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In a reminder of the boom years of the late 1990s, California's fiscal picture brightened in the first few months of 2013, leaving the state unexpectedly flush with cash. But when Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled his revised budget proposal Tuesday for fiscal 2013-14, he did something much more reminiscent of the "era of limits" in the 1970s: He laid out a cautious and moderate course. Specifically, he called on the Legislature to increase spending by less than 1% while doubling the amount held in reserve.

President Obama may be engaging in political damage control in proposing that Congress resurrect legislation to protect the confidentiality of journalists' sources. But his call for action on a federal shield law is welcome even if it is inspired by a desire to deflect criticism of the Justice Department's seizure of the phone records of the Associated Press. Although described as a "reporter's privilege," protection for confidential news sources actually benefits the public by making it easier for journalists to obtain information about wrongdoing in government and elsewhere.

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Jerry Brown is taking another stab at largely eliminating a state $700-million tax break for "enterprise zones" aimed at creating jobs in economically strapped localities. The governor failed in his efforts in 2011 to eliminate these politically popular quarter-century-old zones, located in the legislative districts of about three out of every four lawmakers. In his revised budget Tuesday, Brown proposed that 40 enterprise zones be replaced by a sales tax credit for companies that purchase manufacturing or biotech research and development equipment.

Two truck drivers have sued one of Southern California's largest trucking companies, alleging they were denied breaks, lunch hours and overtime because they were treated as independent contractors rather than employees of Harbor Express Inc. The lawsuit filed this week is one of several complaints lodged against trucking companies in recent years and is seeking class-action status. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said it could affect as many as 400 truck drivers who worked for the Wilmington-based company since May 2009.

About 300 labor union members and other activists staged a demonstration to protest the potential sale of the Los Angeles Times to the politically conservative Koch brothers. Demonstrators marched outside the downtown L.A. headquarters of Oaktree Capital Management, an investment firm that holds a roughly 20% stake in Tribune Co., which owns The Times. Protesters alleged that Charles and David Koch, billionaire siblings who fund conservative causes, want to buy The Times in order to skew the paper's coverage to favor anti-union objectives.

For those who need reminding, I'll state it clearly: Neither the Los Angeles mayor nor the City Council has one lick of voting authority at the Los Angeles Unified School District. They can't set policy at the district, nor can they hire or fire its leaders. And when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa tried to challenge that organizational structure, launching an unconstitutional attempt to take over the entire school district, the courts quickly slapped him down. But those facts haven't seemed to stop candidates for city office from grandstanding about district schools, turning them into a political pinata as they attempt to score points with voters.

If you've got your health, the cliche goes, you've got just about everything. If you've got public health duties, you're responsible for just about everything from mosquitoes (West Nile carriers) to hygiene (wash your hands for as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice). Dr. Jonathan Fielding heads L.A. County's Department of Public Health , which is bigger than some states' health departments. A pediatrician by training and the head of the county's health programs since 1998, Fielding is such a believer that he and his wife, Karin, turned savvy investments into a $50-million gift last year to UCLA's School of Public Health.

Jennifer was one of my first patients as a new doctor, and she came to see me about an unintended pregnancy. A single mom to a rambunctious 5-year-old girl, Jennifer was struggling economically and battling depression. We talked about the options available to her: continuing the pregnancy and preparing to parent another child, offering the baby for adoption or having an abortion. She chose to continue with the pregnancy, and I worked with her over the following months as she struggled with the discomforts of pregnancy, excessive weight gain and the anxiety of having to raise two small children on her own. Seven months later, I delivered Jennifer's beautiful baby boy. Six weeks after that, I saw Jennifer, her new baby and her 5-year-old for a joint checkup.

In a historic feat for the U.S. Navy, a stealthy bat-winged drone was catapulted off an aircraft carrier's flight deck before it soared above the Atlantic and into the blue sky. On Tuesday morning, the X-47B experimental drone was launched from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush as it floated off the Virginia coast. The test flight was seen as a milestone in drone technology and the program, which has been eight years in the making. "Today we saw a small but significant pixel in the future picture of our Navy as we begin integration of unmanned systems into arguably the most complex war-fighting environment that exists today: the flight deck of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier," Vice Adm. David Buss, commander of naval air forces and known as the Navy's "air boss," said in a statement.

SACRAMENTO - Dynamics have shifted dramatically in California's Capitol since Gov. Jerry Brown returned two years ago - both fiscal and political dynamics. The two are intertwined. And Brown is the beneficiary. In short, because the state's fiscal health is being restored - in no small part because of Brown - he is in a much stronger position to deal with the Legislature. Essentially, the governor now needs the Legislature much less than it needs him. Brown referred to this ground-shifting in a comment toward the end of his budget news conference Tuesday.