In January of 2018, I followed our Georgia Bulldogs to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The game was incredible, the Dawgs won, and I would not return to California until the post-pandemic win of the National Championship game in January of 2023 at the new SoFi Stadium complex near LAX. In 2018, I arrived early, visited some friends and spent an extra day on either side of the game day traveling southern California.

California in 2018 had been through several years of severe drought, worsening its challenges with ongoing and multi-thousand-acre wildfires. As I drove and rode the trains and light rail around the city and region, small- to medium-sized brush fires dotted the urban landscape, and a thick haze of smoke obscured views of the LA skyline. By 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic would bring less traffic, cleaner air and a bounty of federal largess. During at least one of those pandemic years, California Gov. Gavin Newsome bragged about the state's $33 billion budget surplus.

Recommended for you

Bill Crane is a syndicated columnist based in Decatur. He has worked in politics for Democrats and Republicans, respects the process and will try and give you some things to think about. Your thoughts and responses to his opinions are also welcome, bill.csicrane@gmail.com.

Tags

More Opinion

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Please log in, or sign up for a new, free account to read or post comments.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

Post a comment
Stop watching this discussion.