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Dan Walters,
CalMatters Commentary

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He has written more than 9,000 columns about the state and its politics and is the founding editor of the “California Political Almanac.” Dan has also been a frequent guest on national television news shows, commenting on California issues and policies.

Stories by Dan Walters

Should Fossil Fuel Companies Be Forced to Pay for Los Angeles Wildfire Losses?

As wildfires swept through Los Angeles County last month, the New York Times published a commentary by former insurance commissioner Dave Jo...

/ 7 minutes ago

LA Wildfires Intensify Political Jousting Over Home Insurance Premiums

The timing could not have been better — or worse. Dan Walters CalMatters Opinion The horrendously destructive and deadly Los Angeles wild...

/ 22 hours ago

Conflicting Studies Obscure Reality of California’s Fast Food Wage Battle

California’s Capitol has seen countless conflicts between economic interests, but few match the intensity of a duel between the fast f...

/ 2 days ago

California’s Aging Population Will Test Whether Its Demography Is Destiny

California is a living laboratory for the observation that demography is destiny, first uttered by the 19th century French philosopher Augus...

/ 5 days ago

CA Schools Still Fall Behind Despite Big Increases in Spending

As academic researchers continue to explore what happened to public education during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, they are confirming th...

/ 1 week ago

Aerial View of Palisades Wildfire Destruction 2025

Will ‘Too Many Cooks’ Complicate LA’s Recovery From Deadly Fires?

A proverb said to have arisen in 16th-century England postulates that “too many cooks spoil the broth.” When too many people are working on ...

/ 1 week ago

High Speed Rail Overpass South Fresno

Trump Targets Troubled CA Bullet Train Project. Will He Kill It, Too?

Talk about timing. President Donald Trump denounced California’s bullet train for the project’s delays and rising costs on Tuesday and said ...

/ 2 weeks ago

CA School Test Scores Trail Those of States Newsom Considers Culturally Backward

When Gov. Gavin Newsom issues one of his periodic boasts about California’s superiority vis-a-vis other states — particularly those wi...

/ 2 weeks ago

Newsom Greets Trump LA Wildfires

Why CA Fire Response Could Make or Break These Political Careers

“A crisis is a terrible thing to waste,” Stanford economist Paul Romer said at a venture capital seminar 21 years ago, referring to the incr...

/ 3 weeks ago

What’s in Store for California if It Splits From the US?

With Donald Trump back in the White House, he’s resuming his long-running feud with California and its political figures, most promine...

/ 4 weeks ago

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Should Fossil Fuel Companies Be Forced to Pay for Los Angeles Wildfire Losses?

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High Mortgage Rates, Prices Dampen January Home Sales

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Muslim Community Unites for Ramadan After Wildfire Destroys Mosque

Ryan Andrew Kitchener is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for Feb. 21, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)

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Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Ryan Andrew Kitchener

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Trump’s Forest Service Cuts Raise Wildfire Concerns in Western US

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