Dan Morain

National politicians are delighted to come to California to raise campaign money. As Mitt Romney showed recently, some of them are perfectly happy to take shots at the Golden State once they leave.

Mods seem to be on the rise, and that's good for California, although partisans remain convinced that the middle of the road is a place for yellow streaks and dead skunks.

Wherever he sleeps at night, Facebook billionaire Eduardo Saverin could never dream of living like Jonetta Hall.

Attorney General Kamala Harris is sponsoring bills in the Legislature that would allow prosecutors to more readily seize pimps' property.

In California, corporate profits are not merely up. They are "booming," the Legislative Analyst's Office reported not long ago.

Wearing a lab coat and speaking from an exam room, La Donna Porter looks every bit the wise physician, even as she does the bidding of the tobacco industry, which contributes to the deaths of 443,000 Americans every year.

Ira Reiner vaguely remembers the ballot measure he helped champion 25 years ago, back when he was a politician on the rise and groundwater contamination was the crisis of the day.

State Sen. Lois Wolk wants to encourage – not require – that health care workers get annual flu vaccinations if they come into contact with patients in hospitals and nursing homes.

Elizabeth Emken takes many of the standard conservative stands. She opposes abortion and same-sex marriage, and she signed the no-tax pledge. But her work on behalf of autism has made her suspect in the eyes of some Republicans.

Darryl Davis' problems began when his wife, Nancy, an attorney, was pregnant with their second son, and was diagnosed with breast cancer.

In the coming weeks, Californians once again will witness the tobacco industry's formidable power. Cigarette makers Altria and R.J. Reynolds will spend tens of millions of dollars telling us why Proposition 29, the latest attempt by anti-smokers to raise tobacco taxes, is a terrible idea.

Mitt Romney ought to be worried that he is coming down with a bad case of Meg Whitman syndrome.

Frank Schubert is wearing his religion on his sleeve, a rarity in his line of work.

What if they held a presidential election and 2,150 people showed up? That's about the extent of the voter interest generated for the leading candidate so far by the alternate political reality that is Americans Elect.

Some conservatives speak volumes as they try to pillory Steve Schmidt, the strategist who helped run John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign and lately has been getting attention thanks to Woody Harrelson's portrayal of him in the movie, "Game Change."

That grinding noise you hear is the sound of Republicans gnawing on one another.

Whether you call it a process or evolution, we have a long way to go.

In the coming weeks and months, the California Public Utilities Commission will assess penalties against PG&E for the gas explosion that killed eight people and leveled 38 homes in San Bruno in 2010, and decide how much PG&E customers must pay to test and replace hundreds of miles of old gas pipelines.

Some Democratic legislators evidently haven't gotten the word.

At 6:22 p.m. Wednesday, 10 minutes after the deadly intravenous drip began, cop killer George Rivas became the 479th person executed in Texas since the state resumed executions three decades ago.

Sometimes, legislators seem to be pleading that they be put out of the misery of having to do the hard work of running the state of California.

Molly Munger is rolling the dice and the stakes couldn't be higher for public schools, which she seeks to rescue, or for Californians who depend on dwindling spending for social and health care programs.

Rich people with a cause cannot seem to resist inflicting their world views on California politics, no matter if they are levelheaded or wacky, and no matter where they reside.

Suddenly, the fight to restore Hetch Hetchy is getting interesting.

The U.S. Senate insulted us the other day and got a good laugh at our expense, once again.

As the 9th Circuit Court was striking down Proposition 8, the chairman of Goldman Sachs, probably the nation's most powerful investment bank, was taking an out-front stand in favor of same-sex marriage.

Unless you're steeped in Idaho politics, you've probably never heard of Frank VanderSloot. But the wealthy Republican businessman and people like him around the country are wielding outsized influence on the 2012 presidential election.

Homeowners suffering the consequences of the crash should take a deep breath, and consider what the CEO of one of the biggest recipients of a taxpayer bailout considered a hardship.

More often than not, big money players with high-priced lobbyists win the inside game, especially when the stakes reach $1 billion.

Before they proceed with their latest housing crisis task force, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ought to sit down with Jose Rodriguez.

From the courts to the Capitol to the ballot, insurance magnate George Joseph and attorney Harvey Rosenfield, who wrote the 1988 initiative that regulated auto insurance, have been butting heads for a quarter century.

You have to hand it to Jerry Brown. He's not shrinking from taking a big risk on high-speed rail.

At 75, Cliff Allenby could be spending his days playing golf, except his golf cart has a flat, and it has been that way for two years.

Forgive Valero and other oil producers if they're feeling a little bit smug.

Not that many years ago, California legislators worked themselves into a law-and-order frenzy, and with voters' help, infused the justice system with steroids by approving the nation's toughest "three-strikes" sentencing measure.

Ron Paul is wacky, won't win the Republican nomination and must be giving Republican leaders a splitting headache.

Tony Gonzales is confident he won't have a relapse, or take a dive by returning to drugs. The fighter has too much to lose.

The latest initiative to qualify for the 2012 ballot is thick with the earnest rhetoric of white-hat-wearing good government reformers. It's also dripping with cynicism.

Aaron Bassler lived in a Depression-era cabin in the North Coast town of Fort Bragg and drew pictures of the invasion from outer space he believed was imminent. In August, he shot and killed two men. After a 36-day manhunt, he died in a fusillade of bullets fired by sheriff's sharpshooters.

After a rampage by a mentally ill man claimed their daughter, her parents blazed a trail to transform a broken system.

It's easy to fume at corporations, banks and tycoons who seem to pocket ever more money at our expense. But heading into an election year, a few 1 percenters are contemplating giving a little bit back.

When a guy like Jack Abramoff starts truth-telling about the venal world of Washington, don't buy it.

California politicians on the right and left should take heed of the recall of Russell Pearce, the Arizona state senator who gained national notoriety for his shrill campaign targeting illegal immigration.

Gridlock has been good for Grover Norquist.

Based on how California policymakers dole out valuable subsidies for solar panels placed on the residential roofs, the poorest parts of our sunny state might as well be on the dark side of the moon.

In the coming days, a billionaire philanthropist, a think tank funded by wealthy foundations, and all sorts of political leaders and interest groups will unveil their prescriptions for restoring our ailing state.

After failing to get elected California attorney general last year, John Eastman, a conservative law professor, has emerged as a different sort of general, one taking a lead in the cultural war over marriage.

Rep. Dan Lungren has a decision to make.

If it weren't for Shirley Mitchell and a few hundred other old folks like her, the California Victims of Corporate Fraud Compensation Fund would be a joke.