FresnoBee.com: Opinion

Valley med school momentum

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT

If you have tried to get into a doctor recently, especially if you need to be seen by a specialist, you know it's not always easy to get a timely appointment. Read comments

Stem cell institute shows it still hasn't reached maturity

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Nearing its 5th birthday, California's stem cell institute is an established state agency and a big force in biomedical science. Read comments

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT

hen in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. Read comments

State wreckage careens forward

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT

If you have been trying to ignore the daily grind of bad news out of California's Capitol, we don't blame you. Watching the state's so-called leaders trying to negotiate a budget is like focusing on the dull pain of a low-grade toothache that you hope might just go away. Read comments

Educators cut classes with new flexibility

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT

The state did something novel in February to help local school districts. They untied the strings to pots of money that had been rigidly restricted, giving districts new freedom to spend money on local priorities. Read comments

End of Kodachrome marks end of iconic era in photos

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Babe Ruth hit his 714th and last home run in 1935, retiring later that year from baseball. Amelia Earhart took off from California for Hawaii on the first such solo flight by a woman, Nazi Germany adopted a flag with a swastika and the first animated full-length movie -- Snow White -- made its debut. Read comments

Profitable California export?

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT

In the depths of the worst recession since World War II, California may be giving birth to a new export industry. It's an export in which the Golden State appears to have important competitive advantages. And it may be recession-proof. Read comments

Pension proposal is worthy of consideration

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT

If there was one moment that foreshadowed California's long, sad descent from multi-billion-dollar surpluses to deficits as far as the eye can see, it was a day in 1999 when the Senate approved legislation to increase pensions for state workers and opened the door for even bigger retirement checks for local employees. Read comments

Still more action needed on water issues

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar offered some federal assistance to ease the California water crisis, and that at least shows the Obama administration finally has put this emergency on its radar screen. But this problem is too complex for quick fixes, and it will take state and federal action to resolve it. Read comments

Reform efforts will bring forth discussion of state's problems

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:51:58 PDT

California's drift toward insolvency this year is only the latest in a series of problems that suggest the state's government is in critical condition. Polarized by partisanship, beholden to narrow interests, hamstrung by rules the voters have applied in frustration, the Legislature and governor cannot resolve the state's most pressing issues. Read comments