The Losing A’s Found a Winning City to Host Them

West Sacramento Is on a Hot Streak. Other California Cities Should Watch

The Oakland A’s are baseball’s biggest losers. But their new temporary home—West Sacramento—is one of California’s greatest winners.

No California city has had a better 21st century than West Sacramento. The municipality of 54,000 people has grown in population and prosperity with striking speed, even as California has stagnated on both fronts.

The A’s will spend three years, 2025 through 2027, in West Sacramento’s minor league ballpark as the team waits for a new stadium to be built in their future home, Las Vegas. Perhaps their relocation will bring West Sac, as …

by Joe Mathews | April 16, 2024

All’s Not Yet Fair in California Workplaces

At Last Night’s Event ‘How Can Workers Make Sure They’re Treated Fairly in the Workplace?,’ Panelists Called for More Collaboration for Better Protections

by Sarah Rothbard | October 19, 2023

California workers’ rights are bolstered by some of the country’s strongest labor legislation, mandating higher minimum wages in many sectors, increased sick days, and other protections. But around the state, …

tktk | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

What Happens When the ‘Indispensable Insider’ of Sacramento Steps Down?

Ana Matosantos Is a Once-in-a-Generation Financial Wizard. Without Her Sorcery, California Will Need a New Budget Whisperer

by Joe Mathews | July 26, 2022

Send help, Harry Potter! Sacramento needs a new wizard!

Ana Matosantos has announced she is departing the Newsom administration at the end of the summer, telling the L.A. Times that she …

Abolish the California Capital

The Pandemic Showed Us the Wonders of a Decentralized State Government

by Joe Mathews | June 29, 2021

Why bother maintaining a state capital?

Californians certainly shouldn’t. The pandemic demonstrated what things are essential in California, and what things we can live without. Among our superfluous assets: the designation …

Give California’s Kids Barstools for Christmas

It’s Clear That the Next Generation Doesn’t Matter in a State That Prioritizes Bars and Restaurants Over Schools

by Joe Mathews | December 15, 2020

Santa, California children need more this Christmas than you can fit in the sleigh. But could you at least give every Californian under the age of 18 their very own …

The Shiny Sacramento Statue That Reflects California’s Failures

As the State Continues to Expand Its Authority, Local and Regional Communities—Including the Capital Itself—Suffer

by Joe Mathews | June 23, 2020

There may be no better symbol of Sacramento’s failure as California’s capital than the 18-foot-tall stainless-steel sculpture outside the city’s downtown sports arena. The work, by famed contemporary artist Jeff …

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