Disparate Parts

If you've got a sweet tooth for scandal, then there's seemingly no better time to be alive, what with Joe Wilson hollering, Serena mouthing off, and Kanye, well, being Kanye. But don't be deceived, it's not just celebrities that are having all the fun. Reports of Wells Fargo executives throwing "lavish" parties at a repossessed beachfront Malibu home have infuriated tax payers, who you might remember bailed out the struggling business last year to the note of $25 billion.

But don't think for a second that it's only the financial sector that is doing a less than perfect job of adhering to company protocol. Tapes have surfaced of the community organizing group ACORN willingly guiding two disguised vigilante activists through the legalities of creating a prostitution establishment in San Bernardino , giving rise to mores issues than you can count.

Some are doing their best to bring burglary back into fashion, albeit in different ways. Nabbing ten original Warhol paintings (count 'em!) from a dedicated and now surely depressed art connoisseur? Check. Robbing a San Diego bank with tubes up your nose and an oxygen tank in hand at the tender age of seventy? Double check. No wonder watchdog journalism is all the rage.

Also, with the Station Fire all but over, the repairing and rebuilding will now commence. For its parts, the federal government is doing right in providing low interest loans to the 26 commercial properties and 66 homes damaged by the flames--Sit'n Sleep ain't offering a bad deal either--but watch out for amoral illegal contractors willing to take advantage of the already victimized. As for the next potential natural disaster presenting a clear and present danger? Mudslides, coming this winter.

Speaking of disasters, Ben Bernanke is saying that this recession is over, technically speaking, but I don't think Californians could honestly say they agree. The housing market? Throughout California prices are down 11% from July, with some blaming the "thinning inventory of foreclosure properties." And don't get us started on jobs, as our OC Register reports that the number of persons working part-time when they would rather have a full-time job increased 80% this year. Even Kobe said he would consider outsourcing his jump shot to China. There's still quite some work to be done.

Luckily, City Council is trying to get to business. Give them some slack on that budget thing; they are cutting into their vacation time, after all, to get something through sometime soon. For that matter, at least they can agree on some things that are just too important to push back, namely limiting the number of roosters per citizen and finally figuring out just how many people ride their bikes.

On the environmental front, Gov. Schwarzenegger is insisting on switching 33% of our electric utilities over to renewable sources by 2020. Good on him, but do you get the feeling he is putting off closing those state parks for as long as is politically possible? With fifteen thousand Heal the Bay-ers set to march to the shores this Saturday, he might be right to wait another week. Oh, and remember how we're running out of water? A new idea has us looking into wastewater south of the border.

Finally, don't expect to find much good news if your looking in Sacramento's direction right about now. Increasing numbers of furlough days and a potential 30% tuition hike for UCs next year (you read correctly) have workers protesting in San Francisco. That and a proposal for a new and surprisingly regressive tax system have us thinking its going to get worse, not better. Well, at least the Legislature voted to reduce our prison population by some 17,000 inmates this year. If some obscure datasystem can't prove our educational system deserves federal aid, we'll need all the chump change we can get our hands on.

(Gulp.)

This image was taken by flickr user erjkprunczyk. It was used under the Creative Commons license.