SANTA BARBARA — A shark reportedly bit a surfer Saturday afternoon off Southern California in a “truly terrifying situation,” the Coast Guard said. The 37-year-old man had been surfing near Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands, during the attack, according to a news release. A friend aboard a...
California Needs to Treat Homelessness Like the Disaster It Is. Let’s Provide Housing First
For the past 23 years, I have led a statewide homeless services and housing development agency. In Los Angeles, I have interacted with four mayors, three cycles of county supervisors, and dozens of city council members. During this period, the approach to the growing issue of homelessness has been predictable....
Walters: Bullet Train Follies
As oft-noted in this space, those in California’s state government — governors, legislators and agency directors — have an unfortunate habit of starting programs and projects that are never fully implemented. These governmental orphans fall roughly into two categories, those that have some valid rationale and those that don’t. For...
California Is a Wondrous Place. I’m Leaving.
To me, California has always been an amazing place with a wondrous geography far more diverse than the other two largest states. This helps explain why historically it has been such a beacon for so many Americans, including myself, seeking a golden future in the Golden State. But not just...
Walters: California's Housing Crisis vs. Reality
As he was running for governor, Gavin Newsom repeatedly and emphatically promised to attack California’s housing shortage head-on, pledging in an online article to “lead the effort to develop the 3.5 million new housing units we need by 2025 because our solutions must be as bold as the problem is big.” During his...
Buy, Lease or Subscribe to Add Solar Panels to Your Home
NEW YORK — Homeowners are clamoring to power through blackouts that have become a regrettably frequent part of life in California. The cost of solar panels and batteries has fallen. And a new California law will require all new homes to produce as much energy as they consume beginning in...
California Still Most Populous, but Stalls at 39.9 Million
SACRAMENTO — California's population has stalled at 39.9 million people as expensive housing prices and other factors convince more people to leave the state for other parts of the country. An estimate released Friday showed California added 141,300 people from July 1, 2018, to July 1, 2019, bringing its total...
Women in Boardroom Law: Are Fresno Companies Complying?
California's women in the boardroom law goes into effect Jan. 1. Authored by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), it mandates that the boards of publicly traded companies have women directors. Three such companies in Fresno County, all banks, qualify and have already met the first step — one woman by...
Buttigieg-Warren Clash on Campaign Trail Spills Into Debate
LOS ANGELES — The long-festering feud between Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg erupted Thursday night in a high-stakes debate that tested the strength of the Democratic Party's shrinking pool of presidential contenders just six weeks before primary voting begins. Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has emerged as...
Fresno Unemployment Creeps Up. State Maintains Record Low.
Fresno County's unemployment rate rose to 6.5% in November, up from October's revised jobless rate of 5.8%, the state said Friday. Meanwhile, California's unemployment rate held steady at the record low of 3.9% in November. Listen to this article: Between October and November, the Fresno area shed 1,400 total...