FresnoBee.com: Opinion

EDITORIAL: Legislature must abandon its hypocrisy on the state budget

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST

It was hardly a secret that the spending plan the California Legislature passed in July did not end the state's fiscal catastrophe. It wasn't until Wednesday, however, that the state got a clear sense of how large that catastrophe has become. Read comments

EDITORIAL: Thumbs up, thumbs down

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST

Thumbs up to Fresno County farmer John Diener, awarded California's 2009 Leopold Conservation Award. The $10,000 award is named in honor of conservationist Aldo Leopold and is presented annually in seven states to private landowners who practice exemplary land stewardship and management. Diener has been a pioneer in conservation tillage, a practice that reduces the number of tractor operations, dust emissions and diesel fuel. Read comments

EDITORIAL: Accurate census count is vital to all who live here

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST

The federal government is preparing to conduct the census that is required every 10 years by the U.S. Constitution. The count technically takes place on April 1, which is Census Day. Every person living in our country is supposed to be counted through a mail questionnaire or by in-person interviews with census takers. Read comments

EDITORIAL: City's proposed cuts aren't pretty, but they're realistic

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST

Mayor Ashley Swearengin has offered a sweeping plan to balance the city's budget that could be almost $28 million out of balance over the next 18 months. While the proposed cuts are massive, they may have to be even larger as City Hall contends with lower tax revenues because of the economy and higher costs, particular a spike in the city's employee pension obligations. Read comments

EDITORIAL: Resolve ongoing CalPERS mess

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:20:58 PST

Officials at the California Public Employees' Retirement System are scrambling to respond to a series of embarrassing disclosures regarding close relationships between CalPERS officials and placement agents -- politically connected middlemen who helped steer billions of dollars of pension fund investments to their clients. Read comments

EDITORIAL: Picking lieutenant governor

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST

California's governmental structure needs many changes so we'll add one more reform to the list. The governor and lieutenant governor should run as a ticket so the officeholders are from the same party. Read comments

EDITORIAL: Mammogram guidelines cause confusion for women

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST

Reaction has been loud and swift to new recommendations regarding mammograms and breast self-exams, which came from a government-sponsored group that provides guidance to doctors, insurance companies and policymakers. Read comments

EDITORIAL: Needed budget cuts still hurt many in state

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:05:01 PST

One thing has been clear about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's remaining time in office: He does not intend to be a lame duck, and has an ambitious agenda for the 13-plus months left in office. Read comments

EDITORIAL: Water meter plan must include all residences

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST

Fresno's excruciatingly slow march toward water meters went sideways again when city officials admitted that they have no plan to meter thousands of individual houses in so-called "planned residential developments." The city's proposal threatens the basic fairness of the water-metering plan. It needs to include all residences, and not just the ones that city officials find convenient to meter. Read comments

EDITORIAL: Administration must reform immigration

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:55:41 PST

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has finally called for the immigration reform that President Barack Obama has been promising since he was campaigning for president. Napolitano said Friday that border security and immigration enforcement have improved, which Congress set as a condition for updating the nation's immigration system. Read comments