In an attempt to blunt the upcoming top-two open primary's ability to limit political party control over elections in California, the state Assembly is trying to change the way a candidate's political party appears on the ballot. Proposition 14, passed by the voters in 2010, changed the primary system to consolidate all of the candidates onto one ballot, with the top two vote getters advancing to the general election.

Renewable energy projects, plus research and development, were supposed to be major powerhouses in creating a new economy. Many hoped this could propel states like California and Nevada out of recession. Surely, if massive wind and solar farms were built, this would create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, or so they thought.

We've covered some of the soaring salaries of public employees in California before, but late last month, one California school superintendent did a remarkable thing to help his districts save more of the money they need to provide a better service for students.  He voluntarily cut his own salary by over $200,000.

Operation Fast and Furious almost seems like something out of the Keystone Cops, a massive bumbling government operation that even one of those involved described as "delusional."

In more troubling economic news, a recent report released by the Sacramento-based California Budget Project stated that the percentage of working-age Californians with jobs has reached a new record low, and that employment levels may not fully recover until the second half of this decade.

In 1976, when Jerry Brown was California governor the first time, Chicago columnist Mike Royko famously dubbed him "Governor Moonbeam." The moniker stuck, even if Royko later apologized for it. But perhaps he had a point after all.