Are we better off trying to “go green” via state, regional and national power grids, or on a home-by-home basis through rooftop solar panels, home wind turbines or geo-thermal heat pumps?  A recent story in the San Bernadino County Sun pointed out the mixed messages from government agencies on renewable resources.  On one hand, the state has provided more than a 50 percent discount to Oak Hill resident Gus Sansone who installed his own wind turbine power system.  At 80 feet in height, the high-tech

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is the largest public pension system in the country with current assets of about $205 billion. They fund pensions and health plans for retired California state and municipal employees. However, they (and many other public pensions) now face serious financial problems.

California almond growers have reason to be worried, very worried. Honeybee populations across the country have declined sharply since last Fall. The California almond industry, supplying 80 percent of the world market of almonds, requires roughly half of the nation's commercial hives to pollinate its groves. This ratio might see a dramatic change when new tallies on hives are available this Spring.

The California Appeals Court wasted no time in dealing the final blow to the California School Employees Association in its effort to rewrite the Open Primary Initiative scheduled for the June Ballot as Proposition 14.

Current Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom has announced he is running for Lieutenant Governor. He grew up in Larkspur and became a star high school basketball player not, says a friend, because of his innate skills but because he worked so hard at it. This may say something about him, especially when you learn he has severe dyslexia. He says it forced him to develop other skills and work harder. Clearly, this is not someone who gives up easily.

If there was any indication from CPAC that the Republican Party as a whole lacks a unified vision for illegal immigration while reaching out to Hispanic voters, the California GOP convention didn’t appear to offer any clarity.  The general vibe is that the split happening within national party ranks also exists at the state level, with leaders delivering contrasting messages at the state convention.

California is the largest purchaser of textbooks in the United States.  Unfortunately, with the state’s economy in shambles, California has decided to hold off on buying new textbooks until 2014.  The question is, which textbooks will the state be buying?  For years, California drove what information was included in textbooks across the nation.  However, with the purchase of text books so far off, California’s influence may soon be replaced -- by the state of Texas.  After California, Texas has the second largest textbook market and wields

Fresh from their much-discussed, often ridiculed and ubiquitously hyperlinked “Demon Sheep” political ad, the Carly Fiorina campaign has released a new and similarly Pythonesque political video.

Perhaps it was spurred on by the Tea Party movement or simply a case of looking to unseat a long-serving member of the House of Representatives. Perhaps it was an impassioned belief that the people of California could do better by jumping more to the red side of the political spectrum.  It may have been all three, and more. Mattie Fein, a Republican from Venice, California, is looking to replace Representative Jane Harman as the representative of the 36th District.

It looks like the Tea Party has some competition.  In a bid to offer an alternative to the burgeoning Tea Party movement, the Coffee Party kicked off its first, coordinated meetups on Saturday.  Billed as a counter to the more conservative Tea Party, the Coffee Party originally launched a Facebook group about six weeks ago, and in less than two months, the group has already attracted more than 141,000 fans.  Yesterday, Coffee Party leaders held between 350-400 events at coffee shops across the nation.  Attendees from across the political spectrum discussed healthcar