Viewpoints

The beverage industry is in a real bind. On one hand, the major drink manufacturers that produce soda, energy drinks, sweet teas and sports drinks are an American success story. They have made some of the most iconic products in the world and have developed some of the most ingenious ad campaigns. They have found ways to sell their products everywhere, increase portion sizes, keep prices low, and expand product lines in response to changing consumer tastes.

Networks are generally leery of shows that are set in the past.

TV executives think younger viewers don't care about history. And they're always on the hunt for the younger demo, working on the mistaken premise that millennials buy more and change brands more often than profligate and fickle baby boomers.

To the distinguished California Public High School Class of 2013.

I'm sorry James Franco canceled at the last minute. I'm even sorrier that you wound up getting me as your substitute commencement speaker, but I was offered gas money plus a free lunch.

California recently collected nearly half a billion dollars under its new emissions trading system, which "caps" industrial greenhouse gas emissions and requires firms to obtain pollution permits for every ton of carbon they emit.

About two years ago, the folks at Google released a database of 5.2 million books published between 1500 and 2008.

Good news: President Barack Obama asked Sen. Chuck Schumer to reintroduce the federal media shield law that failed in the Senate in 2009.

Why are so many so angry over the Kings staying in Sacramento? Judging by online reaction of Bee readers, you would think someone had stolen their firstborn.

The Obama administration has no business rummaging through journalists' phone records, perusing their emails and tracking their movements in an attempt to keep them from gathering news.

An April 25 Viewpoints article, "Twin tunnels water grab is doomed to fail," noted a number of concerns with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, citing the comments of the National Marine Fisheries Service on how to improve the current draft. The agency offers additional thoughts on the state's plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

We love our forests in California. After a century of rapidly losing them to farming and logging, we finally succeeded in virtually ending deforestation in California. We were driven by our interest in the natural beauty, the wildlife, the sustainable timber supplies and the water-purifying functions of old-growth redwoods along the coast, the blue oaks growing across the Central Valley and the mixed pine forests of the Sierra. It was only possible because we had a clear vision of the importance of our forests and a successful strategy for protecting them.

When Californians passed AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, we committed to one of the most forward-thinking pieces of climate legislation in the country, with comprehensive strategies to reduce carbon emissions from nearly all sectors of the economy. Unfortunately, the California Air Resources Board is considering a move that will undermine the best intent of this law by linking it to a benign-sounding yet dubious and untried scheme to protect rain forests in Mexico and Brazil.

In response to The Bee's editorial ("Effort to muzzle SACOG could hurt entire region," April 27), we wanted to provide another perspective as elected officials.

Abuse of power may be a bipartisan affliction, but what a pathetic scene this White House makes. Whether the scandals now besetting President Barack Obama's administration scuttle his second-term agenda or merely delay his plans, the bigger question is what all of this tells us about the size, scope and underlying legitimacy of our government today.

When Gov. Jerry Brown introduced the principle of "subsidiarity" as the basis for his public school local funding formula, my ears perked.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Benghazi scandal.

Former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado is planning a run for the Republican gubernatorial nomination next year and also is pushing a ballot initiative to repeal California's prison realignment, in which certain low-level offenders are moved from the state prison system to county jails.

Note to GOP re Benghazi: Stop calling it Watergate, Iran-contra, bigger than both, etc. First, it might well be, but we don't know. History will judge. Second, overhyping will only diminish the importance of the scandal if it doesn't meet presidency-breaking standards. Third, focusing on the political effects simply plays into the hands of Democrats desperately claiming that this is nothing but partisan politics.

As the nation's top law enforcement official, Eric Holder is privy to all kinds of sensitive information. But he seems to be proud of how little he knows.

In the beginning, it was hard to tell which of the lovebirds was more passionate.

With the main provisions of the Affordable Care Act set to take effect Jan. 1, we are about to transform the way people buy health insurance. At the heart of the reforms is a new social contract: healthy or not, everyone has the right to buy coverage and pay the same rate for it. With a strong majority of the public and political leaders in both parties supporting this concept, we have broad agreement that it is the right thing to do.

The twin revelations of the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative political organizations and, now, that the U.S. Justice Department was spying on the Associated Press – all in a few days – mean this: It is time to air the dirty laundry of this administration's intelligence and surveillance programs – and it is way past time for heads to roll in Washington.

Allowing noncitizens who are legal immigrants to serve on juries is a desirable reform in a society devoted to judgment by one's peers and juries that represent a cross-section of the community. Assembly Bill 1401, passed overwhelmingly by the California Assembly, would do just this, permitting legal immigrants, as well as U.S. citizens, to serve on juries.

Breaking news: Conservative organizations suddenly have found common cause with one of their favorite objects of contempt – the benighted Mainstream Media.

We're all aware of how the incredible rescue of three Cleveland women quickly became a story dominated by next-door neighbor Charles Ramsey, less for his efforts and more for his lively persona, tailor-made for melodrama-addicted television news and the viral forces of the Internet.

What does a strong economy look like? We all know the typical measures: low unemployment, robust job growth, higher earnings.

Suppose that the Environmental Protection Agency were to admit offhandedly that the fluoridation of water had only modest communist mind-control effects.

Public officials are very selective about when violence and death matter.

What do the re-establishment of California's tule elk, conservation of salmon and the protection and maintenance of more than 285,000 acres of wildlife habitat have to do with Assemblyman Anthony Rendon's bill, AB 711 that would ban traditional lead ammunition? Sadly, one of the unintended consequences of Rendon's bill will likely be a huge reduction in California's share of federal conservation and wildlife restoration funding.

California has long been a hotbed of innovation, where individuals came with a dream and the opportunity to make the unthinkable into reality. Our state is leading the way in an exciting new industry – private commercial spaceflight, with the potential to create new jobs and new technological advancements.

The risks are sinking in. For months, discussions about fracking in California have focused mostly on public disclosure. Should people living near fracked oil and gas wells, for example, be notified about this controversial procedure, which involves blasting huge volumes of water mixed with toxic chemicals underground?