The Swarm

On on The Bee's opinion pages Thursday, we will turn our editorial attention to the Sacramento rail yards and how to revive the Old Depot.

We also plan to weigh in on Rep. Todd Akin and the broader issue of the GOP's collective view of women.

On the op-ed page, Associate Editor Pia Lopez and contributor Ben Boychuk go head-to-head over the regulation of food truck.

William J. Vizzard, a Sacramento State professor emeritus, explains that the problem graduating students in four years is complicated, and that the California State University System is failing to confront the issue.

Also, syndicated columnist Thomas L. Friedman writes about the presidential campaign and the need for true debate.

Coming on Wednesday in The Bee's editorial page, we urge that Speaker John A. Perez study the Moody's report that is sending chills through budget offices of cities across California.

Associate Editor Foon Rhee offers a editorial notebook deconstructing how Sacramento officials got off on the wrong foot as they tries to convince voters to approve a sales tax hike.

On the op-ed page, Bee columnist Dan Morain takes a swing at Proposition 30, Jerry Brown's tax initiative. There's plenty of ammunition, if the opposition can get the money to campaign against it.

Syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker looks at why Republicans seem so obsessed with women's plumbing, and David Brooks writes about passion in the presidential campaign. There is some.

Coming on Tuesday, our editorial writers dissect the presidential campaign trail charges and counter-charges on Medicare. It's getting thick and it's not even Labor Day.

We offer our analysis of Loucreta Drive, one of the most crime ridden streets in Sacramento County. Residents there have voted down becoming part of the city of Sacramento, at quite a price.

On the op-ed page, Bruce Maiman takes on one of his favorite topics: hypocrisy. This time, he aims his pen at Paul Ryan and the other members of Congress, including some of our local reps, who couldn't help themselves and took whatever stimulus money they could get.

Paul Krugman returns with some choice words about Ryan. People who care about the marijuana debate will want to check out the piece by Andres Oppenheimer.

In the midst of the Civil War, Congress and President Abraham Lincoln created a true legacy, the law that created land grant colleges. On tomorrow's editorial page, we pay tribute to Morrill Land-Grant College Act, 150 years after its passage.

Speaker John A. Pérez defends his effort to overhaul California environmental law on the op-ed page.

Coming in California Forum on Sunday, Bee Columnist Dan Morain and photographer Randy Pench visit to a tomato cannery in Woodland, where they get an earful about California's new cap and trade program.

San Francisco writer Susan Sward spins a fascinating piece about Lafayette Park in San Francisco. Check out the vista the next time you visit the city.

On the Sunday editorial page, we have some choice words for the Democratic politicians who control this state, and say more about the ridiculous and costly proposal by Pérez to expand death benefits for families of cops and firefighters.

Finally, Editorial Page editor Stuart Leavenworth, our resident foodie, writes about his adventures foraging on wild plants with author and foraging-gourmet Hank Shaw. It's a tasty read.

On tomorrow's editorial page, we will confront the California Legislature for its failure to raise taxes on the tobacco industry, and name the names of some legislators who take tobacco industry campaign donations.

Associate Editor Ginger Rutland joined 1,000 other people at Garcia Bend Park in Sacramento's Pocket neighborhood for the SactoMoFo Food Festival, and tells the delights of have a beer-battered fish taco.

Food trucks ought not be a crime, she concludes.

On the op-ed page, Peter Schrag, our good friend and former editorial page editor, takes a hard look at Proposition 31, which purports to be a budget reform package.

Charles Gossett and Lori Varlotta of Sacramento State take issue with a Bee editorial taking Sac State to task for not graduating students within four years.

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer predicts a big future for Paul Ryan.

On the editorial page on Thursday, The Bee will dissect Speaker John A. Perez's latest attempt to build a legislative record, this time by taxing on out-of-state corporations to fund "middle class scholarships" and linking it to an overhaul of the California Environmental Quality Act.

