Commentary

Highly paid political consultants dream up ways to lure voters into doing something they would not otherwise be likely, or even willing, to do.

The sexual harassment scandal that’s enveloped the Capitol exposes an unsavory aspect of the building’s culture that had been hidden for decades. It’s also exposed another, equally unseemly trait – the Legislature’s routine exemption of itself from laws it imposes on everyone else. Although, for instance, legislative leaders agreed that complaints about harassment should be […]

When Santa Cruz, a picturesque and funky coastal city, first started to feel the pinch of rising retirement costs for city workers, it took several steps to limit the fiscal pain. As recommended by the League of Cities and other authorities, Santa Cruz issued a bond to pay down its rising pension liabilities, set aside […]

Ten years ago, California voters approved – very narrowly – a $9.95 billion bond issue to partially finance what was described as a $40 billion high-speed train system linking the northern and southern regions of the state. Since then, construction has started on a 119-mile starter line in the San Joaquin Valley, from Madera to […]

Exploiting Democrats' abject lack of party discipline, the GOP could block Democratic challengers from reaching the November ballot.

The state's candidates for governor were all over the map on the issue at a recent forum.

That was quite a show that politicians staged in Sacramento last Wednesday. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions swooped into town to tell an audience of police officials that he was suing the state to overturn three laws aimed at helping millions of undocumented immigrants avoid deportation. The centerpiece is Senate Bill 54, which puts some […]

After decades of shameful neglect of California’s vital transportation network, Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature last year enacted a multi-billion-dollar package of new fees and fuel taxes. It was the right thing to do, and if it merits any criticism, it is that it took too long and may fall short of meeting the […]

Reader reaction to “Retirement Debt: What’s the problem and how does it affect you?“ Great article. Clear and informative. I would have preferred that there was more detail re Gray Davis’s 1999 benefit increase. It wasn’t just an “enhancement.” It was a huge and disastrous increase. By changing from 2 percent to 3 percent, that […]

Reader reaction to “Retirement Debt: What’s the problem and how does it affect you?“ You wrote: “The UC system authorized the first in-state tuition hike on students in seven years due in part to soaring pension outlays.” What you failed to tell your readers is that the UC system took a pension holiday for 20 […]