It was late 1990’s when I fell in love with the California business life. During a time when the economy was booming, dot.com was just about to reach its top and California was one of the richest areas in the world. I remember someone told me that time California being the forth largest economy in the world. I don’t know whether that was a fact or good tourism marketing but at least the state felt good, looked good and lived well.

Dot.com came and crashed, economy survived until this ongoing recession. California was hit, and bad. Last spring I was driving around the Silicon Valley looking for new office locations and the sight was shocking, honestly. It was about “Office space for lease” –signs in every street corner, on the every wall of almost every building. That’s not the California I fell in love with. That’s not the California who is in charge for the global IT business, home of the new amazing innovations.

Around month ago I was reading L.A. Times – yes, the old-fashion printed one – and there was a great Steve Lopez’s column about the California Beaches and sadly enough, about the money to keep the public beaches open and operating. And as Governor Schwarzenegger is fighting heavily for his state and appeared at Twitter last week to answer all questions about him and California, I really found myself thinking about my first memories of that great State of California. The State where business booms, people are happy and great new innovations are flowing to cover rest of the world some day.

As Steve Lopez wrote, Tommy Bahamas might be the best way to save the Californian public beaches. But should we also find the sponsors to save the business life of California? I don’t mean only money but the attitude; showing some example and support for future? California - the home of business ventures, private investors, business angels and we-started-in-garage businesses. Yes, we definitely should. As I was thinking on my corner seat earlier, I don’t get why business angels are so silent now. Where are they? What are they doing? Dear Angels; you should be the ones realizing that active, supportive and never-ending attitude is the only way up! For you, for your funds and for the whole State of California, eventually. As I was thinking earlier, you should re-start your engines.

Governor Schwarzenegger is having a hard job, no doubts about that. And as always in politics, it is so easy to put your finger on the mistakes and difficult decisions on education, schools and public spending. But maybe he can get California back on tracks heading back to that top position the State had? Maybe that is possible if the powerful, unique Californian business life will forget the politics for a year and head for the future? With European eyes Governor is a great example of that missing attitude of California, after all. Something that made the State one of the most known places in the world.

Sponsoring the public beaches is a good start, and in addition to Tommy Bahamas and Budweiser beaches I look forward to see some heavy actions to sponsor the whole state! Yes, we can argue about mistakes and earlier decisions in the politics forever, but that will not bring the California back on the world map. As a half-outsider-half-insider, I do miss the old Californian attitude, which made everything possible. It has been the same with gold, movies, computers, chips, software and iPhones. But it has happened always, and it should happen again! And it will but it definitely requires all the sponsor support the State can find, and not only money but also that winning attitude the whole California is built with!

Cheers for California! Cheers for the Californians! Cheers for the Governor!