Now Is the Time for California to Think Big, Again

Will the State Use This Moment to Be Ambitious—Or Shrink Back Into Its Old Habit of Budget Cuts?

Coronavirus is forcing Californians to isolate themselves. But it has brought us together in one big way: by fusing all of our biggest problems into one colossal crisis.

That crisis could be our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform the state—if we can ignore the conventional wisdom that this is a time to shelter our ambitions in place.

For Californians, COVID-19 is a crisis of crises. It merges together a collection of failures that most of us consider separately—housing, energy, poverty, prisons, courts, schools, climate, health care, immigration, pensions, taxes and budgets, and …

Auto Draft | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

An Architect of L.A. Government Looks Forward and Back

Zev Yaroslavsky on How Politics Have Changed in Los Angeles in the Last 40 Years

Los Angeles has changed, declared Zev Yaroslavsky, a man who has played a major role in shaping the city’s politics in the last 40 years, during a Zócalo Public Square …

Auto Draft | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Don’t Look Away. Homeless People Are Your Neighbors

By Engaging Their Communities—and Talking to People on the Streets—Angelenos Can Help People Find Housing

Establish a relationship with a homeless services provider in your area. Don’t be afraid to engage homeless people, and be sure to listen to them. If you give money or …