When state legislators grilled University of California staff at a hearing Tuesday about the university’s response to the recent college admissions scandal, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty asked the question that’s been reverberating since the story broke last week. “How do we reassure the public that the system is not totally rigged?” It’s...
‘Common Sense Regulations’ or ‘an Extended Middle Finger’? How Far Will California Go on Charter Schools?
With new fast-tracked transparency rules for charter schools in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom has fulfilled a January pledge to bring “long overdue” accountability measures to this growing sector of public schools. But the open meeting and disclosure law Newsom signed — after Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed similar bills twice in prior years...
Don’t Leave California’s Climate Goals Stuck in Traffic
Remember the last time you were stuck in traffic, and you were late for something really important? Well, that’s where California’s climate goals are without the completion of our high-speed rail project designed to alleviate California’s traffic congestion and the resulting air quality effects. Having built most of California’s utility-scale...
California Raised Taxes to Pay Doctors for the Poor. It’s Still Waiting for Them.
It’s been two years since Californians voted to raise tobacco taxes so the state could pay doctors and dentists more when they treat low-income patients. But it’s unclear if the money is achieving a related purpose: getting more medical providers to accept the government’s health plan for the poor. The Department of...
California Must Make Use of ‘Renewable’ Natural Gas. Here’s How.
After significant success in other sectors, California is getting serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions from one of the hardest areas to decarbonize: heating in homes, businesses and industrial applications. To ensure success, flexible policy making is required. Californians are familiar with green technology. Solar panels, wind turbines, and electric...
What if Dianne Feinstein Steps Down Before Her Term Ends?
Along with her considerable political talents, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has an unhelpful verbal mannerism in which she talks to people who try her patience with a faintly exasperated tone in her voice. She shares this trait with, among others, former Vice President Al Gore and Sheldon from “The Big...
Why California Libraries Are Ditching Fines on Overdue Materials
Bill Colb has had just about every possible job in the San Francisco Public Library system. He has worked in customer service, managed branches and circulation, and is now the library’s digital strategist. Throughout these jobs, his most dreaded task remained the same: haggling with book borrowers over 10 cents...
Can Progressives Trust Xavier Becerra to Police the Police?
In his two years on the job, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has crafted an image as a progressive warrior, suing the Trump Administration dozens of times and delivering the Democrats’ Spanish-language rebuttal to the President’s State of the Union speech. But there’s one major area where the Democrat isn’t allied with...
California Supreme Court Throws Cities, Including Fresno, Into Chaos Over Local Taxes
The California Supreme Court has some explaining to do. Late last year, the city of Oakland put a new land parcel tax on the books, after 62 percent of voters turned out to boost funding for public education. Now a local business group is suing the city, arguing that the new tax...
What Happens When the Next Big Wildfire Hits?
Don’t be fooled by the precipitation, the snowpack, the wildflowers. When winter ends, it’s unlikely that California’s iconic landscape will sustain the moisture to withstand the 100-degree summer and fall. California has yet to recover from the 5-year drought that began in 2012. For four years, record wildfires have ravaged...