February 1857 - "When the The Daily Bee started, John Rollin Ridge was its first editor…. The life span of Ridge carried him from his birthplace in the Eastern Cherokee Nation to his grave in California by way of Indian Territory and Arkansas.... Ridge joined the gold-seekers in 1850. The young Cherokee first engaged in journalism in Marysville and next at Sacramento…. Ridge was the editor of the California American, a 'Know-Nothing' daily until it closed on February 11, 1857. The Californian American, was a newspaper affiliated with the Know-Nothing Party. The Know-Nothings advocated strict limits on immigration to the United States. Although the California branch of the Know-Nothing Party was more moderate on some issues, it nevertheless represented one extreme end of the political spectrum."  http://www.answers.com/topic/john-rollin-ridge-aut  

February 11-13, 1857 - "The Committee on Medical Education delivered its first report during the Second Session of the California Medical Society: Until California provides adequate support for its public hospitals, it will be a useless thing to attempt the establishment of clinical schools of medicine. We have no schools in which medical science is being taught, nor are there any immediate indications of the practicability of the founding or sustaining of such institutions. Transactions of the State Medical Society, 1857 "  http://elane.stanford.edu/wilson/Text/12a.html#Ref  

Studies in the News is a very current compilation of items significant to the Legislature and Governor's Office. It is created weekly by the State Library's Research Bureau to supplement the public policy debate in California’s Capitol. To help share the latest information with state policymakers, these reading lists are now being made accessible through the State Library’s website. This week's list of current articles in various public policy areas is presented below.

Service to State Employees:

• When available, the URL for the full text of each item is provided.

• California State Employees may contact the State Information & Reference Center (916-654-0206; cslsirc@library.ca.gov) with the SITN issue number and the item number [S#].

• All other interested individuals should contact their local library - the items may be available there, or may be borrowed by your local library on your behalf.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE & LAW ENFORCEMENT

CRIMINAL ALIENS

Cooperation of State Criminal Alien Assistance Program Recipients in the Removal of Criminal Aliens From the United States. By the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice. Audit Report 07-07. (The Department, Washington, D.C.) January 2007. 109 p.

Full Text at: www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/OJP/a0707/final.pdf

[“Illegal immigrants are being released from prison only to be arrested on new charges despite government efforts to deport them and keep them out of the country. The findings are part of an audit that suggest authorities are still struggling to deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes, even though most state and local authorities are notifying immigration authorities of the imminent release of prisoners.” Sacramento Bee (January 9, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71001]

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Public Access to Law Enforcement Information: Audit Report 2007. By The Center for Public Forum Rights. (The Center, Carmichael, California) 2007. 10 p.

Full Text at: modbee.com/static/pdf/audit/auditreport.pdf

[“Police agencies in the capital region and statewide routinely delay, dismiss or ignore ordinary citizens' requests for reports on basic public crime, arrest and other topics, according to an audit of California law enforcement agency practices. The audit was performed by reporters at 28 newspapers and three television stations across the state. The audit measured what was provided and how fast. The average grade earned was an F plus.” Sacramento Bee (January 12, 2007) A1.]

[Request #S71002]

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Citywide Gang Activity Reduction Strategy: Phase III Report. By the Advancement Project. (The Project, Los Angeles, California) January 2007. 131 p.

Full Text at: www.advanceproj.com/doc/p3_report.pdf

[“Los Angeles faces a crisis of gang violence that will continue to spread into previously safe neighborhoods unless the city adopts a Marshall Plan-like initiative to provide young people with jobs and other alternatives in gang-plagued communities, a city-financed study warned. The report called for a significantly greater investment in a comprehensive mix of programs that include gang intervention and prevention and economic development. The report also called for creation of a department of neighborhood safety to be headed by a ‘high-powered, politically skilled’ gang czar to recast and run the city's scattered 23 anti-gang programs that cost $82 million annually.” Los Angeles Times (January 13, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71003]

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Solving California's Corrections Crisis: Time is Running Out. By the Little Hoover Commission. (The Commission, Sacramento, California) January 2007.

