Local elected officials in our region will be asked on Thursday to renew their commitment to responsible growth. The vote before the Sacramento Area Council of Governments is an important one. As the recession draws to a close, the region needs to recommit to sound planning principles. If it doesn't, it could head back to the era of leapfrog development, worsening air pollution and potential loss of federal transportation funding.

Whatever crimes they committed, the inmates at two state prisons in the San Joaquin Valley weren't given death sentences. Yet state officials' sluggish response to a continuing outbreak of valley fever is putting prisoners at an unacceptable risk of serious illness, even death.
The current Legislature – and the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown – is shaping up to be the worst in recent memory for transparent government.
columnist mug morain
No matter whether it's called budget dust, Christmas tree ornaments or bling, the massive $145 billion state budget and 22 trailer bills that implement it are crammed with stuff, much of it added with little public airing.
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We Californians like to think our state is the national leader in policy change and innovation, that new ideas are born here and other states follow our lead.
Distilled to a slogan, politics of late goes something like this: "I'm more fertile than you are."
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Courts continue to strike down laws in Arizona for infringing on the rights of citizens. The latest came Monday, when the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, ruled that Arizona may not require its residents to present proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
Now that Sacramento City Council members have pumped up their discretionary accounts, at least they're pledging to be more open about where the money goes.

columnist mug morain
No matter whether it's called budget dust, Christmas tree ornaments or bling, the massive $145 billion state budget and 22 trailer bills that implement it are crammed with stuff, much of it added with little public airing.

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To be a capital for local food, Sacramento must go back to the future – bringing back lost canneries, slaughterhouses and basic cooking skills. What are 'gaps' to eating local?

columnist mug terhaar

The woman on the call was excited; a missing cat had been found. The interesting part was how.

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To be a capital for local food, Sacramento must go back to the future – bringing back lost canneries, slaughterhouses and basic cooking skills. What are 'gaps' to eating local?

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VIEWS ON FOOD
Opinion articles focusing on food, agriculture, cooking, food stamps and more.
Read the series here.
A series of essays by regular contributors about special moments – and special photographs – that shaped 2012.

See all the essays.
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