In California, Diversity Keeps Bad Times From Becoming Even Worse

An Invasive Monoculture Is Leaving Us More Vulnerable to All Kinds of Disasters

Californians like to brag about our diversity, how our mix of people of all races, ethnicities, and origins produces a vital culture and economy. But we rarely talk about the other less glamorous role diversity plays in our state—as protection against disasters, both natural and manmade.

California is a disaster-prone state, and when calamity strikes, diversity—of all kinds—keeps bad times from becoming even worse.

The central insight into diversity as protection is biological: a diverse eco-system is more resilient. Why? Because when you have different kinds of living things in an …

By Joe Mathews | September 22, 2016

California’s Bad Bet on School Finance Leaves Too Much to Chance

It’s the Already-Fortunate Who Are Most Likely to Luck Out in the State’s Public Education System

By Joe Mathews | September 15, 2016

Californians may think we have a system of public education. But what we really have is a state system for rationing public education.

I got a personal taste of this …

How William T. Sherman Helped Create California

And How His Golden State Past Influenced the Civil War General’s Most Famous Decision

By Joe Mathews | September 8, 2016

This month, as California celebrates Admission Day—a legal holiday in honor of our officially joining the United States on September 9, 1850—we should give ourselves an overdue present:

A founding story …

I, Bigfoot, Am One Frightened Californian

Sasquatch Used to Instill a Healthy Fear of the Wild, Now He’s Crowded out of His Favorite California Haunts

By Bigfoot (as told by Joe Mathews) | September 1, 2016

I’m so famous for keeping a low profile that some people doubt my existence. So I’m here to tell my fellow Californians that I’m proudly one of you.

I travel …

The Next Big Shift in California’s Climate Change Movement

An Alliance Between Two State Legislators Represents a Sharper Focus on the Needs of Low-Income, Inland Communities

By Joe Mathews | August 25, 2016

She calls him Eduardo. He calls her Mrs. Pavley.

And together they epitomize big changes within the world-renowned California movement to fight climate change.

She is Fran Pavley, 67, a state senator …

The Word of the Summer Is “Victoriotic”

Donald Trump Is the Epitome of Constant Bragging About Inflated Success, But We’re All Guilty, Especially in California

By Joe Mathews | August 18, 2016

It’s the word of the summer: Victoriotic.

You won’t find it in the Oxford English Dictionary or Merriam-Webster, at least not yet.

It began its life as an epithet, hurled by …

Democracy’s Diversity Problem

Does Diversity Make Democratic Transition Harder—Or Simply More Worthwhile?

California’s Economy Needs a Diversity Strategy

Drunk on Tech Wealth, the State Is Failing to Make DEI a Priority for Workers and Job Seekers

Can Democracy and Diversity Be Friends?

We Might Not Be Bosom Buddies Nationally, But As Communities We’re Getting By

The Bad News Behind California’s Good Times

Economic Busts Are Bad in the Golden State, but Booms Can Be Even Worse

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