["Three decades of tough-on-crime lawmaking has sent California's prison system into a 'tailspin,' creating the most pressing crisis facing the state, the government's own watchdog panel declared.... Commissioner Dan Hancock said the report's unusually harsh tone was designed to highlight the desperate state of affairs, which he said extends beyond crowding to medical and mental health care and a criminal sentencing system the commission called a 'haphazard jumble.'" Los Angeles Times (January 26, 2007) B1.]

Report. 98 p.
http://www.lhc.ca.gov/lhcdir/185/Report185.pdf

Agendas and Testimony. Various pagings
http://www.lhc.ca.gov/lhcdir/sentencing.html

[Request #S71004]

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Cunningham v. California. U.S. Supreme Court. 05-6551. January 22, 2007. 46 p.

Full Text at: www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/05-6551.pdf

[“California's sentencing law violates the right to a jury trial because it allows judges to add years to a prison term based on their own fact-finding, the Court ruled in a case that will force the state to re-examine basic questions of crime and punishment. The 1977 law was designed to promote uniform sentences -- equal times for equal crimes -- by eliminating parole boards' authority to set terms for most prisoners. Instead, the law gave judges the power to choose among three sentences for each crime. The court did not order specific changes in the law, saying that was up to state legislators.” San Francisco Chronicle (January 23, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71005]

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DEMOGRAPHY

AFRICAN AMERICANS

State of Black California. By Steven Raphael, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley and Michael A. Stoll, School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles. (California Legislative Black Caucus, Sacramento, California) January 2007. 48 p.

Full Text at: www.assembly.ca.gov/lbcweb/State%20of%20Black%20California.pdf

[“Using 2000 census data, the report shows that blacks -— who make up less than 7% of California's population -— lag behind whites, Latinos and Asians in income, housing quality, health and education. Blacks are also more likely to be felons and homicide victims. The study found a median household income of $35,000 for blacks, compared with $55,000 for Asians, $54,000 for whites and $37,000 for Latinos. Only 25% of black high school students complete the courses needed for entrance to the UC or CSU systems, compared with 41% of white students. Black students dropped out of high school at higher rates than white students: 22% compared with 8%.” Los Angeles Times (February 1, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71006]

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ECONOMY

BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

Dollars for Genes: Revenue Generation by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. By Richard Gilbert, Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley. IN: Berkeley Technology Law Journal, vol. 21, no. 2 (2006) pp. 1-34.

Full Text at: works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=richard_gilbert

[“[An] economics professor has done an analysis of the financial returns likely to come to California from stem cell research -- and he said they will likely be a small fraction of what proponents of state-funded stem-cell research have estimated. A better real money value of the returns California could see would be reduced to between $31 million to $62 million.” Capitol Weekly (January 23, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71007]

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California Jobs Have Shifted Inland: Policy Points. By Alissa Anderson Garcia, California Budget Project. (The Project, Sacramento, California) January 2007. 5 p.

Full Text at: www.cbp.org/pdfs/2007/0701_pp_inlandcoastal.pdf

[“California's inland counties, from the Sierra foothills through the Central Valley to the Inland Empire, saw the number of jobs increase 46% from 1990 to 2005 -— nearly five times the rate of coastal counties. During that period, inland counties accounted for more than half of the state's job growth. Among the gains by sector: trade, transportation and utilities (63%); public administration (58%); natural resources, mining and construction (52%); and financial services (48%).... The findings underscore the need for fast-growing areas to adequately plan for more businesses as well as people.” Los Angeles Times (January 26, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71008]

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The Future of the California Economy is on the Coast. By the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. (The Center, Palo Alto, California) February 2007. 3 p.

