The Golden State
John Balzar (Commentary, July 31) points to some of California’s problems. But one should not be overly nostalgic for the past. To be sure, we had some great, far-sighted leaders, such as California Govs. Hiram Johnson, Earl Warren and Pat Brown. But California’s urban and fiscal problems of today are legacies of an earlier, lobbyist-dominated leadership that was apathetic to our inevitable population explosion and that failed to deal with predictable deficiencies, such as transportation, education and other social ills. But Balzar is right to have hope in our destiny.
Richard M. Mosk
Los Angeles
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