Talk:History of California 1900 to present

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Dear fellow editors -

To be frank, this article appears to be more a collection of topics, rather than a encyclopedic article. In my view, it needs substantial trimming in some areas, expansion of others, and the addition of many topics (for example the San Francisco earthquake is not referenced) - in fact, the bulk of the information refers only to events after 1960. In addition, my suggestion is that the article flow from topic to topic, for example with introductions and transitions. Finally, there can be use of "main topic" references throughout the article (see History of California). If anyone would like to undertake this task, please jump in. If no one else wants to, I'll start on it. NorCalHistory 19:18, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Changing History of Calif article titles

Title of the California history articles We will have to rename the two sections of the California history articles. Any suggestions?

Sincerely, GeorgeLouis 11:19, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree. Is there a WPedia reason for the "History of California" format as opposed to "California History"? Should we just keep the titles simple like "California History (to 1899)" and "California History (1900 to present)"? The blue category box already uses these terms. NorCalHistory 17:11, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
There was a major discussion some time ago and consensus reached for across-the-board consistency for these types of articles, which is why they now begin with "History of ..." I believe if you go back far enough on the edit history that you will find the article was, at one time, entitled "California History."--Lord Kinbote 17:37, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Interesting - thank you. Should these two articles then simply be re-titled to "History of California (to 1899)" and "History of California (1900 to present)"? Again, as noted the blue box with the poppy already uses these terms. NorCalHistory 19:05, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
I think that makes the most sense, with History of California then becoming a disambiguation page.--Lord Kinbote 19:18, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
Hearing no objections, there seems to be consensus that the articles should be re-titled. Lordkinbote or GeorgeLouis, would you like to do the honors? NorCalHistory 19:33, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
Done.--Lord Kinbote 21:31, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
On the internet, go to Time.com under their archives and there's a special edition magazine issued Nov. 25, 1991 titled "California, the Endangered Dream" for more on California's most troubled and difficult times, the 1990's. Some problems the state experienced head on from that era are still with us in California: overpopulation, development sprawl, environmental damage, crime, drugs, gangs, the economy, living costs, immigration, racial tension, political disorder, public education, energy output and bad reputation. Time mag. writers commented on a dire warning if not in verbatim: "Whatever happens or starts in California will spread across America and soon to affect the world" and the big issue back then was the 'decline' of the California Dream is one of America's biggest disasters in the making (or compared to the fall of the Soviet Union, the world's 2nd superpower folded into history at the time). I don't want to sound negative or fatalist, the golden state has been renamed "the state of emergency" in social satire and in 2006, the people of my state want to change and improve their lives, if we can't go back to how California was in the 1920's, 1960's or 1980's. Growth planning and political management are what California lacked in the first place, but the global economy and popular culture still lives on in this state. I know many Californians live here and want to stay other than move to nearby states, as Time mag. published the finding by US census in the early 1990's: More Californians moved out of state than entered, and it rises or falls with the state's economic health or how frequent natural disasters had striken in a row (the 1989 and 1994 major earthquakes, followed by floods and wildfires). + 207.200.116.202 11:13, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Whimsically out of place

Though I see that it's well-documented that this article needs a great deal of work, I'd also like to comment on the article section "Victim of its own success?" The title itself is gratuitously whimsical and subjective. Also, is this true? Of all my trips to Cali, I feel as though I saw plenty of beautifully clear blue skies; "The crystal clear blue skies — trademarks of California 100 years ago — are long gone." Is this an L.A. bias? Northern and non-LA southern Cali seemed positively riddled with beautiful blue skies, to me, and my visits have all been roughly post-1990 up to the present. Maybe I only think they're as brilliant as they used to be, but they're not, since I never actually saw the skies before 1987? I hope not, and I doubt it, and if I'm right this needs to be changed. - signed by an anon IP

Whether the "no more blue skies" image in most of the year is true for Los Angeles, San Francisco or anywhere in California (the nation's worst air pollution annual record is the San Joaquin Valley between Stockton and Bakersfield): more and more oldtime or multi-generational Californian residents had an urge to leave the state in the late 20th and early 21st centuries out of anger and outrage about what happened to their state (in terms of cost of living, sociocultural changes and quality of life). Sometimes it's called "the replica of the US East Coast" being overpopulated, expensive and hurried, others dubbed it "the capital of the Third World" where the western or developed world ends facing Mexico (Latin America) and part of the geopolitical Asian/Pacific rim. + 71.102.53.48 (talk) 06:56, 14 May 2008 (UTC)