The Swarm

This morning's editorial on the state budget mess described the situation as "Ugly. Ugly. Ugly on a stick." The "Ugly on a stick" part was my contribution to the editorial. I rise now to give attribution where it is due.

As far as I know, the phrase"ugly on a stick" was coined by Joe Bob Briggs, the world's premier (if only) drive-in movie critic. Ugly was actually a recurring character in Joe Bob's work, which started out as newspaper columns and turned into TV shows (for cable channels in the high double digits, natch) and a one-man show.

If you are unfamiliar with Job Bob's, um, oeuvre, you can find samples at http://www.joebobbriggs.com/review.asp.

In the words of the master, Joe Bob says check it out.

Today, The Bee's editorial board is looking ahead to some upcoming political endorsements. Stuart Leavenworth will be writing about the Roseville city council races later this week. Pia Lopez will be writing about the Sierra Community College board election races. If you have input for us on either these contests, now is the time to e-mail the writers.

Two topics are at the top of the editorial board's minds this morning:

One is the race for Placer County Fifth District county supervisor between Bruce Kranz and Jennifer Montgomery. If you have input on this, e-mail Stuart Leavenworth with your thoughts.

The second topic is the cutbacks by Sacramento city police and their implication for public safety and the city budget overall. Have some thoughts on the subject? E-mail Ginger Rutland.

Like everytbody else, we have our eyes on the financial situation, but not for anything immediate. On tomorrow's editorial page, we'll be endorsing in El Dorado County's Measure Y and in races for county supervisor there.

Today the minds of The Bee's editorial board are green -- not from environmental concerns but from thoughts of money. In particular, the money that is not in the state's coffers, the money that John McCain or Barack Obama won't have to work with, the money that is rushing out of people's retirement accounts, the money that has been lost in declining housing values,  the money that various ballot propositions would claim from the state budget -- well, you get the idea.

If you would like to help shape our thoughts on this all-consuming topic, e-mail David Holwerk (dholwerk@sacbee.com).     

The Bee's editorial board is thinking this morning about debates -- last night's between Sacramento's mayoral candidates and tonight's between John McCain and Barack Obama. We'll be writing an editorial for tomorrow's editions on deadline tonight about the latter. If you have suggestions as to what we should be watching for in tonight's debate, e-mail Pia Lopez.

We spent much of this morning's editorial board meeting discussing the terrible bus crash that claimed the lives of eight people headed for a Colusa County casino. Among the questions we talked about: Is state regulation of charter buses too lax? The driver of the bus did not have a license to drive a passenger bus, but should he have had a commercial license at all given his criminal record? Does locating casinos in rural areas with poor roads make such tragedies more likely? If you have input on these or other points, e-mail Ginger Rutland.

   

Welcome to The Swarm, a weblog from the people who write The Sacramento Bee's editorials. The Swarm will give you a view of the discussions that go on among editorial page staffers every day and provide an opportunity for readers to join in. We will also use the blog to provide readers with a heads-up on what The Bee's editorial board is thinking about from day to day and to solicit opinions and advice for sources of information.

We had originally planned to bring The Swarm online during the week of Oct. 6, but the vice presidential debate was just too good an opportunity to pass up. So last night we started blogging live and are now onto other topics. Please join in the discussion. It's time to get this swarm buzzing.

David Holwerk dholwerk@sacbee.com

Editorial page editor, The Sacramento Bee