Joe Mathews

The Walls Are Too High in the Kingdom of Ventura

Growth Restrictions Have Saved Open Space in California, but Wealthy Elites Also Use Them to Keep the Middle Class Out

Ventura County is the most glorious and verdant of California kingdoms.

Just ask its princes and princesses—those fortunate enough to be able to afford to live and vote there. Most of the time, the nearly 900,000 residents can pretend that they live in the country, even though they’re part of greater Los Angeles. Parks or open space or farmland is almost always within easy walking or biking distance. The Santa Clara River, the least developed of Southern California’s waterways, is being protected. The Kingdom of Ventura’s cities remain separate and distinct …

By Joe Mathews |

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California Stoners Are Stressing Me Out

In Transition From Prohibition to Legalization, Are We Putting Too Many Expectations on Weed?

By Joe Mathews |

California tokers, why are you trippin’ so hard?

You keep saying that marijuana is supposed to help manage anxiety. But those of you who work in or partake of the …

Does Blink-182 Know Something California’s Governor Jerry Brown Doesn’t?

While Politicians Keep Trumpeting the State’s Success, This Summer’s Songs and Films Sound Skeptical

By Joe Mathews |

How is California doing these days? The answer may depend on whom you believe: Governor Brown or Blink-182.

This summer has exposed a divide in perception of California, between the political …

Why It’s So Hard to Speak Silicon Valley

Rather Than Engage With California, Our Humorless Tech Overlords Hide Behind a Wall of Jargon

By Joe Mathews |

You can’t talk to people in Silicon Valley anymore. They don’t even speak our language.

By that, I’m not referencing Mark Zuckerberg’s mediocre Mandarin or the software code underlying so much …

What It Means to Be ‘California’s Bank’

The Banc of California Bets Big on the State's Small Businesses and Local Communities

By Joe Mathews |

If California were a bank, what sort of bank would it be?

Banc of California has a new and intriguing answer to that question: In just six years, “California’s bank,” as …

Why Don’t Angelenos Trust Homegrown Talent?

Unfortunately, to Make It Big in L.A., You Often First Have to Go Make Your Mark Elsewhere

By Joe Mathews |

Last week, Michelle King was appointed superintendent of L.A. Unified, California’s largest school district. But can we really trust her to lead the Los Angeles schools? After all, she’s from …


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