So is it time to stock up on bottled water, or to buy a raft?

It's hard work living in California. On nearly a daily basis, residents are told they will either continue to suffer from droughts, or are being told to prepare for the impending massive flood on the way. According to a March report by the Pacific Institute, around $100 billion dollars worth of coastline property is in danger of being washed away.

Asnewspapers across California and the nation continue to shed recordnumbers of staff, the profession of journalism seems to be headedtoward extinction.The implications this hason a democracy such as ours is both sobering and obvious.

When thereare no professionally trained reporters left to watch the proverbial"cash box," (e.g. government), guess what is likely to go missing?Democratic governments remain democratic only when a free press isthere to report on what they do and how they spend the people's money.

WhileCalifornia and the rest of the nation continue to ride out the worsteconomic storm since the Great Depression, both President Barack Obamaand Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger know one thing -- getting Golden Stateresidents back on their feet and on the job is critical to turningthings around.

Herein the California, rebuilding our aging infrastructure has to be JobOne.

Sometimesthe right idea comes along at the wrong time.

Such isthe case with state Sen. JeffDenham's plan to sell the San Quentin Prison site for enough money to builda new Death Row and contribute a sizable chunk to the general fund as well.

In the beginning of "Pretty Woman," when the camera pans over a party, and a magician is playing slight-of-hand-tricks with some women, using witticisms aimed at the (in)famous Savings & Loans of the 1980s? If you haven't, the man is performing a coin trick, where a coin disappears in one location, and ends up in the next. Funny thing is, it could just as easily be a metaphor for the Lottery Modernization Act.

I once had an acquaintance who was arguing with another friend over the location of a certain beach. Was it 20 minutes South of one city, or 10 minutes North of another? The issue was solved when one whipped out their laptop, opened up Google Earth, and pinpointed the precise location of said beach: problem solved.

The Public Policy Institute of California'srecently released "Californians and their Government Survey" hasyielded some fascinating information on the current mindset of GoldenState residents.

Generally speaking, the poll shows that mostCalifornians aren't happy with Sacramento and may not support severalof the ballot measures coming up on the May 19 special election.

It's been barely three weeks since Governor Schwarzenegger announced hisintentions to calla special election to validate his budget proposals, and already,skepticism is starting to shine through the cracks of Schwarzenegger'spro-democracy rhetoric.

While most of California is starting to enjoy warmerspring weather these days, chill winds, metaphorically speaking,continue to blow through Sacramento.

Those winds -- the sour, disenchanted sentiments of manyGolden State voters -- appear to be signaling that the May 19 ballotinitiatives that were brokered during the recent negotiations to closethe yawning multibillion-dollar deficit in the state's 2009-10 budgetare in serious trouble.

What happens when you combine digital-native collegeseniors with a tech savvy White House and a dash of"si, se puede" determination?

You wind up with first lady Michelle Obama deliveringthe commencement address to the 450 members of the Universityof California, Merced's firstfour-year class.