This story is part of our April 2025 issue. To subscribe, click here.

Most of us enjoy the results of a good spring cleaning — albeit we may not enjoy the hard work it requires. The idea of renewal and refreshment after a prolonged period of inclement weather, delayed maintenance, or both, provides a sense of well-being, of taking back control of our lives. 

A form of spring cleaning is what’s going on right now in our federal, regional and local governments — also in many of our board rooms, nonprofits and universities. Sometimes the process can be brutal. Like when you’re decluttering your garage, it’s not the time to get overly sentimental about something you picked up at a yard sale a few years ago and have yet to use.

A good, thorough cleaning can feel like it’s only the tip of an iceberg we allowed to form during a long, cold winter.

I know not everyone feels the way I do about what’s going on at the federal level — but I appreciate the intention if not all of the execution. No one likes to see hardworking people lose their livelihoods. On the other hand, aren’t many of us upset about the waste, duplication and inexplicable programs being unearthed?  

The effort hasn’t been flawless, of course — in the same way that when we zealously do our spring cleaning we might sometimes vacuum up a missing contact lens. The cuts, adjustments, walk-backs and restorations will be argued for years. But I still think taking a close look at where our dollars go can be a healthy process — particularly for government, which has for too long spent our money on dubious (even mysterious) programs and products, for nonprofits that fight for each dollar but may be offering the same programs as each other.

In the 1950s, one of the most feared groups of professionals was called “efficiency experts.” They’d drop into companies that had been coasting along but sometimes had inexplicable money losses from questionable supply ordering, petty theft and inattention. People thought when the time-study team rolled into their workplaces, they were about to lose their jobs. Instead, though not always, the employees worked with the inspectors and helped point out some of the inefficiencies they themselves had long wondered about — and maybe even reported only to see their efforts fall on deaf ears.

The old expression, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” has a quaintness to it but, in fact, if people hadn’t taken a closer look at their not-broke but not-exactly humming-along ways of doing business, they’d have never modernized their work flow, automated some time-swallowing paperwork practices and kept their competitive edge with rival businesses that weren’t afraid to do some regular “spring cleaning.”

Most of us know that our personal lives also benefit from a periodic scouring. Do we really need those file boxes filled with receipts and tax returns dating back over 25 years? Do we really need to have three mops of varying ages in our cleaning closet? What about flatware and dishware we’ll never use, or paintings we bought but never hung? And why do we keep old computers and the miles of connecting and extension cords that no longer fit our new devices?

I think about the controversies that have enveloped Sacramento State and Capital Public Radio and how there’s been some elimination of expenses, programming and positions. It’s a complicated issue, I know, but the one constant emerging from all of the due diligence is that property was leased or purchased for an expansion that revenues apparently couldn’t justify. People are finally taking a laser-focused look at some of this — and my hope, as I’m sure it’s yours, is that by doing some of its own “spring cleaning,” CPR will re-emerge as the community treasure we’ve cherished since its launch 46 years ago.

I’m pleased to see that our local governments and agencies are taking a hard look at past practices, such as battling the seemingly eternal challenges of homelessness and throwing money (but precious little wisdom or “political will”) at the situation. (In this regard, have you watched the brand-new Robert Craig film about people experiencing homelessness yet? It’s called “No Address” and was filmed entirely in Sacramento. It’s worth a watch. I saw it at Roseville Galleria’s theater, and it will be out on streaming by the time you read this.) 

Finally, one thing we learn in times of upheaval is that there’s really no such thing as a “clean” sweep. By its very nature, major changes can in fact be untidy, can sometimes seem careless and will offend (or up-end) many. But when I think about how many fresh starts and re-boots we’ve lived through — in the world, in our country and in our personal lives — it’s clear to me that the best way to begin anew is to be as transparent about it as possible.

I can’t say what the current “spring awakening” will mean in the long term. But I do know that we all need to have our complacency roiled from time to time. What do you think?

Winnie Comstock-Carlson
President and Publisher

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