We don’t know what’s more disappointing — the fact that the Paso Robles water rate increase failed at the polls, or that more than half the city’s registered voters were no-shows on election day.

Winston Churchill paid tribute to the young fighter pilots who staved off Nazi Germany's aerial assault on England during the Battle of Britain with characteristic eloquence: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

Finally, the state of California has released a sensible plan for reducing operating expenses at state parks, campgrounds, beaches and other popular recreation spots.

Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, testified at a recent legislative hearing on how California might improve its bollixed budget process by emulating other states.

If you are one of the 4,000 or so Paso Robles residents who have already cast a ballot in to-day’s special election on water rates, congratulations! Your job is done. If you haven’t yet voted — and as of Monday morning, approximately 10,000 of you had not — this is your last opportunity.

Exactly one year from today, California voters will pretend that electing a new governor will somehow improve their chronically ineffective state government.

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and political reform groups enacted a ballot measure to shift legislative redistricting from the Legislature to an independent commission, they purposely left congressional redistricting in lawmakers' hands.

It’s not exactly a shock that bars and taverns in downtown San Luis Obispo generate more police calls than, say, shoe stores or stationery shops.

One of the more obscure – and probably more important – of California's many political conflicts pits an organization called EdVoice against the California Teachers Association and other school unions.

They may call it puppy love, but we call it pure insanity on the part of the pair who broke into the county animal shelter Sunday night to retrieve a pit bull.

They're fighting over water in the Capitol, but lurking just below the surface is the real issue – how and where California develops land in the years and decades ahead.

No, it isn’t pledge week. But as Viewpoint writer John Brannon pointed out in last week’s Tribune, it’s never a bad time to show our support for local public radio station KCBX.

The "Steve Peace death march," so-named for the state legislator who pushed a massive overhaul of the state's electric power system through the Legislature in 1996, occupies a special niche in Capitol lore.

Remember the old saying, "Once burned, twice shy"? It's supposed to mean that when one has a bad experience, one should be more cautious in similarly dangerous circumstances.

Behind the scenes: In recent years we have taken a different tack in putting together our daily state, nation and world report.

For decades, Stockton has been pumping money – often taxpayers' money – into its moribund waterfront/downtown area, hoping it would become an entertainment destination that would recapture its 19th century prominence as a portal into California's gold fields.

The state of California is showing renewed interest in purchasing a 584-acre chunk of the Oceano Dunes that’s owned by San Luis Obispo County.

Widespread public disdain for a dysfunctional Legislature – just 13 percent of voters approved of the job it was doing in a recent poll – has spawned a rhetorical game in political, academic and media circles that goes something like this:

The jury is still out, but we suspect that someone may be sentenced to a brickbat or two before the case of Dan De Vaul is finally finished.

It was a thrilling ride while it lasted, but it looks like it’s time to say so long to the Amgen Tour of California — at least for now.