Opinion
OPINION – Under the Jones Act, cargo moving between U.S. ports must be carried on American-built, American-flagged, and American-crewed vessels, including crude oil and refined petroleum products. The Trump administration has moved to wave the Jones Act, but California’s regulations, taxes, and other unique factors make any minor savings from this waiver a drop in the bucket.
Opinion
OPINION – Over just the past six years, California’s state budget has ballooned from roughly $200 billion to almost $350 billion. That’s a 75% increase. Does anything in California feel 75% better to you?
Opinion
OPINION – California voters have a right to know whether their next Governor will stand up for a program that has delivered some of the most success in reducing homelessness, despite costing less than half a percent of state spending.
Opinion
OPINION – As the Legislature and Governor finalize California’s 2026-27 state budget, we face a consequential decision: whether to sustain one of our most effective tools for strengthening the teacher workforce, or allow it to wither just as it is delivering meaningful results
Opinion
OPINION – Once one of America’s top three oil producers along with Texas and Alaska, California now must rely on imports for 70 percent of our oil. SB 1137, an oil setback law more restrictive than any similar rule in the country, is further restricting local energy production.
Opinion
OPINION – As California and the nation debate the future of health care coverage, Medi-Cal funding, and access to preventive services, these individual stories are often lost in policy language and budget spreadsheets. But the reality is simple: when preventive care is weakened, costs don’t disappear. They shift onto emergency rooms, local governments, employers, taxpayers, and patients.
Opinion
OPINION – California policymakers are obsessed with boosting “affordable housing,” which makes sense when housing in the state is out of reach to a large portion of its residents. They’re trying to solve the problem from the wrong end, though. The supply of affordable housing is best expanded not by focusing on building homes with artificially cheap price tags but by increasing the construction pace of all homes.
Opinion
OPINION – Walk into a Latino-owned restaurant in California, and you will see more than a business. You will see families working side by side. Right now, many of those restaurant owners feel like they are under threat from every direction.
Opinion
OPINION – For California’s 1.1 million multilingual learners (MLLs), equity does not happen automatically but requires intentional action. While the Governor’s proposed budget appropriately elevates education as a statewide priority through broad investments and initiatives, those efforts alone cannot guarantee equitable outcomes.
Opinion
OPINION – CalRecycle is anticipated to finalize regulations any day aimed at implementing Senate Bill 54—the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. But disappointingly, economic benefits owed to Californians through implementation of the state’s landmark plastic pollution prevention law won’t be realized if pending regulations are adopted as is.
American Endurance, Jones Act tanker. Photo by Philly Shipyard.
