California

Why California Should Let Pandas Vote

Two Immigrants From China Have Taken Up Residence at the San Diego Zoo, and They Have Thoughts on Golden State Governance

Why California Should Let Pandas Vote | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Nǐ hǎo, jiāzhōu!

Hello, California!

We are the Golden State’s two giant pandas, the first to enter the United States in two decades. And while it’s only been a few months since we departed southwest China for the San Diego Zoo, we’ve already met the governor, celebrities, TV broadcasters who love puns (“Panda-monium”), and thousands of everyday people, some of whom pay $115 to enter the zoo in the early morning and walk around with us for an hour. We now feel so at home in California that we’re wondering how we might …

by Yun Chuan and Xin Bao |

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California’s Greatest Scourge? Camping

Bipartisan Leaders Are Bravely Going to War Against Unhoused People in Tents and Students in Sleeping Bags

by Joe Mathews |

Lock up your tents, California!

Toss out your old camping gear!

Hide your pillows and blankets where the cops will never find them!

Because the people who run California have finally seen clearly …

My Late Uncle Jim’s Life of Tomorrows

He Found Meaning and Wisdom in Looking Ahead

by Joe Mathews |

When I think of my Uncle Jim, I often remember him as Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Jim Mathews, who died earlier this summer at age 77, loved to perform in community theater …

Is This the Most Dysfunctional City Council in California? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Is This the Most Dysfunctional City Council in California?

Santa Clara’s Conflicts Include Letterhead Battles, Midnight Meetings, and a Threatening Reading of a Picture Book

by Joe Mathews |

During a Santa Clara City Council meeting last year, Councilmember Kevin Park gestured to a local business owner in the audience and started reading aloud from the illustrated …

California’s Ballot Measures Don’t Need to Be a Hot Mess

A Swiss-Style Model of Counterproposals Could Make for Smarter Voting and Better Public Policy

by Joe Mathews |

No man is happy but by comparison.

– Thomas Shadwell, poet laureate, United Kingdom (1689-1692)

If you want to better understand the true nature of a proposal, consider a …

California Farmworkers Stand on Uneven Ground

I’ve Picked Broccoli and Tended Grapes in the Salinas Valley Since I Was 18. Sometimes I Wonder How Much Longer I Can Survive Doing It

by Araceli Ruiz |

This piece publishes as part of the Zócalo/The James Irvine Foundation public program and editorial series, “What Is a Good Job Now?” which investigates low-wage work across California. Watch the event …


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