Photo of Gov. Gavin Newsom

Newsom Signs Law Overhauling Charter Schools

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law overhauling California's charter schools Thursday in a move seen as a compromise between teachers’ unions and charter school supporters, who have long argued over how charter schools impact public education. Chart...

California’s Pension Debt Cannot Be Ignored

A decade ago, at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s request, I supervised a graduate student team that performed a comprehensive analysis of public pensions in California. The goal was to calculate California’s pe...
Photo of firefighters monitoring backfire in Ladoga, CA

California’s Worsening Wildfires, Explained

If it seems that wildfires are burning nearly all the time these days, that there’s no longer a definable fire season in California, you’re right. Fourteen of the 20 most destructive fires in state history have occurred since 2007, and California has 78 more a...
Photo of people protesting zero tolerance immigration policy

Detaining Immigrant Children Is a Billion-Dollar Business

SAN ANTONIO — Detaining immigrant children has morphed into a surging industry in the U.S. that now reaps $1 billion annually — a tenfold increase over the past decade, an Associated Press analysis finds. Health and Human Services grants for shelters, foste...