Editorial, includes “A new report from the financial watchdog group Truth in Accounting spotlights a variety of debt-related problems that are threatening the long-term fiscal health of California’s cities. The good news is that California’s cities didn’t top the list of most fiscally troubled cities in the nation– and two of them received nationally high marks. … Nevertheless, the largest northern California cities have ‘accumulated sizable budget shortfalls as a result of unfunded public employee benefit programs,’ according to the group. … As the report shows, California cities were in iffy shape even before the pandemic. They will emerge in an even more tenuous spot.”