Connecting California

Will California Get SMART About Mass Transit?

A New Train Could Help Battle Climate Change, Serve Expanding Metro Areas, and Create a Northern California Mega-Region

Will California Get SMART About Mass Transit? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

If this train is so SMART, why can’t I find it?

That’s the question I asked myself in Larkspur, in Marin County, after arriving on the ferry from San Francisco one morning earlier this summer.

I was on my way up to Petaluma to do some reporting, and had been looking forward to experiencing what promises to be California’s newest and most spectacular ferry-to-train connection: the Golden Gate Ferry to the SMART train, the light rail line running for 49 miles through Marin and Sonoma counties.

SMART may be little known statewide, but …

by Joe Mathews |

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More In: Connecting California

A Tale of Two California Bridges | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

A Tale of Two California Bridges

L.A. Was Too Hot for the Sixth Street Viaduct, While San Francisco Played It Cool at the Presidio

by Joe Mathews |

Nothing reveals the character of a city more than the way it opens a present.

California saw as much this summer, as our two most distinguished municipalities—Los Angeles and San Francisco—each …

The Breakup San Bernardino County Needs | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

The Breakup San Bernardino County Needs

Instead of Splitting Away From California, Split Yourself Up Instead

by Joe Mathews |

Dear San Bernardino County,

I understand your desire to leave California.

Your complaints—about the high costs of being here, the state’s low levels of public investment, the obstacles to building housing—all have …

California Doesn’t Need a New Abortion Measure | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

California Doesn’t Need a New Abortion Measure

Prop 1 Might Have Good Intentions, But It Puts Fundamental Rights at Risk

by Joe Mathews |

California’s leaders shouldn’t put fundamental rights up for a vote. But the legislature and governor have nonetheless chosen to add Proposition 1 to this November’s ballot.

At first glance, Prop 1 …

Carmel’s Cautionary Tale for Post-Roe America | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Carmel’s Cautionary Tale for Post-Roe America

Poet Nora May French’s Account of Her 1907 Abortion Is an Infuriating Read—and a Sobering Reminder of What History Omits

by Joe Mathews |

I am no longer able to think of Carmel without thinking of abortion and Nora May French.

For this new habit of mind, I blame two things: the U.S. Supreme Court, …

tktk | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

What Happens When the ‘Indispensable Insider’ of Sacramento Steps Down?

Ana Matosantos Is a Once-in-a-Generation Financial Wizard. Without Her Sorcery, California Will Need a New Budget Whisperer

by Joe Mathews |

Send help, Harry Potter! Sacramento needs a new wizard!

Ana Matosantos has announced she is departing the Newsom administration at the end of the summer, telling the L.A. Times that she …


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