California Gov. Gavin Newsom broke his silence on the California recall with a string of national television appearances this week, pinning the effort on President Donald Trump supporters, anti-immigrant forces and conspiracy-driven opportunists.

Maybe you call it a bubble. Maybe you call it a silo. Maybe you just call it an echo chamber. But whatever metaphorical, narrow and enclosed space you prefer, there’s a good chance you’ve been told that one of the great social problems of our time is Americans getting their political news from biased sources. Conservatives watch Fox News. Liberals watch MSNBC. The news tells us what we already believe and distorts reality around partisan talking points.

It’s not because the party enraged Latino voters.

To understand what it’s like to be a Republican in California today, spend some time in Huntington Beach.

In January, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a lawsuit against this once solidly Republican community for violating a state law to allow more housing. The suit came on the heels of the city’s courtroom victory claiming exemption from California’s “sanctuary state” law – a ruling the state is now appealing.

The nation is just past halftime in the 2018 primary election cycle. Twenty states -- containing the majority, 228 of 435, of House districts -- have held their primaries, and all but the three with runoffs have chosen their nominees.

The latest results, taken together with the generic vote -- polls asking which party's House candidate you'll vote for -- undercut the many gleeful predictions of a blue wave that will produce a big Democratic majority in the House and perhaps the Senate, as well.

California’s legislative session gives insight into the perverse priorities of the Democratic leadership.

Last month, the California legislature did something unheard of — by Washington, D.C., standards. They came together across party lines to amend and extend sweeping cap and trade emissions legislation. Business, agriculture, labor and environmentalists all had a seat at the table.

By Sunday evening, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom had made up his mind: He wanted to be governor, not senator. But when he tried to call the biggest obstacle to achieving his political ambitions, state Attorney General Kamala Harris, Newsom got her voice mail.
As of Monday afternoon, the two Democrats still hadn’t spoken. But Newsom, who had left a message with Harris outlining his intentions, went ahead anyway and announced on Facebook that he wouldn’t be running for Senate in 2016.
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Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation imposing the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags, driven to action by a buildup of litter and damage to aquatic ecosystems.

A national coalition of plastic bag manufacturers immediately said it would seek a voter referendum to repeal the law, which is scheduled to take effect in July 2015.

Under SB270, plastic bags will be phased out of large grocery stores starting next summer and convenience stores and pharmacies in 2016. The law allows grocers to charge a fee of at least 10 cents for using paper bags.

With a deadline looming to strike a deal on a state water bond, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders on Monday floated a roughly $7 billion proposal they insist will help California weather future droughts.

The package -- including provisions to boost water storage and clean up tainted groundwater -- would replace a bloated $11 billion bond already on the November ballot but which many state leaders fear voters will reject.