Mandates, funded or unfunded, aren’t unique to the federal government -- the state imposes 51 on school districts and community colleges, with one requirement costing as much as $200 million annually.  California’s constitution says schools must be reimbursed for any actions the state commands them to perform –everything from scoliosis screening to truancy notifications – but to save money, the state routinely postpones payment or temporarily suspends school compliance requirements.

Maybe Carly Fiorina should spend less time counting sheep and more time boning up on Government 101.

When asked whether California should turn to bankruptcy to deal with its budget problems, the former Hewlett Packard exec replied, "I think it should always be considered. Whether that is the right approach now, I don't know. I think bankruptcy, as a possibility, at the very least focuses the mind on what has to be done to salvage a situation."

Problem? States can’t seek bankruptcy protection. Oops. Maybe the Devil made her do it.

First, it was GOP victories in the gubernatorial elections of Virginia and New Jersey.  Just last month, it was the senatorial election of Scott Brown who claimed a historic Republican victory in the bluest of blue states, Massachusetts.  Finally, it was Sarah Palin speaking before the Tea Party convention in Tennessee, claiming the time had come for a revolution and that the GOP would be ready to deliver this revolution to the people.  With these electoral victories and Palin’s efforts to consolidate the Tea Party movement behind the GOP, it appears that conservatives h

California's Food and Agriculture Secretary, A.G. Kawamura, is encouraging farmers to attend a three month long boot camp for global marketing. Over six sessions, small to medium sized producers will learn the ins and outs of exporting their specialty crops. In a press release last week, Kawamura claimed “Exports are a vital component of our farm economy.” I think he has that backwards.

The Southern California Public Power Authority is partnering with Ice Energy in a utility-scale distributed energy project to reduce electrical demand for air conditioning. Currently, when temperatures rise, air conditioners are all going at once and electrical demand soars. This puts huge stress on the grid and is more expensive for users, as rates are higher during the day.

For the first time, slightly over 20% of the state's registered voters are officially classified as 'Decline to State'.  Some political analysts also posit that this statistic is underreported, since those voters who check off the American Independent Party, likely consider themselves to be independents.  Democrats comprise nearly 45% of the electorate, while Republicans come in at almost 31%.

In the aftermath of the release of Carly Fiorina’s infamous “Demon Sheep” ad, the average Republican voter in California’s Senate primary faces a number of questions.

Are things looking slightly better for incoming undergraduates next fall? Perhaps, if early findings are to be believed.

During the Bush administration, millions of anti-war protestors voiced their passionate dissent over the massive cost, in blood and treasure, of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  Largely composed of disaffected Democrats, the anti-war movement vigorously challenged the Bush-Cheney war policies through hundreds of well-orchestrated rallies across the nation.  But suddenly, the movement has gone strangely silent despite President Obama's intensification of the war effort.

Ballot Access News posted a rebuttal to a claim made by supporters of the upcoming Top Two Open Primary ballot initiative.  CAIVN has reprinted the press release, dated January 27, for readers: