The SoCal Spin 10/9

1. Believe me, the Golden State is a mess in more ways than your fingers can count. And if you're hoping to brush-up on the state's larger trending topics, check out this fantastic summary on the current state of California. Sadly, its less-than-fantastic conclusions will leave you wondering if California could become the country's first failed state.
2. At least Sacramento is attempting to capitalize on the continued slow growth of the stock market, as it plans to sell $4.5 billion worth of government bonds to those searching for a more secure investment. As long as Wall Street remains unpredictable, expect people to bite at these bonds fast.
3. Of course, the central question concerning this bankruptcy we are trying to lift ourselves out of is whether taxes remain too low or spending has run too high. Does the possibility of sending an aging Roman Polanski to prison demonstrate a fiscally unsound desire to imprison criminals when we can't afford it?
4. Outside of state government, more waste could be looming alongside an initiative war. Are these initiatives legitimate efforts to enact change? Or are they political tools meant to injure political opponents?
5. That Gavin Newsom hasn't quite hit his stride yet could be considered an understatement, and some see his call into Bill Clinton as a cry for help. Let's be honest, the man has been less than a fundraising machine since his declaring his decision to run for governor. So is an implosion impending for the San Francisco Mayor?
6. Hey, kudos to him anyway, as Newsom signed onto the US Conference of Mayors initiative to limit greenhouse gas emissions alongside Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Is anyone else surprised that it's been city mayors who have take the environmental lead in recent years? Can someone wake-up the senate house?
7. Los Angeles city government hasn't taken pro-green ground on all fronts, however. District Attorney Steve Cooley recently declared all medical marijuana dispensaries to be illegal and, with over 800 flourishing dispensaries city-wide, might be readying a cultural war of sorts.
8. Conversely, there's another industry in Los Angeles that city officials are bending over backwards to accommodate. Fears of the film industry outsourcing increasing amounts of work have city council scrambling to create incentives to remain in L.A. All the fuss, to be honest, still seems a tad premature.
9. Educational reform of any sort, however, is more than overdue. One school's decision to divide classrooms into distinct male and female learning environments hence has researchers and parents alike intrigued as to the results. Are boys and girls developmentally hindering one another?
10. Finally, if you think this texting while driving debate only hinges on the actions of your teenage daughter, think again, as the Metrolink has installed cameras into its trains to dissuade its employees from putting the lives of hundreds of people at risk. Hm, I guess it's not all the fault of those irresponsible adolescents.

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