Full Text at: www.ccsce.com/pdf/Numbers_Future_Econ.pdf

["The California Budget Project reports that California jobs have shifted inland over the past 15 years. The data used by CBP is accurate as is their conclusion that much of the job growth has been the result of population shifts toward inland counties.... However, the results are much less dramatic if two counties -— Riverside and San Bernardino -- are classified as counties within the Los Angeles coastal region.... Treating Riverside and San Bernardino counties the same as counties in the Sacramento or San Joaquin Valley economic regions overlooks their strong connection to the Southern California economy.... The inland regions may have the fastest growth but the future of the California economy will be written on the coast."]

[Request #S71009]

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America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs. By Vivek Wadwha, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, and others. (The University, Durham, North Carolina) January 4, 2007. 41 p.

Full Text at: memp.pratt.duke.edu/downloads/americas_new_immigrant_entrepreneurs.pdf

[“Nationwide, about a quarter of technology and engineering companies created from 1995 through 2004 had at least one foreign-born founder. The report found that immigrant-founded companies generated $52 billion in sales and employed 450,000 workers in 2005; foreign citizens living in the United States contributed 24.2 percent of international patent applications in 2006; California had the highest percentage of immigrant-founded firms at 39 percent, followed by New Jersey with 38 percent and Georgia with 30 percent.” San Francisco Chronicle (January 5, 2007) C1.]

[Request #S71010]

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Localizing the Internet: Five Ways Public Ownership Solves the U.S. Broadband Problem. By Becca Vargo Daggett, Institute for Local Self-Reliance. (The Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota) January 2007. 32 p.

Full Text at: www.newrules.org/info/5ways.pdf

["Public ownership of municipal wireline and wireless broadband access infrastructure can generate significant return for localities in terms of payback and revenue generation to pay for other municipal services.... Even though many telecommunications companies are offering to build a citywide wireless or even wired networks at little or no upfront cost to the city, those arrangements require the public sector to enter into extended contracts to pay millions for their own services over the new privately owned network." Network World (January 10, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71011]

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EDUCATION

HIGHER EDUCATION

Lessons From the California Experience: The State with the Largest Public Higher-Education System in the Nation Takes Important Steps toward Establishing a Statewide Accountability Model. By Rona Levine Sherriff and Marlene Linares Garcia, California Senate Office of Research. (The Office, Sacramento, California) January 2007. 15 p.

Full Text at: sinet2.sen.ca.gov/sor/reports/REPORTS_BY_SUBJ/EDUCATION/LESSONS.pdf

["This [report] describes California’s recent attempt to implement its first statewide higher-education accountability system. It also identifies the valuable lessons learned that will help guide us as we move forward and tackle these important issues that will no doubt help shape our future generations."]

[Request #S71013]

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California Policy Options to Accelerate Latino Success in Higher Education. By Deborah A. Santiago, Excelencia in Education. (Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, Los Angeles, California) 2006. Various pagings.

Full Text at: www.trpi.org/PDFs/excelencia.pdf

[“This brief offers policy recommendations to improve the educational attainment of California’s workforce, especially Latinos.... The policy recommendations are focused on three goals to stimulate conversations for policy consideration: 1) Ensure that all students and parents understand the long-term benefits of a higher education degree and the steps necessary to prepare for college; 2) Make college affordable for students from all economic backgrounds; and 3) Increase the number of Californians -— especially those from underrepresented groups —- who have a postsecondary degree.”]

[Request #S71014]

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Keeping College Affordable in California: Recommended Policy Options and A Panel Report on College Affordability. By the California Postsecondary Education Commission. (The Commission, Sacramento, California) December 2006. 32 p

Full Text at: www.cpec.ca.gov/completereports/2006reports/06-22.pdf

[“The rising cost of living is taking its toll on California's college students: non-fee-related costs, such as gas, housing and textbooks, have increased at an even greater rate than tuition. Several recommendations are included in the report: Give students course credit and pay for internships; provide income-tax credits for tuition and borrowing; increase funding for Cal Grants; and consider subsidized housing programs for students.” Riverside Press-Enterprise (February 3, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71015]

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EMPLOYMENT

LABOR UNION

San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, et al. v. National Labor Relations Board. U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. 05-1392. February 9, 2007. 23 p.

