Susannah Kopecky

News maven interested in politics, history, language, law, and information organization. Has contributed to numerous publications and served as copy editor and editor-in-chief for several news publications.

Water Today, Gone Tomorrow

California has had a rollercoaster of a water cycle this year. Nine months ago, the state officially entered a drought period. On February 27, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially declared a

By Susannah Kopecky

/ March 11, 2009

What about the Blue Dogs?

The prospect of an open primary in California should send shivers down the spines of millions: a forward-thinking state taking a truly forward-looking step. Sadly, in recent years California has

By Susannah Kopecky

/ March 6, 2009

Why Open Primaries Will Benefit Californians

And now something completely different: an "open" primary, in more ways than one! Republican California Sen. Abel Maldonado is to thank for the possibility of the open primary,

By Susannah Kopecky

/ February 27, 2009

Why Open Primaries Will Benefit Californians

Watering Down

California officially has a budget-yes! Now that that order of business has been taken care of, let's turn to another pressing local problem: water in the time of

By Susannah Kopecky

/ February 25, 2009

California Gets Stimulated...Or Does It?

February has been an exciting time for California and the nation. It has also been an unsure one for many California residents, while we waited for a final agreement by

By Susannah Kopecky

/ February 24, 2009

California Gets Stimulated...Or Does It?

Unhitch the Tax Hikes

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine." When Rick utters these fateful worlds in "Casablanca," the

By Susannah Kopecky

/ February 23, 2009

California to Sue... California

Thirty California counties were mad as hell last week, and vowed that they wouldn't take it anymore. After California legislators were unable to come together last weekend to

By Susannah Kopecky

/ February 20, 2009

Furloughs And Shutdowns and Budgets, Oh My!

There is a great movie in which a person decides that he wants to bring down a huge and prosperous company. The best way to do so, he decides, is

By Susannah Kopecky

/ February 20, 2009

Furloughs And Shutdowns and Budgets, Oh My!

Tightening the Belt Across California

Times, like patterns, ebb and flow predictably with time. There is still hope that the economic crisis of 2008-2009 will not be nearly as bad as the Great Depression, despite

By Susannah Kopecky

/ February 19, 2009

Combating the Crisis

February 1 has come andgone, and the California government has not yet shut down. Walkingaround the typical California town, one could even go so far as tosay that things feel

By Susannah Kopecky

/ February 13, 2009

AMT Talk: It Sure Is Stimulating

$70 billion is the magic number being floated right now by Congressional memberstrying to push along the federal government stimulus package throughboth houses of Congress with bipartisan support. Those billions

By Susannah Kopecky

/ February 11, 2009

Green Is in!

California is known forleading the nation in many ventures, trends and movements, and 2009is no different. In areas all across California, local and stategovernments are supporting "greening" measures

By Susannah Kopecky

/ February 9, 2009