Additionally, we will opine on the troubled state of some community colleges, as described in front page story by The Bee's Laurel Rosenhall on Wednesday.

On the op-ed page, we will run opposing views of AB 32, the landmark 2006 legislation to reduce greenhouse gases.

Kenneth P. Green of the American Enterprise Institute takes a dim view of AB 32, while W. Bowman Cutter of Pomona College and Matthew E. Kahn of UCLA argue the law is driving innovation.

New York Times syndicated columnist Maureen Down will write what she thinks of Paul Ryan. It's not pretty.

On tomorrow's editorial page, Associate Editor Ginger Rutland will tell us about her forced march at the Sacramento Valley Station's new rail platform, with her husband, Don Fields. It was hot, and not at all convenient.

Speaking of transportation, as pump prices top $4 again, we will opine about the Obama Administration's new fuel standards for automakers.

On the op-ed page, Bee columnist Dan Morain will break down Speaker John A. Pérez's latest play, one that links a tax cut to an overhaul of environmental law. It's another lesson in how the Capitol works.

Elsewhere on the op-ed page, syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker writes about Helen Gurley Brown and what she promoted: money, career and sex.

Radio reporter and author Nancy Mullane calls for more transparency in California prisons. It wouldn't be difficult.

On Tuesday's editorial page, The Bee intends to opine about Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan. Bottom line: We take issue with the conventional wisdom.

We wonder what in the world was going through Senate leaders' minds with the whole select committee scam. Did they think The Bee's Jim Sanders wouldn't catch on?

On the op-ed page, syndicated columnist Michael Gerson writes about the Ryan pick, while our own regular columnist Bruce Maiman offers his view of politicians under the Golden Dome, including Darrell Steinberg, Jerry Brown and Doug LaMalfa, and the reporters who write about them.

As always, Bruce is understated. Not.

Erin Brockovich, (she has a striking resemblance to Julia Roberts), offers up a preview of what could become a major story. We'll leave it at that.

On Saturday, The Bee's editorial page will critique the Legislature's questionable decision to pull the plug on a hearing delving into three tax-related initiatives on the November ballot.

We also will take a look at the fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, and raise questions about the company's desire to expand the plant.

Columnist Margaret A. Bengs will offer her insights into Proposition 32, the initiative on the November ballot that would restrict campaign donations by organized labor.

Sacramento Councilman Robert King Fong, and Sacramento Metro Chamber president Roger Niello will provide their response to why State Fair attendance fell short of predictions.

Coming on Sunday in California Forum, Bee columnist Dan Morain journeys to Easton, a hamlet near Fresno with green lawns, suspect water and too few champions.

Humorist Dave Barry has been delivering some typically whacky dispatches from the Olympics. We will offer a roundup.

The editorial board responds to the claim by Gov. Jerry Brown that The Bee engaged in "malpractice" with its investigation into Caltrans. We weren't amused.

On Friday's editorial page, The Bee will take a look at Title IX and its implications for the success of U.S. women athletes in this year's Olympics.

We also will opine about a request by Republican Assemblymen Dan Logue and Brian Nestande for an audit of California's $1 billion a year tax on wealthy Californians to fund mental health care.

On the op-ed page, we will be running a provocative piece about how to fund public schools. It's co-authored by Supterintendent Jonathan Raymond of the Sacramento City Unified School District, and Ted Lempert, president of Children Now.

San Mateo attorney Mallika Kaur, a Sikh, has written about her religion, Sikh contributions to the United States and patriotism in the wake of the mass shooting in a place of worship in Wisconsin.

On The Bee's editorial page Thursday, we will take a critical look at the California State University's inability to get students through to graduation in four years.

We also will be opining about the city's handling of parking citations, and use of technology, or lack thereof. We were surprised at the number of unpaid citations.

In the Head to Head feature, Ben Boychuck and Pia Lopez duel over the open carry legislation. The inimitable syndicated columnist George Will ventured outside the Beltway to assess California's high speed rail. Guess what he thinks.