We now have the final voter registration numbers for Tuesday’s election. If nothing else, they explain why Democratic candidates in the North Bay don’t lose much sleep in the days before an election. In Sonoma County, for example, there are more than twice as many registered Democrats as registered Republicans. [...]

I’ve been using an iPad since its introduction five months ago, and the experience has done nothing to diminish my initial enthusiasm. In most ways, it has replaced my laptop as my primary computer for mail, Web surfing, calendar, contacts and more. Tech blogs this week are talking about the [...]

The next time someone complains to you about the high cost of litigation, tell them the story of Michelle and Kevin McCarthy. Last November, a crane fell on the Santa Rosa couple’s house. Being reasonable people, the McCarthys assumed that whoever was responsible for the accident would pay the damages [...]

In last week’s column, I mentioned what is the most honest news show on television (even though it’s not a news show). Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show,” I wrote, “hold up a light to the bizarre nature of the current political debate.” Today, New York magazine publishes a profile [...]

I'm typing this into my iPad, using a wireless keyboard that qualifies as a full-sized keyboard in most respects. Yet it's only nine inches wide, and it weighs just eight ounces. Once upon a time, a five- or six-pound laptop may have seemed a miraculous device, but after lugging it [...]

Today's column riffs off our recent visit to the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston - and recalls a visit two years ago to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum at the University of Texas, Austin. We were in Austin to write about the 2008 presidential primaries. [...]

Since he leaves office in January, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t have to worry about being recalled. Lucky for him. The Sacramento Bee today reports that Schwarzenegger now has the same approval rating as former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. You member Davis. He’s the guy who was recalled when Schwarzenegger, [...]

For a time last year, political optimists held out hope that a proposed constitutional convention could put state government back together again. It didn’t happen because reformers couldn’t raise the money necessary to press the campaign for a ballot measure. For obvious reasons, the special interests that bankroll most political [...]

If you followed supervisorial candidate Mike McGuire's regular reports on Twitter and Facebook, you know this much: The guy is tireless. For the last several months, he has been everywhere in the Fourth District. The returns tonight show that hard work paid off. Political people like to come up with [...]

I’m one of those people who loves the ritual of voting. Casting a ballot at the neighborhood schoolhouse never fails to provide a few moments to celebrate tradition, say hello to friends and think about what it means to live in a democracy. I recognize this is a minority opinion. [...]