On a lighter note, I hope your New Year's weekend was as fun-filled as mine. Two friends visiting me from school, my grandmother and I left Friday afternoon for a trip down the beautiful California coast. Their first time in California, my New York friends were thrilled on the first night of our vacation to run across the Santa Cruz sand and gaze at the moon-lit ocean. But this first glimpse would pale in comparison to the breathtaking views of the Pacific along Highway 1 through Monterey, Big Sur, and other areas between Santa Cruz and San Simeon.

The sun shone brightly in the deep blue sky on the perfect California day -- my friends couldn't believe that it was January, we were wearing sunglasses, and we had the windows open. (Back in New York, their families are busy bundling up and plowing snow out of their driveways.) We stopped at several vista points during the four-hour trip in order to document it with plenty of panoramic shots.

After a Saturday afternoon tour of San Simeon's incredible Hearst Castle, we brought the day to a close with another walk on the beach -- illuminated by the full moon peeking over the horizon.

To break up the six-hour return trip on Sunday, we again stopped in Santa Cruz to take my friends on a tour of the "Mystery Spot." Next time you're in Santa Cruz, be sure to stop by this natural wonder in the woods -- it's one of the only places in the world where you'll see a ball roll UP an incline.

In the meantime, have a great week. Thanks for reading!

-Gabe

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From the outside, California's Capitol looks the same. The building hasn't changed, the huge Christmas tree graces the chilly, fog-draped grounds near the West Steps, the squirrels roam and the tourists gawk.

But inside, there is a political ferment unseen in Sacramento in years: Gov.-elect Gray Davis is poised to take the oath of office, giving California its first Democratic governor in 16 years, its first Democratic first lady in 32 years and the prospect of major changes in the laws that affect the daily lives of 33 million people. Even Vice President Al Gore, who on New Year's Eve formally launched his 2000 presidential campaign by forming an exploratory committee, plans to attend.

During the weekend, Davis attended a round of inaugural events, part of a $3.7 million series of celebrations bankrolled by his supporters, mostly organized labor.

That there will be such change is all but certain. With both houses of the Legislature dominated by Democrats and the GOP in disarray, a mass of pent-up legislation covering everything from labor-management relations to court reform to education to environmental protections to reapportionment is waiting in the wings.

Democrats do not have the two-thirds majorities in either the Senate or Assembly to unilaterally approve a state budget or other major fiscal bills. But with Democrat Davis wielding the veto authority, the Democrats enjoy profound influence over what laws emerge from Sacramento. That muscle is the ultimate source of their power.

Changes in policy and political philosophy are the visible manifestations of a new administration.

But unseen by the public, hundreds of highly paid positions in the executive branch and the Legislature are being filled by the party faithful and their supporters who waited years for the opportunity to influence policy.

And so we come to "bumping:" The great sea-change in the bureaucracy has begun.

First the top appointed policy makers arrive, then their top deputies. And they elevate their favorites within the Civil Service to high positions, ousting those of the previous administration.

This rearrangement of jobs is called "bumping." Those who are ousted, or "bumped," if they are career workers protected by the Civil Service, have the right to return to the positions they held before they received their earlier appointments by the previous administration. But if their previous positions have since been filled -- which is likely -- they "bump" out those job holders, who in turn "bump" out those at the next lower level. As the changes ripple downward through the bureaucracy, thousands of jobs change hands.

On the outside, the inauguration appears to be a round of festivities and ceremonies. But on the inside, there is a huge shift in the official workforce.

Political journalists, that jaded cadre of pundits who are easily as cynical as the vote-hunting politicians they cover, are excited by the change, if only because they sense a chance to sharpen their claws on a new cast of characters.

As soon as he takes the oath of office, Davis has promised that his first act as governor will be to call a special session of the Legislature to deal with improving public education. And most of the media's attention on Davis during his first months as governor is likely to concentrate on educational issues.

But the real, immediate change will be in the nature of the state's bureaucratic machinery, its top regulators and scientists and problem solvers. A governor, any governor, is only as good as the people he or she appoints to carry out the will of the administration.

Want to know if California will be run well under the Davis administration?

Watch the bureaucracy.

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