Commentary
Featured
Opinion: Big money is everywhere in California politics. Prop. 4 can curb its influence.
'California elections should belong to California voters, not whoever can afford the biggest megaphone.'
Opinion: Democratic socialism is as American as apple pie. Eugene Debs showed it.
Despite what modern conservatives might claim, left-wing ideals are firmly rooted here.
Sivas: Prop. 45 will take a meat axe to California environmental protections
Proposition 45 so severely constrains judicial review as to make CEQA meaningless.
Opinion: Donald Trump’s actions against Ukraine betray Ronald Reagan
Donald Trump is offering Vladimir Putin strategic advantages, treating an allied nation like a pawn.
Opinion: As a thwarted mass shooting in Aurora shows, we can’t ignore hate against Hindu Americans
The foiled attack in Illinois highlights how racist political rhetoric is endangering a community.
Davalos: Prop. 37 would be a bonanza for home builders. But what about California home buyers? TBD.
The measure offers down payment aid, but hidden loan risks could leave residents saddled with...
Castro: Oakland has its schools back. Now voters face a new challenge.
With local control after 22 years of state intervention, the future of the district is...
Cohen: Santa Clara County and, especially, San Jose will benefit from Bay Area transit tax
'The survival of our regional transit systems is critical to San José. Our systems depend...
Miranda-Prieto: Don’t undo California’s Top-Two system. Fix it.
Top-Two opened our primaries to every voter. Now let's open November to more candidates, but...
Hoene: Prop. 43 will weaken communities’ abilities to address their own needs without state, federal help
A statewide ballot measure threatens vital funding for city services and gives a minority outsized...
Opinion: California has a chance to change the odds for cancer. Vote ‘yes’ on Prop. 38.
Prop. 38 would give California the chance to lead the next wave of cancer breakthroughs.
Opinion: How we dispose of an apple core matters to our climate
Decaying food in landfills emits dangerous methane gas, a crisis that simple backyard habits can...
Massaro: Stop fighting it. AI writes better, but you are still the author.
We must shift our energy away from generating flawless text toward contributing unique personal perspectives.
Opinion: Test-optional colleges are seeing the consequences of ill-prepared students
Without objective exams, institutions accept unprepared applicants who struggle and withdraw from STEM majors.
Ramos and Mandolini: How Prop. 1 can help California tackle its affordable housing crisis
Reliable state investment can be the missing piece converting plans into homes
Hancock & Bates: Prop. 38 is a business scheme disguised as a public health plan. Vote ‘no.
This unaccountable billion-dollar bond enriches wealthy founders while defunding vital community services.
DeSaulnier: When profits matter more than safety, everyone loses
'If we want to get serious about protecting refinery workers ... we need greater real-time...
Wasserman: Bay Area transit became a victim of its success. A new funding model could restore it.
Taxes, not fares, keep most US transit systems running. BART, Muni and Caltrain were outliers,...
Opinion: Stop blaming rogue bots. Hold their human developers accountable.
Tech giants unleashed these digital agents into our lives, and lawmakers must step up to...
Philbrick: Funding Bay Area transit is costly, but service cuts will be devastating
'A voter who never taps a Clipper card still benefits when someone else takes the...
Bravo: Prop. 40 will make California’s health care challenges even worse
A one-time tax on top earners creates a funding cliff, leaving the safety net with...
Lanzas: Prop. 40 is the key to preserving health care access and saving lives
Passing this ballot measure forces the super-rich to fund emergency rooms, preventing disastrous statewide closures.
Roberts: Prop. 43 places insurmountable roadblocks to citizen-led community solutions
Howard Jarvis-backed gimmick would weaken local governments' power, perilously making California cities and counties dependent...
Glazer: As BART warned of financial doom, it ramped up spending, refused to right-size agency
Voting against Measure RTM sales tax increase is not rejecting transit; it’s demanding prudent fiscal...
Schaaf: Prop. 37 makes homeownership a reality
New legislation provides downpayment assistance so middle class buyers can finally commit.
Mackenzie: Silicon Valley, we need to talk about the land we still have left
Accelerated AI data center proposals and heavy development threaten our region's remaining open spaces.
Opinion: Health care is more badly broken than political leaders admit
Our broken medical framework demands total coverage before staffing gaps cost more lives.
Florez: Stop corporate data centers from jacking up electric bills for everyday Californians
AI facilities consume the energy of whole cities. The tech industry must shoulder these massive...
