California is also Ground Zero with the busted real estate bubble. Lots of construction and real estate jobs... gone.
The developers used the greenies to put farmers and ranchers out of business so that they could buy cheap. They also restrict who can build so that the margins are fat. That meant that people had to pay a fortune for a crappy tract house. With subsidized loans, the real crooks have walked off Scot free with sufficient cash to do it again. They're pulling the same stunt with the Delta smelt all over again as we speak.
There's a reason Arnold was bought and paid for by the same crooks who brought us Gray Davis.