Full Text at: pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200702/05-1392a.pdf

["Indian tribes are subject to federal labor law, an appeals court ruled in a case that could lead to stricter labor protections at the nation's booming Indian casinos.... 'Tribal sovereignty is not absolute autonomy, permitting a tribe to operate in a commercial capacity without legal constraint,' said the opinion written by Judge Janice Rogers Brown.... Most workers at Indian casinos are nonunion. Unions have been trying hard to make inroads with the growing work force but say they've had trouble without the protection of the National Labor Relations Act" Monterey County Herald (February 10, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71016]

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ENERGY

ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY

California’s Electricity Market: A Post-Crisis Progress Report. By Carl Pechman, Power Economics. (Public Policy Institute of California, San Francisco, California) January 2007. 24 p.

Full Text at: www.ppic.org/content/pubs/cep/EP_107CPEP.pdf

["The process of reforming the state’s electricity markets is a work in progress. The state is once again taking a leading national role in balancing issues of customer needs and environmental goals through a combination of market and regulatory instruments. It is attempting to do this through a portfolio of supply and demand options that are designed to meet aggressive conservation, renewable energy, and greenhouse gas reduction goals...The state needs to institute transparent and participatory procedures that monitor progress, report problems, and make adjustments in policies to meet its responsibility to protect both customers and the environment."]

[Request #S71017]

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An Analysis of Measures to Reduce the Life-Cycle Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of California's Personal Computers. By Arpad Horvath, University of California, Berkeley. and Eric Masanet, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. (UC Energy Institute, Berkeley, California) 2007. 16 p.

Full Text at: www.ucei.berkeley.edu/PDF/EPE_020.pdf

["Six energy conservation measures were studied: Replace all CRT monitors with Flat Panel Displays, enable power management on 100% of PCs, utilize only Energy Star certified components, turn off all PCs during non-use hours, upgrade 100% of PCs to extend life by 2 years, and achieve 100% recycling of PC control units. Combining all these measures will reduce energy consumption by 35-45% and GHG emissions by 16 to 26% from expected levels if no action is taken. In 2005, nearly 19 million PCs were installed in California homes and businesses and those numbers will increase significantly through 2012."]

[Request #S71018]

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Energy Market and Economic Impacts of a Proposal to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Intensity with a Cap and Trade System. By the Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. (The Administration, Washington, DC) January 2007. 90 p.

Full Text at: www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/bllmss/pdf/sroiaf(2007)01.pdf

["This report responds to a request from U.S. Senators for an analysis of a proposal that would regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) through a national allowance cap-and-trade system. Under this proposal, suppliers of fossil fuel and other covered sources of GHGs would be required to submit government-issued allowances based on the emissions of their respective products. The gases covered in this analysis of the proposal include energy-related carbon dioxide, methane from coal mining, nitrous oxide from nitric acid and adipic acid production, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride."]

[Request #S71019]

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Progress of the California Renewable Portfolio Standard: As Required by the Supplemental Report of the 2006 Budget Act. By the California Public Utilities Commission. (The Commission, San Francisco, California) January 2007. AND: 2006 Integrated Energy Policy Report Update. By Pamela Doughman and others, California Energy Commission. (The Commission, Sacramento, California) January 2007.

Full Text at: www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUBLISHED/GRAPHICS/63854.PDF

["California's utilities are falling behind schedule in meeting a deadline that 20% of their electricity must come from renewable resources by 2010, reports from two energy agencies show. In separate updates, state energy regulators paint markedly different pictures of how California is progressing in efforts to procure power from sun, wind, water and waste. But both indicate that a crucial piece of the state's ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gases is sputtering. The California Energy Commission offered a bleak assessment saying there had been little real addition to the power grid from renewable sources thus far. The state Public Utilities Commission, in a much rosier assessment said power companies had signed numerous large contracts for major projects and progress was good. But in its charts, the PUC showed the state meeting its goals by 2011 at the soonest." Los Angeles Times (January 20, 2007) 1.]

