All California Local Articles


Image caption: The VA’s National Cemetery Administration cares for the graves of 4 million veterans, including those at Gettysburg, the world's first military cemetery.
Who Is Government?

Michael Lewis's new book celebrates the heroes of the federal bureaucracy currently under attack.

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Unlikely Tales of Bureaucratic Heroism

‘Who is Government?’ An army of selfless individuals working on problems the private sector doesn’t care about.

Image caption: Thirteen citizens are charged with keeping their eye on California government.
California’s Little Hoover Commission

A law from 1962 mandates the improvement of California government. We explain.

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Government Efficiency vs. Chaos

An honest call for overhauling our governments—and an intro a couple of institutions that hold governments accountable.

Image caption: Participation on Civil Grand Juries is open to all Californians of voting age.
How Civil Grand Juries Make Government Better

Civil Grand Juries are a powerful means by which ordinary citizens investigate local governments and provide recommendations for improvement.

Image caption: Everybody needs to eat. Agriculture remains the most important industry on the planet.
California’s Agriculture Commissioners and Sealers of Weights and Measures, Explained

Introducing the people who keep the food supply safe, make sure consumers get what they pay for, and protect the public from invasive pests.

Image caption: Karen Ross oversees the nation's largest agricultural economy.
California Leads in the World's Most Important Industry

California feeds the nation and the world. Not just with culture and technology, but with food.

Image caption: California’s farm workers help feed the whole country.
How California Feeds the Country

California stands as America’s agricultural powerhouse, growing half of its fruits and vegetables. Here’s how California farming has shaped the state, from the early missions to today’s “factories in the field.”

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25 California Women Who Made History

California women have played a significant role in shaping every major industry within the U.S. and the world. Here are a few of them.

Image caption: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti delivers testimony on the fiscal year 2025 budget request at the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense hearing in Washington D.C., April 16, 2024.
Women's History Month

We salute the women of the world, who are still struggling with that stubborn pay gap and other vestiges of misogyny as we end the first quarter of the twenty first century.

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'Engaged California' and Digital Democracy

It's almost spring—and civic engagement is in the air.

Image caption: Audrey Tang is bringing her revolutionary online civic engagement tool to California.
Engaged California Aims for ‘Rough Consensus’

The state’s new digital deliberation platform, modeled by a Taiwanese champion of democracy, is meant to fight polarization with conversation.

Image caption: California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick speaking at Fresno City College, where he has taught for 26 years.
Civil Civic Debate & Poetry

California's Poet Laureate talks civic engagement, and bipartisan activists rekindle the art of political conversation.

Image caption: Braver Angels members discuss election reform.
Bridging the Great Divide

In a time of unprecedented polarization, Braver Angels encourages citizens to do something completely revolutionary: listen to each other.

Image caption: Gov. Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom meet with California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick.
Getting to Know California’s Poet Laureate

Lee Herrick explains to the Los Angeles Times why he’s always traveling California.

Image caption: Ryan Coonerty, co-host of the podcast "An Honorable Profession," and Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, whom he calls "my vice-mayor."
Little Santa Cruz Beats Big Sugar

SC Vice Mayor Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson on centering health in policy making, and her path to politics.

Image caption: "An Honorable Profession" is a podcast and YouTube channel that introduces listeners and viewers to public officials including mayors, school-board members, and former secretaries of transportation.
The Work of Politics

For those of you who might enjoy a glimpse of the inner workings of local politics, here's a conversation with Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, the inspired vice-mayor of Santa Cruz, California.

Image caption: Members of the California Legislative Black Caucus look on as Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a formal apology for the state's role in the perpetuation of slavery.
Black History and Equity in California

Not long ago, California's Legislative Black Caucus made history. Here's what they accomplished, and how it fits into California history going all the way back.

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A Midwinter Check-In

With the new year fully underway, and government officials under attack back east, we offer a defense of local public servants.

Image caption: Yeah, it might feel like that but it (probably, mostly) isn't true.
Most Local Elected Officials Work Hard for Low Pay

Recent votes to give California's mayors and council members pay raises have led to criticism. Is it justified?