Thomas D. Elias

The truism says that six months is an eternity in politics, with colossal change possible in that short time. It certainly has been that way for Bob Filner, the 20-year Democratic congressman from San Diego. Last spring he was riding high shortly after becoming mayor and ending more than two decades of Republican rule at City Hall. Now he’s in disgrace, run out by his own misbehavior. As the race for governor gets its semi-official start during this Labor Day weekend, it is clear...

As California teachers and students open the new school year, they are feeling proud of a recent trend toward decreased dropouts and increased graduation rates. But several of the state’s largest urban districts are about to embark on new course requirements that risk...

For every action, goes the law of physics and politics, there is a reaction, a consequence. More and more, it seems a decision by Gov. Brown may have directly led to new demands for convict releases he calls a public danger, demands now backed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Myths probably will not stop Congress from enacting major changes in immigration policy this year, but half a dozen common shibboleths may shape the changes that emerge. Here are a few...

The unfairness of parcel taxes is obvious. With them, owners of every piece of property in a city or school district almost always pay an identical levy, no matter what their holdings are worth. A 700-square-foot one-bedroom house pays the same as a huge indoor mall. These have been the rage in recent years among...

Add between 1 million and 2 million persons to the patient load of California doctors. Do not open any new medical schools or import many foreign-trained doctors. It’s a sure-fire way to create a doctor shortage – and just where California is headed right now. That’s probably the most...

By now, most Californians probably have heard that a huge geologic formation known as the Monterey Shale contains oil and natural gas in Saudi Arabian-style quantities, locked up in underground rocks lacing an area extending more than 100 miles along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and beyond. Getting that oil out would require...

Imagine a troop of U.S. marshals trying to move aside the cadre of California Highway Patrol officers assigned to protect Gov. Brown and carry him off to a federal lockup. Picture those same marshals or companies of federalized National Guard troops confronting...

Maybe Dana Rohrabacher, the Republican congressman from Orange County best known for his surfing photo-ops, has wiped out once too often. Or maybe his ultra-safe political turf keeps him from seeing the reality that stares his party in the face when it comes to the issue of immigration. Whatever the reason, Rohrabacher demanded...

The 6th Amendment says only that every American is entitled to an “impartial jury” and that its members should live in the state or district where the crime under consideration took place. Courts have interpreted this to mean jury pools should contain a cross section of the population of the area, in terms of gender, race and national origin...No one yet has specified that jurors must be U.S. citizens...