Do it for the kids, Gavin

Elected officials in California pay lip service to “putting children first.” But the reality belies those claims. Education is chronically underfunded in the Golden State, youth programs are all-but nonexistent in many communities and issues like poverty and housing affordability hit children disproportionally hard. If new California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to change the status quo, as he has pledged, Zocalo Public Square commentator Joe Mathews says he could take a look at the small city of Gonzalez in Monterey County. Officials there have followed up their rhetoric with policies that are making a difference.