For the first time in many years, Californians seem to like their governor. Jerry Brown's approval rating is now above 50 percent; actually, it's closer to 60 percent. And the Legislature is more popular, too. Read more »

There's an interesting piece on Calitics talking about what California can teach the nation in terms of ending Republican obstructionism. Robert Cruickshank, as usual, is right on target -- and he points to the real problem in Washington. Republicans in the House no longer worry about losing their seats to Democrats; the GOP has been so good about gerrymandering that only maybe 30 or 40 seats in the entire nation are still competitive. Read more »