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When former Rep. Gary Condit went to Sacramento as an assemblyman, he formed with four other state assemblymen the "Gang of 5" that tried to oust Willie Brown from the speakership of the state Assembly. When former Rep. Tony Coelho resigned due to exposure for accepting a loan from Michael Milken, who served a prison sentence for high financial derring-do, Condit went to the House of Representatives, where he served a dozen years.

This is a fine report by Dennis Wyatt, managing editor of the Manteca Bulletin, on flooding in his vicinity, complete with a brief history of floods there. We can expect pronuncimientos from state, federal and agribusiness sources on the present weather impacts, but Wyatt's focus is the only one that really counts, because all floods are local. It remains to be seen if any paper in a northern California flood area produces a better report of what its readers need to know, now.

"Unfortunately, we are...being bombarded by sensational headlines and commentary that stretches the bounds of scientific reality to the point of utter fiction," Nunes saidWednesday. "Based on media reporting, one might reasonably assume that the embattled Japanese reactors were soon to engulf the island nation in a nuclear explosion -- sending radioactive debris akin to Chernobyl into the atmosphere." -- Fresno Bee, March 17, 2011

Through the seminar, UC Merced said it's playing "a pivotal role" in helping national parks across the globe lead strategic change.-- Merced Sun-Star, March 14, 2011
Sonny Star, the local gigolo press, is strutting her stuff again. Must be spring. On the editorial page Sonny pontificates about open government laws in California, mainly the Brown Act and the state Public Records Act. In the same edition, Sonny prints the release below from UC Merced Bobcatflak Central.