This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, known shorthand as DOGE, launched under President Trump in January and since has sent shockwaves through Washington and the rest of the country. As California's former chief data officer, I've watched this...
Bipartisanship Is Rare in the California Legislature. Here Are the Bills Breaking the Divide.
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. In these hyper-partisan times, Democrats and Republicans can't seem to agree on much. That includes the members of the California Legislature. Of the 2,278 bills lawmakers submitted by the deadline last week, only 11 had Republicans and Democrats as joint lead...
California Lawmakers Propose Fixes for ‘Insurance Industry in Shambles’
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The fires that reduced Altadena, Pacific Palisades and other Los Angeles-area neighborhoods to rubble have also shined a harsh light on California's raging insurance crisis. Lawmakers have proposed a variety of bills to address the issues illuminated by...
College Athletes Can Now Make Millions Off Sponsorship Deals. Here’s The First Look At California’s Numbers
In 2021, California allowed college athletes to earn money, profiting off their name, image and likeness. University records show which student athletes are benefitting and how. $390,000 to Jaylon Tyson, a former basketball guard at UC Berkeley, from a group of private donors. $3,000 to Jordan Chiles, a UCLA gymnast...
Instead of Policing Student Use of AI, California Teachers Need to Reinvent Homework
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. The education sector has sleepwalked into a quagmire. While many California high schools and colleges maintain academic integrity policies expecting students to submit original work, a troubling reality has emerged: Generative AI has fundamentally compromised the traditional take-home...
Have Federal Agents Served Warrants at California’s Capitol? The Legislature Doesn’t Want You to Know
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California's legislative leaders don't think the public should know whether federal agents are investigating state lawmakers for public corruption, nor do they believe taxpayers should know how much of their money the Legislature is spending on criminal defense...
Towing Companies Can Sell Your Car and the DMV Gets to Keep the Profit Without Telling You
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. After a Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster got towed in 2023, no one claimed it. The iconic sports car sat at a Torrance tow yard for five months, long enough that the towing company had the right to sell it....
‘Too Damn Hard to Build’: A Key California Democrat’s Push for Speedier Construction
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters A California legislator wants to solve the state's housing crisis, juice its economy, fight climate change and save the Democratic Party with one "excruciatingly non-sexy" idea. Oakland Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks sees the slow, occasionally redundant, often litigious...
California Beat Big Tobacco. Can It Now Make Big Oil Pay for Climate Damage?
Big Oil faces mounting lawsuits as extreme weather worsens, with California leading efforts to make fossil fuel giants pay billions of dollars for the climate damage they have long denied. Across the country, states, cities, tribes and environmental groups have filed dozens of lawsuits against oil companies alleging that they misled the...
This California Sheriff Says He’ll Break the State’s Sanctuary Law
The specific way in which the sheriff of a rural Northern California county says he’s going to break state law is by contacting immigration authorities after he arrests someone who is in the country illegally. It’s equally true to say that Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman believes he’s upholding federal law, specifically the...