Columns

Columns

Lopez: Prop. 36 saves lives and protects communities by requiring treatment for deadly addictions

As a 35-year veteran of law enforcement I know both the healing power of substance abuse treatment and the danger of releasing those from jail or prison whose untreated addictions drive them to hurt themselves and others with alarming regularity. California once used proven drug courts to require treatment for many involved in the criminal...

Philbrick: The future of pedestrian safety

On the corner, waiting at the white-lined crosswalk just a block from school, children line up to look both ways and be escorted across the busy intersection by a crossing guard. Dressed in neon yellow or orange, crossing guards were once familiar faces, but many school districts across the country struggle to hire and retain...

Collins: Why Proposition 33 is bad for housing

Proposition 33 attempts to repeal the bipartisan Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act enacted in 1995. The three key provisions of Costa-Hawkins were to stop the expansion of rent control to single-family homes, allow housing providers the opportunity to charge market rates when a tenant leaves and prohibit the imposition of rent control on buildings constructed after...

Diridon: Fight the water thief

Earth’s most valuable asset is potable water. So we store every drop we can capture in massive reservoirs like Shasta, Trinity, Folsom, Hetch Hetchy, Meade and a dozen more. But a thief has been stealing increasingly more amounts of that community wealth every summer for the past half century. That’s like your family income entrusted...