In all likelihood, California could be the very first state in the union to legalize the recreational use of marijuana this November.  After legalization activists submitted nearly 700,000 signatures for a proposition to legalize marijuana, California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified a ballot initiative earlier this week to legalize the cultivation, possession, and sale of marijuana in the state of California for recreational purposes.

This month there has been little good news for the California public school system.  On March 4, California got word that the state’s bid for a piece of over $4 billion of the federal stimulus dollars available to improve education for the poorest students, the program known as Race to the Top, was denied.  Instead, fifteen states including New York, Pennsylvania and Louisiana as well as the District of Columbia were selected in the first round of Race to the Top dollars.&n

“Reform” is in the eye of the beholder. One policymaker’s idea of improvement is another’s disaster.  Those differences in viewpoint have become apparent as California’s Legislature begins debating a package of procedural changes that would dramatically affect how the state creates its annual budget and ease the ability of local governments to raise taxes.

According to this week’s California Field Poll, no one issue is going to influence Californians in who they choose to be their next governor.  In reality, they are considering a myriad of factors before they hit the ballot box in November.

Gerald Celente, considered one of the most accurate trends forecasters in the world, is sticking to his guns and predicting the rise of a legitimate third party candidate by 2012.  And he claims it won't be a Tea Party candidate.  At this early stage, he is calling this future prospect the "Internet Candidate".  In Celente's view, the candidate will utilize the internet to tackle real issues, discuss specific platforms, and override the superficial "presidential reality show".

Janice Hahn has been a member of the Los Angeles City Council since 2001. She is running as a Democrat for California Lieutenant Governor, and her main opponent in the primary is San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Hahn comes from a solid line of Los Angeles politicians and enjoys high name recognition in the area. This could be important, as the L.A. area will deliver massive numbers of votes in the upcoming primary on June 8, and she is definitely a home town favorite.

To observers of the California Republican Senate primary, echoes of the 2008 Primary election are difficult to ignore, though they also offer perilous blinders. On the one hand, there is Tom Campbell, who may stand as this election’s John McCain: the conspicuously moderate establishmentarian who has done his best to keep himself as understated and dignified as possible, while being persistently dogged with charges of radicalism and apostasy in the face of his refusal to support Proposition 8, and his ambivalent stance on conventional Republican tax philosophy.

When it comes to thoughtful politicians who don’t tend to sway in the latest political winds, some would claim that no one comes to mind faster than Tom Campbell, who has served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing California’s 12th and 15th districts.  He’s currently running for the Republican nomination to oppose Barbara Boxer for U.S. Senate in 2010 – a crucial year for the minority party.

In recent years, “alternative medicine” practitioners have seen a marked increase in clientele. Even as America has devolved into the most obese and unhealthy of all industrialized nations, a growing number of its citizens have been taking it upon themselves to ensure their own good health and well being through proper diet, nutrient supplementation, exercise, sun exposure and a myriad of other disease prevention protocols.

As the Tea Party "vows revenge over the health overhaul", the Coffee Party is mobilizing a massive, nationwide Coffee Party Summit this weekend.  Emboldened by its rapidly growing fan base on Facebook, a hip new website, and 350-400 grassroots coordinated events nearly two weeks ago, the Coffee Party is looking to take the next big step toward becoming a legitimate political force.