The kerfuffle last week over the California Chamber of Commerce attack ad on Jerry Brown was not only an opening salvo in the expected race for governor between Attorney General Brown and eBay founder Meg Whitman, it also underscores concerns over campaign funding and financing in general.

While the Tea Party has planned nationwide rallies on April 15, the Coffee Party will be quietly discussing partisan warfare in Washington DC.  At Busboys and Poets, a panel of political thinkers will be exploring the topic "Ending the Partisan Warfare in America" and how to overcome this increasingly poisonous rift in order to effect genuine political change.

California’s political climate is enigmatic.   It is a roller coaster, topsy-turvy kind of state, or so says an op-ed in the Long Beach Press Telegram by Dan Walters.

ABC News reports that the upcoming November ballot initiative to legalize the cultivation, possession, and recreational use of marijuana (the Tax Cannabis Act) is getting support from some unexpected allies.

Imagine if, in your personal life, you ran a budget deficit for 18 consecutive months.  Or, imagine if you owned a business, and you ran a budget deficit for 18 straight months. 

In either scenario, you wouldn't survive.  Your family would suffer, your employees would suffer, and you'd be caught in the grip of punishing financial hardship. 

The tea party movement expects to make another big splash on April 15.  With turnout anticipated to be in the millions, tea party supporters will take to the streets in an effort to revive the long-forgotten concept of fiscal conservatism.

As has been widely reported, the decision in November 2009 by the University of California to increase student tuition by more than 30 percent set off a wave of criticism and protests throughout the state.  Unfortunately, this significant jump in tuition is something California students have been grappling with for several years. 

The ballot initiative process, infamous for being dominated by controversial measures, special-interest funded projects, and the occasional jot of policy wisdom, looks to be set for a truly explosive set of options this November.

CAIVN contributor and independent blogger Bob Morris wrote that as many as 29 measures could be on the November ballot, a high number to begin with, and a buffet of options whose outcome for the California political system is anything but certain.

California’s proposed fire sale of what the offering realtor describes as “an 11 property, 7.3 million square foot sale/leaseback portfolio located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Sacramento” has generated considerable skepticism around the state. 

In spite of an increase in the number of commercial food processors and a rise in foodborne illness outbreaks – one of the largest a result of Central Valley spinach producers – the number of food facilities the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has inspected has declined significantly over the last decade. The number of violations identified by inspectors has also fallen.