Goldman: Meta’s $5 billion deal with the state AGs to take down its rivals
A blatant quid-pro-quo offers government prosecutors a massive financial windfall for crippling competitors.
DePetris: The Trump administration is claiming success in drug strikes. Not so fast.
Washington boasts of destroying cartel vessels, yet rising cocaine seizures reveal a wholly flawed military...
Westly: Vote ‘yes’ on Prop. 41 to ensure real accountability for every tax dollar spent
Californians are continually asked to fund new programs without the basic visibility they deserve on...
Shackelford: Nepal’s disaster is today’s terrifying climate change reality
A catastrophic flash flood caused by collapsing glaciers offers a grim warning for our warming...
Opinion: California can’t fix housing affordability until it fixes algorithmic collusion
No ethical landlord calls a competitor to agree on rent. With algorithmic collusion, they don’t...
House: Silicon Valley owes America more than its weapons
Tech companies must accept liability and guarantee public safety to truly repay societal obligations.
Capitolo: Vote ‘yes.’ Prop. 45 changes construction timelines, not our standards
Proposition 45 will help repair essential infrastructure affordably while protecting our environment.
Grimes: Vote ‘no.’ Prop. 45 isn’t pro-affordability. It’s a ruse handing shortcuts to polluters disguised as relief.
Prop. 45’s funders are exactly who you’d expect: data center developers, Big Oil, PG&E and...
Ellenberg: Vote ‘no.’ Prop. 43 gives 34% of voters the power to defeat 66%.
Prop. 43 doesn't require better oversight. It merely changes the math so that opponents can...
Opinion: Newsom should sign legislation bolstering newsrooms — and democracy
'AB 2222 effectively creates tax credits for employing full-time and part-time journalists and sole-proprietor local...
Opinion: At $40 trillion in debt, Washington is stealing from younger generations
Lawmakers refuse to fix soaring structural imbalances, forcing our youth to foot the bill.
Opinion: Voters, beware. California governors can do (almost) anything. Choose wisely.
'Every people gets the government it deserves, and all law is useless if the people...
California’s political hopefuls remain silent on state’s job losses, unemployment
Despite a shrinking workforce and an ailing economy, candidates are ignoring this crisis.
Opinion: Online or in our neighborhoods. Hatred has no place in Silicon Valley.
'Hatred directed at Jews or Muslims is an attack on all of us, just as...
Schaaf: Vote ‘yes’ on Regional Transit Measure. We can’t afford to let Bay Area transit collapse.
'Without new funding, BART could be forced to cut as much as 70% of its...
Joffe: Vote ‘no’ on Regional Transit Measure. It will burden Bay Area’s poorest and isn’t needed to ‘save transit.’
'Proponents allege that, without the tax hike, transit service would collapse. But that is, by...
Opinion: A stronger Oakland starts with stable housing that supports stronger families
Federal assistance gives residents the crucial foundation to build careers and achieve independence.
Opinion: Prop. 43 closes a loophole that’s draining California taxpayers dry
'(It) makes clear that all special taxes require a two-thirds vote, including citizens’ initiatives.'
Opinion: Your ‘kids, students and neighbors’ are powering the AI boom for low wages and no safety net
'Your kids, students and neighbors are being worn down for little pay and no security...
Opinion: California’s top earners are thriving. Prop. 3 asks them to keep paying their share.
Should California keep the current rates that have funded its schools, health care and safety...
Oda: Birthright citizenship is not a wartime exception
'I was born behind barbed wire to parents the U.S. classified as “enemy aliens.” ......
Opinion: Life was normal. And then it wasn’t.
Decades after the Holocaust, a survivor’s family honors the tragic fate of a grandmother left...
Why California’s next El Niño won’t end the state’s water challenges
'The real question isn't how much water weather systems like El Niño will bring to...
Opinion: State Legislature must close loopholes to protect Bay Area’s air and water
A pending bill, SB 954, would restore environmental review standards and protect local communities from...
Opinion: California must protect West Oakland from Trump’s toxic coal terminal
Assembly Bill 40 will mandate a robust environmental review to halt unchecked pollution before construction...
Taves: Trump finds a new excuse to play games with California’s cash
The president, who has pardoned executives convicted of health care fraud, recently withheld $870 million...
Opinion: San Jose residents deserve a voice in historic land-use decision next week
'The debate is not about housing versus neighborhoods. It is about how growth should occur...
