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With the Sierra snow pack at “the smallest amount at this time of year since measurements began in 1964,” as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, there’s plenty of concern about precious water resources to serve California. But there’s a deep reservoir of political discord in any debate over water allocation. Now, the Field Poll has revealed some of the new deep-seated divisions within the state over what is called the Peripheral Canal plan to re-direct water from the Sacramento Delta to th

Supporters of independent and third party candidates have long decried the draconian laws regulating ballot access in states across the country.  They have argued that the ballot access system, which has been constructed by Democratic and Republican lawmakers over the last century, deprives voters of choice, unreasonably burdens upstart candidates for public office, and insulates entrenched incumbents from political competition. Virginia's ballot access laws are so restrictive that the majority

The federal government has approved a 300 MW photovoltaic solar plant to be built in Maricopa County on public land in the Rainbow Valley south of Buckeye. The Sonoran Solar Energy Project will be the first solar project on federal land in Arizona and will provide enough power for 90,000 homes. What’s more, they seem to have done everything right. It wasn’t rushed. They consulted with Indian tribes and historical agencies first. The scale and design of the project was revised to lessen environme

The California Air Resources Board has proposed major changes in regulating vehicle emissions in hopes of improving California's air quality, which is the worst in the nation. The plan combines four sets of standards into the Advanced Clean Cars program. The changes would be sweeping and all-inclusive. By 2025, auto manufacturers doing business in California must have 15.4% Zero Emission Vehicles in their fleets, and there will be stringent new controls on all passenger car and light truck emiss

Over the past decade, California dairies, ranches and livestock farms have created 17,000 jobs for the state. A new report that analyzes federal data from 2000 to 2010 shows that the $289 billion a year animal agriculture industry has grown in California, buoying the state's position as one of the top farm economies in the nation. The report, prepared by Promar International, estimates that in 2010, animal-ag impacted national household earnings by $51 billion and sustained more than 1.8 millio

On Democracy: Thomas Friedman, in his most recent piece Two Peas in a Pod, argues: “Democracy not only needs a decent ruling party, but an intelligent opposition, and neither India nor America has both today”. Thomas Friedman’s latest article discusses the similarities and differences in the Occupy movement and the India Against Corruption protests. Both protesting corruption of politics and unequal distribution of wealth, they take different approaches. Here are some great excerpts from his p

Nearly 25% of California farmworkers and their families live in poverty and almost 70% have no health insurance. Many face what academics call "food insecurity," which means they're going hungry and often wondering where the next meal is coming from. Since they have no insurance or extra money, any health issues probably go untreated. Most farmworkers in California are Latino. In the San Joaquin Valley, the median income for such workers is a mere $18,000 a year and only 6.1% go to college and

Ten years ago this week, the United States invaded Afghanistan with the mission to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda cohorts. We were a nation roused to war through “righteous indignation”, and since then, millions of America's youth have been encouraged to perform voluntary service for an operation called Enduring Freedom. For the majority of this time, our soldiers had to balance that fight with an additional call for Iraqi Freedom. The public's distaste for our involvement in

Threatening to withdraw his Congressional Black Caucus membership if no action was taken, Florida Congressman Allen West sent a letter to Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chairman Emanuel Cleaver urging him to condemn the recent disparaging comments from fellow members about the Tea Party movement. "It has come to my attention, from the numerous statements made by my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus over the last several weeks, that in order to cover for the failings of the Obama Ad

In the wake of the debt ceiling crisis, there has been an astonishing wave of criticism directed at the two-party state and duopoly system of government.  For many Americans, the debt debacle appears to have been the straw that broke the camel's back.  But, will their anger translate into action? Sometimes it seems as if not a day goes by without a new survey or poll measuring the depth and breadth of the nation's frustration with its elected representatives, as well as underscoring the exodus