Editorials

In hearing a challenge to California's Proposition 8, Supreme Court justices seemed Tuesday to be shying away from deciding the real issue before them.

Before it filed for bankruptcy protection last June, the city of Stockton cut its police force by 25 percent, its Fire Department by 30 percent and the workforce in all other city departments by 43 percent. The city also cut health benefits to retired city workers, slashed library hours and reduced maintenance at parks.

The deal for a new arena in downtown Sacramento represents the city's biggest bet in decades.

Say what you will about Gov. Jerry Brown, but there's no doubt that he has brought a keener eye and more eclectic taste to the California Hall of Fame.

The unfunded liability at the California State Teachers' Retirement System is $73 billion currently and growing at the astonishing rate of $17 million per day.

Showing rare bipartisan determination, Republicans and Democrats after the November election vowed to fix the nation's obsolete immigration system, aiming to have a bill drafted by March.

In early 2008, the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. in Chino issued a recall for more than 143 million pounds of raw and frozen beef products, following the release of video footage showing that plant workers were abusing "downed" cows, including using forklifts to prod the animals to their feet.

It's not that surprising city officials missed their self-imposed deadline to unveil the terms of a deal for a new downtown Sacramento arena.

California's courts could use some more money. But squeezing the public and the press with fees that could limit access is the wrong way to go about it.

A lot of well-meaning politicians come through the Legislature, saying all the right things but rarely getting much done of any real substance. Nicholas Petris, a Democrat who represented the East Bay in the Assembly and Senate for 37 years and passed away Wednesday, was not one of those. He was a legislative giant – one that our state is unlikely to see again, certainly not with term limits in place.

The business-driven Next Economy effort will have tough sledding as it is to hit the targets announced Tuesday – to add 35,000 jobs and $5.3 billion beyond expected growth to the Sacramento region's economy over the next five years.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein will not be deterred from the effort to reinstate, and close loopholes in, the 1994-2004 ban on military-style semi-automatic assault weapons and on large-capacity magazines with more than 10 rounds.

If you read the full text of the federal indictment charging the former chief executive officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System with fraud and conspiracy, it would appear he did nothing more serious than crudely cut and paste the CalPERS logo on his business card to create some phony letterhead.

The latest frontier in higher education – online courses – offers promise for widening access to knowledge. In California, done right, online courses can help reduce failure rates in entry-level courses, reduce bottlenecks in access to classes, reach people who are place-bound and spread unique courses offered on particular California campuses statewide.

The average state worker today has accumulated more than 53 days of unused vacation time – time that can be cashed out when they leave public service. That's almost 2.5 times as much as in the 1990s.

California State University's new chancellor, Timothy P. White, began his job in December and he's plugging away at visiting all 23 campuses.

Fewer than 14 percent of Californians smoke cigarettes or other tobacco products.

Nevada state mental health officials acknowledge that they bought bus ticket tickets for at least 99 psychiatric patients and sent them to California since last July.

This week the Elk Grove City Council sent a strong message to developers. The council is serious about its goal to transform what is now largely a bedroom community to a more balanced city with job opportunities to match its residential rooftops.

Assemblyman Richard Pan has some explaining to do about where he really lives, and Sacramento County's district attorney should ask the questions.

Gloomy. Very gloomy. That's the state of the judiciary in California as laid out by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye to a joint session of the Legislature on Monday.

By selecting Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the next pope of the Roman Catholic Church, cardinals have sent an important signal to the Americas – and particularly to Latin America, where 39 percent of all Catholics worldwide live.

The tight timetable on a deal for a new downtown arena is being driven by the NBA, which is weighing competing bids to keep the Kings in Sacramento or let the team move to Seattle.

Most people in the United States take access to phone service for granted – for making calls in an emergency, for keeping in touch with family and friends, for conducting business and for generally connecting with the world outside their homes.

Civil grand juries investigate the nuts and bolts of local government. When they work well, they can shine much-needed light on the inner operations of cities, counties, schools and special districts. Using their subpoena powers, grand juries interview witnesses under oath, tour public facilities and review records. In their local government watchdog function, they are sometimes the first to spot mismanagement, waste, inefficiency and sometimes even criminal malfeasance.

Surprise, surprise. California lawmakers are increasingly exploiting a legal loophole to skirt campaign finance limits. Does this have a familiar ring?

The Twin Rivers Unified school board needs grownups to step forward and act responsibly at tonight's special board meeting.

As Congress and legislatures across the country debate new gun legislation, pro-gun advocates respond by arguing that more restrictions do nothing to keep guns out of the wrong hands or to reduce gun violence.

It should be a given: Local governments have to tell the public what's on the agenda for meetings and provide public records.

Gov. Jerry Brown recognizes the importance of public education to California's future. "Nothing is more determinative of our future," he said in his State of the State address, "than how we teach our children." He continued: "If we fail at this, we will sow growing social chaos and inequality that no law can rectify."