November 24th, 2008 11:54am
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It’s the most popular class at Harvard. But is Positive Psychology a new kind of psycho-babble, or an effort to share what scientists are learning about human behavior and brain function? My Sunday column – here – considers the possibilities.
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November 21st, 2008 11:34am
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Friends have lately speculated about the prospect that some government agencies in California will file for bankruptcy. Among the questions asked: Can government file for bankruptcy protection? And if so, under what chapter of the bankruptcy law?
The answers are, yes and Chapter 9.
We learned this today as the Sacramento Bee was reporting that two more cities, Rio Vista and Isleton, may join Vallejo in seeking bankruptcy protection. There must be …
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November 17th, 2008 05:48pm
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About the previous post, the California State University system – which includes Sonoma State University – will eliminate 10,000 admission places in 2009, the Sacramento Bee reported this afternoon.
Historically, when unemployment is up, more people look to return to school to learn a new job skill. But expected cuts at community colleges and at state universities will make that transition more difficult.
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November 17th, 2008 12:43pm
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Mac Taylor, the state legislative analyst, is proposing an additional increase in tuition at state university and University of California campuses.
The noise you heard was the screams of outrage from state university students.
Taylor raised the subject while reporting that the state faces a budget shortfall of $28 billion over the next 20 months.
Now comes news that Sonoma State University students are upset about a new rule that limits them to …
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November 14th, 2008 07:30pm
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About the previous post, TechCrunch, the online technology news blog, reports today that Barack Obama will deliver a 21st century version of FDR’s fireside chats. The president-elect’s weekly reports to the nation will be videotaped and streamed from YouTube.
YouTube, of course, became an easy way for people to track speeches, gaffes and assorted other campaign happenings during the past year. Unlike FDR’s radio broadcasts of 75 years ago, …
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November 14th, 2008 01:25pm
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Books will be written about the role of technology in the election of Barack Obama. His 2008 campaign becomes the model for all future campaigns looking to understand the power of the Internet.
Staying in contact with donors, tracking the political inclinations of voters, organizing volunteers and attendance at caucuses, connecting to young voters via Facebook and MySpace, maintaining its own reporting and Web journals – in all these …
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November 11th, 2008 09:40pm
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I’ve been writing for several weeks about the dangerous budget shortfalls threatening services provided by state and local government, but even I’m shocked by the projections released today. The Sacramento Bee reported that state government faces an operating deficit of $27.8 billion in the next 20 months alone – with additional shortfalls in future years.
The projections were supplied by the state’s new Legislative Analyst, Mac Taylor, who described the situation …
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November 9th, 2008 01:36pm
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Did you notice how Barack Obama avoided the personal attacks that became the stock and trade of John McCain and, especially, Sarah Palin? Yes, it was easier to resist negative campaigning because Obama and Joe Biden were ahead in the polls, but I also think Obama was mindful that there is no point to winning if the country is divided and nothing can be accomplished.
If he wants to pursue big …
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November 6th, 2008 10:57am
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The president-elect, Barack Obama, received 73.5 percent of the vote in Sonoma County on Tuesday. If you want to know why this is called a Democratic county, now you know.
Supervisor Valerie Brown of Sonoma won re-election, but only barely. For the person who is about to become the president of the National Association of Counties, this was something less than a ringing endorsement. The knock on Brown, who also represented …
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November 3rd, 2008 11:57pm
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People who like politics will never forget 2008. For drama, history, controversy, raw emotion and intrigue, it was the best – the grand daddy of roller coaster rides.
But it’s gone on long enough, don’t you think? If nothing else, the nastiness of recent days tells us that the candidates have run out of things to say.
Besides, the country needs to get started on solving its problems, and that won’t happen …
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Pete Golis is a columnist for The Press Democrat and a longtime resident of Sonoma County.
