Flags at the State Capitol and Capitol Annex were already flying at half-mast in honor of U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville, who died suddenly Tuesday.

Every day when yours truly goes to work, he walks past a pair of flags in the wind. One is, of course, the Stars and Stripes of our republic, and the second the flag of the great state of California.

On Sept. 9, 1850, California was admitted as the 31st state in the union. Here are a few things to celebrate about our 175-year-old home. On June 14, 1846, rebellious settlers marched on the Mexican ...