Excellent op-ed in the LA Times today by former Ventura Mayor Bill Fulton, who says the bankruptcies in San Bernardino and Stockton are being blamed on pensions but this only masks a deeper problem — sprawl. The key paragraph is this: "Prosperity and solvency — or a lack thereof — are woven into the very fabric of our cities. Where houses go, where businesses go, where roads go, where sidewalks go, where farms and open space go are all things that collectively affect a community's economic performance and the cost of providing services there. Put things closer together and providing services costs less. Put things farther apart and providing services costs more — for the jurisdiction and its taxpayers. California cities haven't always planned and built in this fiscally responsible way, and that's one of the biggest reasons why cities are struggling financially today."

Read it here.