An unprecedented haul of tax dollars generated by a roaring economy. A governor who campaigned on a big-ticket policy agenda of long-time lefty favorites, including universal childcare and state-funded healthcare for all. A Legislature so thoroughly packed with Democrats it gives rise to a new term—”giga-majority.” Californians could be forgiven for expecting...
Cities Pledge to Find Solutions to California’s Homeless Crisis
With homelessness worsening, Californians are rightly frustrated that our state, with its abundance of wealth and resources, has not made better progress in helping people get off the streets and into housing. There is plenty of blame to go around. Major contributing factors include the challenges lower- and middle- income...
How California is Working to Reduce Wildfire Risk
Millions of Californians face an unprecedented increase in natural disasters brought about climate change with an accompanying increase in risk. Unless. Imagine if everyone is prepared in advance of an emergency, and we all know what to do and where to go to keep safe. Imagine if every Californian in...
Helping Define What It Means to Be ‘Made in California’
Let me start with an admission: government officials — at all levels — don’t do a good job of engaging the public as we grapple with big, complex challenges. Hearings only go so far. Videos and social posts get into only so much detail and nuance. And, most importantly, most...
As Newsom Rethinks Juvenile Justice, California Reconsiders Prison for Kids
As for most high school students, commencement day was big for Osvaldo Moreno. “This is a proud moment for me,” he beamed on a recent June weekend, and not just because he was the first to finish school among six — soon to be seven — children in his family....
In California, People Can Ensure Fair Elections. Let's Get Started.
Headlines across the country have detailed Supreme Court actions regarding various state gerrymandering scandals, the politicizing the Census, and attempts by some states to create new ways to draw district lines after receiving 2020 Census data. California was not a part of any of those stories. More than a decade...
Soul-Crushing Cost of College in California, Explained
It’s not your grandparents’ — or even your parents ’— higher-ed system. A young Californian of the Baby Boomer generation, bolstered by the post-war economic boom and the state’s investment in public higher education, could often emerge from college with little to no debt and a clear path to a...
California May Take Bold Step to Insure Undocumented. Too Pricey or About Time?
As California moves closer than ever to offering free health care to low-income, undocumented adults — at a potential cost of $1 billion — battle lines are being drawn about who should benefit and who ultimately will pay the price. On the surface, the arguments are familiar, with supporters insisting...
California Might Finally Put a Lid on High-Interest Lenders
The California Assembly has passed legislation to end a 34-year era during which non-bank lenders have been free to charge consumers unlimited interest rates on loans from $2,500 to $10,000. By setting a 36% annual rate cap on such loans, Assembly Bill 539 by Assembly Banking and Finance Committee Chairwoman Monique Limón,...
‘Clean’ Freight Elusive as California Rolls To Zero Emissions
Work used to be much simpler for the California Department of Transportation: widen highways, fill potholes, build new freeways. Alas, those quaint days are gone. To get an idea of what planners must prepare for, state officials recently hosted a demonstration of a drone air taxi that will require devising...