Editorials

USDA ought to make Wildlife Services contracts a matter of public record – as well as money received from states, counties, cities, livestock businesses and individual farmers and ranchers to control predators.

Last October I wrote a column complaining about the convenience fee Sacramento County courts charged me for the dubious privilege of paying a traffic fine by credit card online.

The motto of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is Essayons, French for "Let us try." Yet with its stubborn efforts to force flood agencies to rid levees of trees, the Corps should consider changing its motto to, "Let us try to be a burden on you."

When I first started in the newspaper business more than four decades ago, the "computer" we wrote news stories with was a simple manual typewriter.

Call it a failure of imagination. Our last two governors, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, have had little to offer in preserving our state park heritage in tough times. Their solution of choice has been to close parks.

We're flattered, and a little annoyed as well.

After years of wrangling in the Legislature, a compromise bill authored by Fremont Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski and approved late last session established a mediation process cities would have to go through before filing for bankruptcy protection.

On his first budget as Sacramento County executive, Brad Hudson is flunking a key test – transparency.

The timetable is clear now. While an exit goal by the end of 2014 has been known for some time, the United States, NATO countries and others have agreed on a schedule for drawing down combat troops from Afghanistan.

A dangerous bill that blew out of the state Assembly last week – with nary a dissenting vote – would create a costly public property record exemption for certain privileged law enforcement officials.

Sacramento City Council members are caught in a bind. The city is way behind in fixing its water and sewer system; it would be irresponsible to put off repairs any longer.

Kevin Johnson has his big-city ambitions, but he hasn't yet offered a clear agenda for a second term as Sacramento's mayor.

Across the political spectrum, people agree that quality teaching is essential to student success. The National Council on Teacher Quality puts it this way: "Effective teachers matter a great deal and ineffective teachers may matter even more."

In this local election season, there's no shortage of promises to create jobs and boost economic development. What candidates don't have are many specific ideas.

Sacramento City Hall is scrambling to avoid more cuts in basic services.

Before bank officials announced they had suffered a stunning trading loss of at least $2.3 billion, JPMorgan Chase was widely viewed as one of the better-managed, less reckless banks. When so many other financial institutions lost billions engaging in speculative trading using the federally insured savings of ordinary depositors, JPMorgan escaped the 2008 meltdown relatively unscathed.

Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clint Parish has proved that he is not fit to be a Superior Court judge.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress have failed for three years to reach common ground on a multiyear transportation bill to replace the 2005-09 bill. We're now on our ninth short-term extension, which expires June 30.

The conference room at the Doubletree Hotel had the feel of a revival meeting Saturday morning. It was filled with mostly elderly black church women who prayed and listened to hymns and inspiring speeches by women who talked about how they had overcome personal struggles.