State should take no pride in its shabby borders

The first sign of California civilization is the giant All Star Liquors store, in tiny Hilt (Siskiyou County).

[...] east, Calexico (Imperial County), population 39,000, is dwarfed by the cross-border cosmopolitan sophistication of 700,000-strong Mexicali, with its restaurants, theater and university.

California’s neighboring states also offer more welcoming border regions than ours.

Along the far northern coast, Brookings, Ore., is a more prosperous place than beautiful but poor Crescent City (Del Norte County).

Inland, Ashland, Ore., home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, is far lovelier than Siskiyou County, which shows up in California newspapers mostly as the unofficial headquarters for a secession movement.

California’s unwelcoming Mexican border can be blamed on the U.S. government, which is held hostage by the political obsession with border security.

There it took 40 minutes to cross, and I then was picked up by the same van at a California-side sandwich shop and driven to San Ysidro so I could get the trolley back to downtown San Diego.

The Golden State has long been distinguished by some of the nation’s lowest taxes on beer, wine and distilled spirits — a legacy of the liquor lobby’s might that dates back to the famous power broker Artie Samish, the self-proclaimed “Secret Boss of California” in the early 20th century.

When I dropped by, All Star Liquors staffers were loading up two customers’ vehicles, neither of which had California license plates, as part of the store’s “Road Trip Service,” which allows people to order online and have the entire order ready for pickup.

The store’s website promises: “You don’t need to drive any further into California to find the best prices, best selection, and the friendliest staff this side of the Mississippi!”