California FocusOpinionCalifornia continues as political cash cowThomas D. EliasFebruary 2, 2022 February 2, 20220260 No candidate who benefited from those infusions of Californians’ money and time ever said much to those who contributed....
California FocusOpinionNewsom goes all-in on utility favoritismThomas D. EliasJanuary 19, 2022 January 19, 20221801 The governor blew a golden opportunity to make PUC into the consumer-friendly agency it was designed to be....
California FocusOpinionRecycling scandal more than nickel-and-dime stuffThomas D. EliasJanuary 12, 2022 January 12, 20220234 At least $200 million in refunds goes to criminals, according to a new report from the Consumer Watchdog advocacy group....
California FocusOpinionCalifornia housing battles heating upThomas D. EliasJanuary 5, 2022January 5, 2022 January 5, 2022January 5, 20220303 As long as California has been a state, the most basic function of local governments has been to decide where housing will or won't go....
California FocusOpinionOpinionsPolitics & GovernmentWill California regulators kill rooftop solar?Thomas D. EliasJanuary 3, 2022 January 3, 202201269 If California’s often misguided utility regulators wanted to prove they are determined to favor privately owned electric companies over almost any other interest, they could...
California FocusOpinionShould Californians have a formal right to shelter?Thomas D. EliasDecember 22, 2021 December 22, 20210212 What’s novel about one mayor's proposal is that besides giving everyone the right to shelter, it also imposes an obligation on the homeless....
California FocusOpinionAttorney general spurs on big 2022 housing battleThomas D. EliasDecember 15, 2021 December 15, 20210168 Rob Bonta, a former ultra-liberal assemblyman named attorney general, has assured that housing will vie to be the year’s No. 1 issue....
California FocusOpinionState appeals court tries to gut tough consumer lawThomas D. EliasDecember 8, 2021 December 8, 20210219 No other state has a similar law, and the judges moved to overturn a big part of it in a dispute over delayed car insurance...
California FocusOpinionCalifornia Focus: Flash mob bandits a reckoning for NewsomThomas D. EliasDecember 1, 2021 December 1, 20210246 The bandits raiding high-end stores across the state have presented Newsom with both opportunity and peril....
California FocusOpinionCalifornia Focus: Wildfire insurance crisis hits ever harderThomas D. EliasNovember 23, 2021 November 23, 20210531 The availability of homeowners’ insurance and the fire coverage it provides is becoming increasingly scarce for some Californians....
California FocusOpinionCalifornia Focus: Disaster probes on land, sea show vast differencesThomas D. EliasNovember 17, 2021 November 17, 20210179 Contrast investigators examining recent disasters on water to state officials who regulate the electric companies behind state wildfires....
California FocusOpinionCalifornia Focus: Eastern warning for California DemocratsThomas D. EliasNovember 10, 2021 November 10, 20210137 California Democrats sometimes forget who gave them their current dominant status in the state government....
California FocusOpinionCalifornia Focus: Let’s quit naming things after peopleThomas D. EliasNovember 3, 2021 November 3, 20210200 True saints are rarities in America and everywhere else....
California FocusOpinionCalifornia Focus: When ideology collides with realityThomas D. EliasOctober 27, 2021 October 27, 20210150 There can be few better examples of ideologically convinced politicians running head-on into reality than AB 1346....
California FocusOpinionCalifornia Focus: Nursing homes face new life-or-death crisisThomas D. EliasOctober 20, 2021 October 20, 20210266 Vaccines did not relieve the other, ongoing crises still taking their toll in nursing homes and related facilities....