What’s Behind California’s Sudden Urge to Help the Homeless?

It’s the Rich, Now Crowded Next to the Destitute in the Housing-Crunched State, Who Are Driving Politicians’ Newfound Attentiveness

How did homelessness suddenly become such a hot issue across California? There are many reasons, and few of them have anything to do with people who are homeless.

Those reasons—economic anxiety, budget surpluses, tax schemes, housing prices, prison reform, health care expansion, urban wealth, and political opportunism have combined to create today’s “homeless moment” in California.

For decades, combating homelessness has been a civic obsession in the San Francisco Bay Area, with its long tradition of progressive politics and generous homeless services. Now that homeless hubbub has spread statewide. To the …

‘Big Government’ Kept My House From Burning

Yes, California’s Regulations Can Be a Pain, But They Save Lives

In a matter of two hours the Camarillo Springs fire spread across the four miles of rugged hills and brush that separated our Ventura County home from the epicenter of …

In Case You Thought One Wasn’t Enough

Should California Be Split In Two?

 

Throughout its 161-year history, California has seen attempts by its citizens to split the state. One history counts more than 200 attempts and some 27 “serious” proposals to do so. …

Can Deliberative Polling Work?

Debating the Prospects for What's Next California

Ask Californians how to fix their state, and the answers aren’t helpful – because most voters don’t know the basics of how the state works, and their solutions are based …