Elias: A Newsom veto may help drivers
Decision stands out as possibly the best thing the governor did for consumers in 2023....
Thomas D. Elias
Elias: Housing ‘shortage’ persists amid boom
It’s hard to find a 2015-or-later vintage market-rate building without huge signs advertising vacancies. ...
Elias: The elephant in the debate room
Each for his own reasons, Govs. Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis both skirted a key point in their recent debate....
Elias: PUC again favors utilities in solar energy fight
It voted unanimously in mid-November to remove one of the major benefits of placing solar panels on homes....
Elias: Let foster kids keep their money
Gov. Gavin Newsom was wrong to veto a bill that promised to put money into the hands of youngsters who need it most....
Elias: A third party could threaten GOP, Dems
The specter of H. Ross Perot and his short-lived Reform Party still hangs over California political reality....
Elias: What blackmail won for insurance
The insurance industry apparently gained a lot by blackmailing millions of Californians last summer and fall....
Elias: Schools caught in state-local conflict
State officials' “we know what’s best for everyone” notion has spread to schools....
Elias: What is Newsom aiming for next?
When Gavin Newsom is termed out of the governor’s office at the end of 2026, he will not go quietly into retirement....
Elias: Are cities last resort to state dominance?
Increasingly, city governments are becoming the last resort for resistance to policies adopted by both elected state officials and appointed functionaries....
Elias: Can cash payments dent addiction, homelessness?
If addicts get highs from drugs, one still-unproven theory goes, perhaps they’ll be even more thrilled by receiving cash....
Elias: Don’t believe state’s low-growth forecast
For years, this state has plagued its cities and counties with inaccurate, vastly varying predictions of housing need....
California Focus: Insurance blackmail wins again
It would have taken a rare combination of courage and toughness to solve California’s three-month property insurance crisis fairly. Neither quality was displayed by either...
Elias: Will anti-Semitism kill ethnic studies?
There suddenly appears to be a strong possibility that the ethnic studies course requirement state legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom adopted two years ago as...
Elias: Will Newsom allow legislators to assist gas gougers?
California could be sending conflicting messages to big oil companies about lying and gasoline price gouging....
