Commentary  Three California regions were among 10 throughout the nation that fell most significantly in a recent ranking of 200 large metropolitan areas. The areas around Salinas, Santa Cruz and Oakland were among the regions that plunged furthest in The Milken Institute’s annual report. The “wooden spoon” went to Salinas in the central agricultural valley, which dropped 90 spots this year. The area fell from 40th place in the 2020 ranking to the 131rd spot in the 2021 ranking. The rankings of Santa Cruz and Watsonville—as well as those in the Oakland, Berkeley, and Livermore area—also fell precipitously. Santa Cruz-Watsonville fell 72 positions from being the 52nd ranked metro area in 2020 to number 124 this year. The Oakland-Berkeley-Livermore fell 48 places, the 10th worst fall, from number 17 to the 65th spot. The authors of the ranking, from The Milken Institute’s Center for Regional Economics, said the cities where …