Editorials

Though it contained little new information, the state inspector general's report on Phillip Garrido's parole supervision still is stunning. Incompetence in the oversight of the man accused of kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard, and holding her captive for 18 years, defies belief.

In a state as large and fractured as California, it is always cause for celebration when lawmakers can reach some form of agreement on an issue as divisive as water.

A recent example in the city of Elk Grove illustrates California's tax dilemma. Elk Grove residents, like residents across the state, have faced cuts in their neighborhood parks. In June, 6,000 residents in the older, central area of the city and northern newer neighborhoods received ballots to raise a $79 annual fee to maintain parks. They roundly rejected it.

You'd think that a city that's grown from 66,000 in 1920 to nearly 500,000 today might want to reconsider its nearly 90-year-old city manager form of government.

It's nice that Steinberg wants to help his fellow human beings get along, but please do it without everyone else's money.

For those who think there is no hope for the homeless, that government programs and private charities can't make fundamental change in homeless people's lives, Rebecca Hahn, Wesley Colter, and Sheffine Houghton offer proof that they can and do.

It's easy to dismiss Placerville's decision to slap a 45-day moratorium on opening or relocating thrift stores as just another sign of the harsh economic times.

Just days after he was elected, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson invited other mayors in the region to a breakfast. The top leaders of West Sacramento, Marysville, Elk Grove, Auburn, Citrus Heights, Loomis, Live Oak, Yuba City, Rocklin, Lincoln, Winters and Rancho Cordova showed up.

Two things seem clear about the historic water measure that was jammed through the Legislature early Wednesday morning.

Monday night at Arco Arena, if you closed your eyes and just let the sound wash over you, it was the glory days again.

To its credit, UC Davis Medical Center has admitted its mistake. It should not have sent the parents of Scott Hawkins a bill for $29,186 just 10 days after the Sacramento State student was pronounced dead in the emergency room after a beating in his dormitory.

Fair or not, as he leaves Sacramento, County Executive Terry Schutten will be remembered most for his last disastrous year at the helm of county government. His performance during the current budget crisis has been dismal. As the county sank into the fiscal dark hole from which it has yet to emerge, Schutten mostly dithered, delayed and denied.

This month, the United States enters its ninth year of seemingly never-ending troop escalation in Afghanistan.

Two prominent Sacramento women died last week – Mary Brill and Jean Runyon.

Citizens of Sacramento, your City Hall is in disarray.

This week will be a big test for the California Legislature, which has the lowest approval ratings since the Field Poll started measuring in 1983.

It's hardly surprising that the state courts are having trouble developing a massive new computer system. California continues to build an information superhighway that is strewn with potholes.

California lawmakers face an epic moment in the state's wrangling over water.

Say it ain't so! Is it really true that videos for babies don't make the infants smarter?