Elias: Newsom, Harris post-Biden rivals?
For more than 25 years, as they climbed the political ladder of politics in California and the nation, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala...
California Focus
Elias: The deadly contents of wildfire smoke
The next time authorities issue a smoke advisory telling residents of California areas previously unaffected by wildfires to stay inside with closed windows and doors...
Elias: Pressure builds for more office building conversions
Almost no one wants office buildings these days, either to build them or buy them. In downtown San Francisco, the April sale of an empty...
Elias: The mostly female field for governor will likely change soon
California feminists rejoiced earlier this year as they examined the list of candidates to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor in 2026. That was because the...
Elias: Time for action on gas gouging
The gasoline price gouging that has plagued California periodically for decades appears no longer to be merely sporadic. It’s now a steady phenomenon. There was...
Elias: Pot lounges? Why expand a destructive business?
Since California voters legalized cannabis via a 2016 ballot initiative, the weed has evolved into something like a normal business. It’s complete with webcasts on...
Elias: Nope, PUC move won’t lower electric bills
California’s benighted Public Utilities Commission claims its latest move to please the privately owned power companies it regulates will actually lower electric prices for some...
Elias: Should public colleges offer classes in agitation, protest?
It’s a question central to the college experience across California and America this spring....
Elias: Future of zoning and the ineffective SB9 now unclear
Even before a judge ruled against it, SB9 never caught on with Californians....
Elias: Qatari money and campus takeovers
The current spate of campus takeovers by protesters is neither an accident nor, for the most part, spontaneous. ...
Elias: How a deal could bring fast reform of Prop 47
The fix comes from legislators, the governor and the sponsors of a new initiative likely to qualify for the fall ballot....
Elias: Density not proving a housing solution
California issued just 111,221 new permits last year, a 6% drop from 2022....
Elias: Will state Dems heed past lessons?
Voters administered a few lessons to this state’s dominant party in 2020 and 2022, but they appear to be forgotten....
Elias: Big Oil whines as drilling winds down
Oil drilling is winding down in California, and Big Oil is not happy about having to pay close-out costs....
Elias: Primary bodes ill for swing-district Dems
Democrats must do much better this fall if they expect to win back control of the House of Representatives....