Commentary

Lincoln Heights warehouse controversy presents another test of Los Angeles’ aspirations

A controversial warehouse development across the street from a Lincoln Heights elementary school is pitting commerce against a Los Angeles community, and testing the city's values in the process.

By Jim Newton • December 2, 2024

A patient waits in line to pick up a prescription at La Clinica in Oakland on Sept. 26, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Commentary

California voters deliver accountability to health care providers exploiting drug program

Proposition 34 confronts the longtime abuse of the federal 340B prescription drug program and will hold bad actors accountable if providers don’t spend their revenue on patients. California voters got it right.

By Julie Gill Shuffield • November 27, 2024

Two people are crossing the street in almost deserted downtown Sacramento, and cars are driving down the street.

Commentary

Sacramento region gained people but flubbed economic opportunities over 50 years

Sacramento-area growth has concentrated in its suburbs. The city is no longer the center of the region, which has missed chances to expand.

By Dan Walters • November 22, 2024

A person wearing a navy blue suit and sitting on a chair behind a desk as they hold a stack of papers that read "The 2021-22 Budget" and "California's Fiscal Outlook".

Commentary

$165 billion revenue error continues to haunt California’s budget

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst warns government spending could expand California's small budget deficit over the next few years.

By Dan Walters • November 21, 2024

Mathew Garcia digs through the soil of his fallowed rice field near Glenn in April. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Commentary

California can make climate policy decisions today that address the problems of tomorrow

California has taken important steps to adapt to climate change’s effects on water, but it’s not yet on the right trajectory to manage some of the changes underway — or the greater challenges ahead.

By Letitia Grenier • November 20, 2024

A person stands on the trailer of a truck with several small trees as it drives through a field with trees.

Commentary

How three Trump policy decrees could affect California’s agricultural industry

There are three policy areas President-elect Donald Trump wants to change that are particularly important to California farmers. If he does what he has promised, one might benefit the industry and two might hurt it.

By Dan Walters • November 19, 2024

A dairy working in an apron and rubber boots putting on milk pumps onto cow utters as they rotate backwards in a dairy machine.

Commentary

California bird flu outbreak warrants a broader look at the risky ways we produce food

As California confronts a bird flu outbreak, it is also time to take a hard look at the food production system that puts farm workers in close contact with sick animals, the standard American diet that demands it, and the health ramifications of both.

By Seema Policepatil • November 15, 2024

The exterior of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles.

Commentary

Los Angeles County approves historic governance reform. San Francisco backs a study

Los Angeles County voters approved a ballot measure to overhaul the Board of Supervisors. San Francisco, on the other hand, picked a new mayor but voted down a more meaningful reform.

By Dan Walters • November 15, 2024

California Voices

Viewpoints from across California