walters • November 21, 2024

Mathew Garcia digs through the soil of his fallowed rice field near Glenn in April. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Commentary

California can make climate policy decisions today that address the problems of tomorrow

California has taken important steps to adapt to climate change’s effects on water, but it’s not yet on the right trajectory to manage some of the changes underway — or the greater challenges ahead.

By Letitia Grenier • November 20, 2024

A person stands on the trailer of a truck with several small trees as it drives through a field with trees.

Commentary

How three Trump policy decrees could affect California’s agricultural industry

There are three policy areas President-elect Donald Trump wants to change that are particularly important to California farmers. If he does what he has promised, one might benefit the industry and two might hurt it.

By Dan Walters • November 19, 2024

A dairy working in an apron and rubber boots putting on milk pumps onto cow utters as they rotate backwards in a dairy machine.

Commentary

California bird flu outbreak warrants a broader look at the risky ways we produce food

As California confronts a bird flu outbreak, it is also time to take a hard look at the food production system that puts farm workers in close contact with sick animals, the standard American diet that demands it, and the health ramifications of both.

By Seema Policepatil • November 15, 2024

The exterior of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles.

Commentary

Los Angeles County approves historic governance reform. San Francisco backs a study

Los Angeles County voters approved a ballot measure to overhaul the Board of Supervisors. San Francisco, on the other hand, picked a new mayor but voted down a more meaningful reform.

By Dan Walters • November 15, 2024

A person stands in the middle of a room with their hands folded as another person stands talking into a microphone at a podium.

Commentary

New LA police chief’s resistance to Trump deportation plans has little to do with liberal politics

The effort to keep Los Angeles police out of immigration enforcement is neither new nor liberal. It has its roots deep in LAPD’s history, when a very conservative chief headed the department and Jimmy Carter was in the White House.

By Jim Newton • November 14, 2024

California Voices

Viewpoints from across California