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The Latest Articles by George Skelton

George Skelton: Sorry, founders, we've never been created equal

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Fourth of July should never be celebrated without revisiting the hallowed words that crown the Declaration of Independence and symbolize the American Dream.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Southpaw Newsom is shelled by lawmakers on plans for a delta tunnel

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom recently said that he didn't understand why sports stadiums could be built quickly but other major projects couldn't. If he really didn't know, he probably just learned.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: California used to be good at building things. What happened?

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom is upset. He's frustrated because California isn't building nonstop as it did in the mid-20th century.

Los Angeles Times

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George Skelton: Sacramento lawmakers aren't fooling anyone with California's budget charade

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Legislature has passed another so-called on-time state budget. Wink, wink. It's barely a half-baked budget.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Newsom's right on stricter gun laws but he misfired on his proposed constitutional amendment

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom has a good target, but the aim is off in his effort to amend the U.S. Constitution with a gun-control mandate.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Newsom and California lawmakers need to say where they stand on reparations for slavery

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature will soon receive a sweeping set of recommended reparations for African Americans whose ancestors suffered economically from slavery and racial discrimination. Then what?

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Newsom's promise to appoint a Black woman for a Senate vacancy creates a quandary

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom promised two years ago to appoint a Black woman to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein if she resigned. If he merely appointed a temporary "caretaker" would that honor his pledge?

Los Angeles Times

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George Skelton: Feinstein needs to ask herself some questions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — People who love their job can find it very difficult to retire. Work is their life and identity. That's why Sen. Dianne Feinstein is hanging on.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: If the public doesn’t finance political candidates, special interests will happily step in

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — American politics will never be perfectly clean because politicians represent and reflect imperfect humans.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: There's a bright side to the battery of California storms — more clean hydroelectric power and groundwater

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Drought-busting storms this season have given California priceless opportunities on two ecological fronts.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: California's evolution on Big Oil — in the state Capitol and my own family

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — What's striking about passage of Gov. Gavin Newsom's legislation to penalize Big Oil's alleged greed is the sea change it represents in California policy.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Newsom learned with oil bill: Working with lawmakers is key to passing laws

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom did something new — for him. He got aggressively engaged behind the scenes, negotiating with legislators. And it paid off.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Newsom denies the obvious: California is no longer in drought

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom came close but couldn't quite bring himself to say it: The drought's over.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: California's population is on the decline, and high-income earners have joined the exodus

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It turns out high-income people are also fleeing the state — a new twist in the California exit.

Los Angeles Times

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Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Newsom shouldn't shy away from a State of the State speech

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom insists his presidential ambitions are "subzero," and I believe him. As president, he probably couldn't avoid giving a State of the Union speech before Congress. And he'd hate that.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: There's no home field advantage in California for Vice President Kamala Harris

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Politicians with White House ambitions who don't have strong support in their home state probably should not run for president.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Hydrogen cars should be a bigger part of California's battle against carbon emissions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — We've turned way off course from the "hydrogen highway" that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to chart for California two decades ago.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Newsom cares more about almond growers than California's salmon fishery

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom bills himself as a protector of wildlife, so you wouldn't think he'd take water from baby salmon and give it to almonds.

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Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Jimmy Carter was good fit for post-Watergate America

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — "My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for president." And he'd grin. Always that friendly, down-home grin.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Shrinking water supply will mean more fallow fields in the San Joaquin Valley

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Downpours or drought, California’s farm belt will need to tighten up in the next two decades and grow fewer crops.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Civil Feinstein delivered results but irked ideologues

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California's most accomplished senator, became an anachronism. She practiced civility and compromised with the other side.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Rains and flooding leave claims of California drought high and dry

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two words that government officials always try to avoid saying are "drought's over" — even when there's flooding.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Feinstein deserves a graceful exit, and she'd be wise to take it

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's quick endorsement of Rep. Adam B. Schiff's Senate candidacy was huge — far more significant than an ordinary endorsement.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Newsom promised to punish 'Big Oil' for profiteering, but so far it's just talk

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Since early fall, Gov. Gavin Newsom has been loud and adamant about punishing "greedy Big Oil" for its "windfall" profits. But talk is cheap. He still hasn't produced a detailed plan.

Los Angeles Times

George Skelton: Newsom is pushing for more gun control restrictions. Polling shows Californians overwhelmingly support them

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers are launching a new effort to restrict who can carry concealed loaded guns — and where — as fresh polling data show that California voters have their backs.

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