Be Nice, Murrieta. You Need Immigrants.

Why Is a City Made Prosperous By New Arrivals Turning Away Buses of Refugees?

To: The People of Murrieta, Calif.
From: Joe Mathews
Re: Recent Damage to Your Global Reputation

You can still be “The Future of Southern California,” as your city’s motto promises, but it won’t be easy after these past few weeks.

There’s no denying that Murrieta, incorporated in 1991, is one of the fastest-growing places in the state. Your population has quadrupled to more than 100,000 over the past quarter century. More than 30 percent of your residents are children. And you’ve embraced a successful growth strategy based on encouraging people around the …

by Joe Mathews | July 24, 2014

California Needs a New Vision of Its Apocalypse

Why Do Novelists and Screenwriters Keep Rehashing the Same Old Stories of the End Days?

by Joe Mathews | July 17, 2014

What explains the success of California? Fear of the apocalypse.

Fear of a publishing apocalypse, to be precise. Most of us never would have heard about Edan Lepucki’s debut novel, California, …

All California’s Problems Lead to the San Joaquin Valley

From Water Shortages to High-Speed Rail, the State’s Most Overlooked Region Is at the Center of Its Most Important Debates

by Joe Mathews | July 10, 2014

It’s not clear if Governor Jerry Brown and his challenger Neel Kashkari will debate each other this fall. But if they do, there should be no doubt about the proper …

How Fireworks Divide California

The State’s Regulations on a July Fourth Tradition Don’t Always Make Sense. But They’re Part of What Makes This Country Great.

by Joe Mathews | July 3, 2014

If you venture out to Fourth of July weekend events around California, you’ll probably hear high talk about how Independence Day is a celebration of the things we Americans supposedly …

Yes, Airbnb Has a Dark Side

New ‘Sharing’ Companies Promise to Transform Everything From How We Vacation to Who Does Our Laundry. They Could Also Turn California Into a Battleground.

by Joe Mathews | June 26, 2014

I have learned the hard way, as father to three small boys, that sharing causes conflict. Ask humans to play with the same toy at the same time, and it …

The Golden State Is Now the Gritty State

California Used to Be About Glamour—Today It’s About Toughness

by Joe Mathews | June 19, 2014

California’s reputation as a supremely glamorous and wealthy place was once so entrenched that even its sports teams had to live up to the image. The “Showtime” Lakers of the …

Hey, Californians: Let’s Side With the Refugees, Not the Terrorists

Our Fellow Victims of Terrorism Need a Home, and Our Home Needs Them

For Refugees in America, Even the Light Switches Can Be Bewildering

Getting into the U.S. Is Hard. Adapting to Life Here Is Harder Still.

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

Why Cologne Will Keep Welcoming Refugees

The Assaults on New Year’s Eve Have Made My Hometown Anxious About Safety, but I Worry More About Our Sanity

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