What I learned from interviewing 49 candidates on Bay Area ballots
Suspicious, wired and overconfident — in themselves, audits and, of course, AI. Meet your representatives.
Opinion: California studied employee ownership. SB 1174 would put the evidence to work.
'California has credible evidence that broad-based employee ownership can improve job stability and worker wealth,...
Opinion: Establishment partisans keep smearing ranked choice voting because they fear the majority
'RCV is being resisted desperately by organizations and individuals who feel they have their fingers...
Opinion: Democrats, watch your language. Please!
In the same way Greeks mastered rhetoric, so too must Democrats. Affordability is a winning...
Bhasin: Gulag in Gilroy: Finally, some NIMBYism I can get behind
The recent pause in ICE facility construction proves the best way to resist Trump’s purge...
Opinion: Big-money Bay Area interests try to shift tax burden onto the poor
The Bay Area Council, crypto-king Chris Larsen and others opposing Billionaire Tax while promoting regressive...
Opinion: California charts its own path to solve problems D.C. won’t
'The federal government remains powerful in theory but is losing much of its capacity to...
Stone: San Jose’s downtown economy requires full-time workers far more than visiting soccer fans
When the World Cup ends, city leaders will face a sobering reality: daytime pedestrian traffic...
Opinion: America is always a work in progress
The case for making America greater with a new patriotism.
Cortese: Why are California taxpayers paying the health care bills of trillion-dollar corporations?
The goal here is simple: This state's biggest companies should contribute toward the public health...
Taves: July 4 isn’t our only birthday. Surviving another 250 years requires we celebrate the other, too.
If the U.S. wants to live to see its 500th anniversary, it needs to understand...
Big Oil needs Californians to fall for its slick marketing campaign. Don’t be fooled.
Gas stations sell so-called “Top Tier Gas" for a major premium. But in California, there...
Ordeal to fill Swalwell’s seat exposes a broken system — and a better alternative
Ranked-choice voting for special elections would save counties millions, fill vacant seats sooner and produce...
Opinion: California must keep landlords from price-fixing and expedite permitting
To help renters, state leaders should pass pending bills that would prevent landlord collusion and...
Tordillos: Downtown San Jose has everything except neighbors
A California law, AB 2074, would streamline the approval process for downtown housing projects, making...
Opinion: California is about to get a windfall. Let’s not blow it.
'The coming IPO windfall is a rare second chance. But we'll only benefit from it...
Opinion: Gov. Newsom, keep funding intact for foster children’s greatest allies
California's small investment in court appointed special advocates, or CASAs, not only helps vulnerable children...
Lee: I represent Silicon Valley. Here’s why I support taxing its billionaires.
'What we’re witnessing — in real time — is a small class of billionaires extracting...
Debley: Can we put human dignity ahead of the raw pursuit of profit?
As AI wealth concentrates in Silicon Valley, California faces a vital choice between greed and...
Liccardo: Why China is winning the war America started in Iran
Xi Jinping is leveraging Donald Trump's quagmire to secure global energy and economic dominance, argues...
California legislators, ditch diesel school buses. Invest in electric now.
Skyrocketing diesel prices strain district budgets. State funding must prioritize zero-emission student transportation, argues a...
Opinion: In politics after Trump, nothing is disqualifying
As controversial candidates surge in Texas and Maine, traditional ideas about character are no longer...
Ranked choice voting can save San Jose taxpayers millions
With this reform, city could deliver more representative results and save millions without cutting a...
California voters want results, not resistance theater
Survey shows majority prefers candidates who will address real problems, not just 'fight back against...
In their words: Kounalakis, Caballero and Vazquez tell us why they can manage California’s $162 billion
The top three candidates to succeed termed-out Treasurer Fiona Ma make their cases to Bay...
Borenstein: Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee’s audacious power grab has Trumpian tone
Sheng Thao debacle and current presidency teach us that we should treasure checks on executive...
Opinion: Ungovernable billionaires may be our biggest global threat
Administration seems ‘poised to not regulate this technology … since the ultrawealthy men who control...
Legislature’s adviser tries budget tough love to get California’s pols to close huge deficits
Legislative Analyst Gabe Petek warns Newsom and legislators to close their chronic, multibillion-dollar gap.
Opinion: Politics has come to work, once an apolitical space
Divisive issues on display in church, school and movies. It was just a matter of...