Between the shadow and the reality lies the truth -- maybe.
It has been noted that in this last election cycle, not one seat in the Legislature changed partisan hands. One seat that came close, though, was the 21st Assembly District on the San Francisco peninsula. In a "safe" Democrat seat, Ira Ruskin, the Democrat, eked out a 52-48 percent win over his Republican opponent, businessman Steve Poizner, who made a big splash by spending millions of his personal wealth on the race.
It has now been 5 years since California was in the throes of the 2000-01 energy crisis, and we don’t seem any closer to a comprehensive plan for securing our energy future. In fact, we are at a crossroads that could determine whether we take a step back into a failed past or take a step forward into an undetermined future. Make no mistake, California is riding the edge of the supply-demand curve once again and without bold action, the situation will only get worse in the next few years.
Wordsmith offers tips to government's scribes.
Although this is the inaugural edition of the new Capitol Weekly, you should know that the editors have already committed a Bustamante --- in other words, an exceptional public blunder. They asked me to write for them. I'll honor this foolhardy request, but first, let's clear away debris surrounding my "politics." This is probably necessary because I was an editor at California Journal for more than 22 years, and during that time, the nonpartisan magazine and its staff were accused, variously, of being either whacked-out lefties or blind reactionaries. The real record needs to be set straight.
The World Series of Poker is broadcast weekly on ESPN. Bravo runs a program about celebrities playing cards for money. The Travel Channel has set up shop in Las Vegas to highlight the betting action there. And then there's the California Channel, which has the rights to a high-stakes gambling program that puts the competition to shame.
In the 1972 film, "The Godfather," Vito Corleone meets with the heads of the Five Families in an effort to end a year-long feud. "How did things ever get so far?" he says. "I don't know. It was so -- unfortunate -- so unnecessary."
