Columnists

The Public Eye: Prop. 1A — No Answer to California’s Problem

By Bob Burnett
Thursday April 30, 2009 - 06:52:00 PM

Polls indicate that California voters are confused about Proposition 1A, which comes up for a vote on May 19. While Gov. Arnold Schwarz-enegger is for 1A, the California Republican Party opposes it. California Democrats are similarly split. Proposition 1A is unusually contentious because it proposes to fix a symptom rather than the underlying problem. -more-


The Public Eye: What Democratic Vote Means for May Special Election

By Paul Hogarth
Thursday April 30, 2009 - 06:53:00 PM

EDITOR’S NOTE: Paul Hogarth was a delegate at the California Democratic Party’s convention and gave one of the floor speeches against Proposition 1E. -more-


Wild Neighbors: Return of the Painted Ladies

By Joe Eaton
Thursday April 30, 2009 - 07:03:00 PM
A painted lady nectaring at fuller’s teasel.

If you were paying attention last month, you may have noticed a number of small pale-orange butterflies flying in a northwesterly direction. That would have been the painted lady migration, a not-quite-annual phenomenon that sometimes blankets the state. In peak years, numbers have been estimated in the billions. -more-


Maybeck Made La Loma Park His Own Country

By Daniella Thompson
Thursday April 30, 2009 - 07:06:00 PM
The concrete fireplace in the Maybeck Studio, 1950s.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last in a series of three articles on La Loma Park. -more-


About the House: Why Is a Good Plumber Worth $130 an Hour?

By Matt Cantor
Thursday April 30, 2009 - 07:06:00 PM

I have suffered so that you don’t have to. I’m going to share a plumbing secret. The desire for knowledge of this secret has produced much gnashing of teeth, and the frequent abuse of the many names of God. In order to reduce heretical behaviors and to increase the likelihood that you will be welcomed at the Valhalla of your choosing, I offer the following: -more-