FresnoBee.com: Dan Walters

State Bar bill aims at rival workers

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:17:30 PDT

California, it's now acknowledged, has a glut of lawyers. Read comments

Brown flips on Bay Bridge

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:22:07 PDT

Jerry Brown did one of his characteristic political pirouettes Monday. Read comments

Big state battle looms on Medi-Cal

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:52:17 PDT

As he presented his revised 2013-14 budget to the Legislature, Gov. Jerry Brown warned against expanding spending beyond his administration's conservative revenue estimates. Read comments

Analyst gives Calif. Democrats more money, despite. Gov. Jerry Brown's pessimistic budget view

Sat, 18 May 2013 21:07:17 PDT

Jerry Brown -- who made "lower your expectations" a catchphrase of his first governorship -- is back in that mode during his second stint, especially on spending. Read comments

A risky tax trend picks up steam

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:39:47 PDT

When voters passed Proposition 30 last year, they unwittingly accelerated one of the most perilous trends in California governmental finance -- an ever-increasing reliance on income taxes from rich people to finance schools and myriad other state and local services. Read comments

School funding unravels safety net

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:56:34 PDT

Twenty-five years ago, California voters approved -- albeit very narrowly -- the education community's ballot measure that engraved a complex school finance structure into the state constitution. Read comments

Dan Walters: Why run for mayor of L.A.?

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:59:30 PDT

As an 18th Century frontier village, it was named "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula" or in English, "Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Little Portion." Read comments

When is debt too much to handle?

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:02:35 PDT

There's absolutely nothing wrong, per se, with incurring debt, whether it's by families, businesses or governments. A functional credit market is absolutely vital to a modern economy. Read comments

Immigration reform has big stakes

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:08:45 PDT

State legislators often conduct their windiest floor debates over nonbinding "resolutions" commending this or that, condemning this or that, or beseeching Congress to do this or that. Read comments

Secrecy becomes all too common

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:49:14 PDT

There's nothing ambiguous about Article IV, Section 8a of the California Constitution: "At regular sessions no bill other than the budget bill may be heard or acted upon by committee or either (legislative) house until the 31st day after the bill has been introduced unless the house dispenses with this requirement by roll-call vote entered into the journal, three-fourths of the membership concurring." Read comments