Public Utilities Commission Report. 8 p.
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUBLISHED/GRAPHICS/63854.PDF

Energy Commission Report. 122 p.
http://www.energy.ca.gov/2006publications/CEC-100-2006-001/CEC-100-2006-001-CMF.PDF

[Request #S71020]

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ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES

AIR POLLUTION

Clearing the Air: How Clean Air Is Possible and Affordable By 2013: An Alternative State Implementation Plan for the San Joaquin Valley. By the International Sustainable Systems Research Center. Prepared for The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. (The Foundation, Menlo Park, California) February 2007.

["San Joaquin Valley residents can breathe clean air 11 years sooner than the local air district has predicted and save more than $5 billion in health-care costs, an air research group said. Regional air regulators ... asked for an 11-year extension last week to meet federal air quality requirements.... The district proposed the extension to avoid facing sanctions that could cut off more than $2 billion in federal transportation funds to the eight-county region.... District officials said the study used outdated emission target numbers and ignored new scientific data that showed automobiles -- rather than dairies and other stationary industrial polluters -- were the biggest source of smog." Fresno Bee (February 6, 2007) 1.]

Report. 66 p.
http://www.hewlett.org/NR/rdonlyres/08E6CC4E-DC01-489D-8FEB-A98B9FDDBA90/0/ClearingtheAirFullReport.pdf

Executive Summary. 12 p.
http://www.hewlett.org/NR/rdonlyres/6DA72D02-CE87-4456-A15B-D8BA87AC3BD8/0/CleanAir_Ex_Summary.pdf

[Request #S71021]

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Envisioning Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. By Jay Lund, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, and others. (Public Policy Institute of California, San Francisco, California) 2007.

[“California has to change the way it manages the hub of its vast water system or face economic and environmental disaster in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, warns a report. Several controversial options should be investigated, including reducing water exports and piping water supplies around the delta in a smaller version of the peripheral canal that was rejected by voters in the 1980s. Generally, efforts to keep delta waters consistently fresh to protect water deliveries to the south as well as irrigation supplies in the delta have hurt native species and aided alien species. It would be unacceptable to completely abandon the delta for farming or as a water source. Conversely, they rejected the idea of fortifying the delta levee system at all cost to maintain current uses.” Los Angeles Times (February 8, 2007) 1.]

Report. 324 p.
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/R_207JLR.pdf

Research Brief. 8 p.
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/rb/RB_207JLRB.pdf

[Request #S71022]

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Auburn-Folsom South Unit Special Report: Benefits and Cost Update. By the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region. (The Bureau, Sacramento, California) December 2006.

["A new study puts the cost of constructing an Auburn dam somewhere between $6 billion and $10 billion -- at least twice the cost of earlier estimates. As originally designed, the dam would provide far less drinking and irrigation water than once believed and would cause more harm to adjacent recreation areas. The study also found the dam would not protect Sacramento from a worst-case flood.... Bureau of Reclamation officials were quick to note the report's limitations. Chief among them was the authorizing legislation for the study, which limited review to a 1978 dam design chosen in response to earthquake concerns." Sacramento Bee (January 31, 2007) A1.]

Report. 152 p.
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/docs/auburn_rpt/12-06%20final.pdf

Appendices. Various pagings.
http://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/docs/auburn_rpt/index.html

[Request #S71023]

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GENERAL GOVERNMENT

AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS

Department of Corporations: It Needs Stronger Oversight of Its Operations and More Efficient Processing of License Applications and Complaints. By the California State Auditor, Bureau of State Audits. (The Bureau, Sacramento, California) January 2007. 63 p.

Full Text at: www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2005-123.pdf

[“The California Department of Corporations is being taken to task for lack of oversight of its operations and the snail-like pace of its processing of routine applications and complaints. Since 2001, the department has not analyzed the licensing and examination fees it charges businesses to determine whether the fees match the costs of providing the services. As a result, it has consistently overcharged for some activities and undercharged for others. Such errors, if they are significant, may direct Corporations' attention away from important issues needing improvement or toward lesser issues at the expense of areas of greater concern.’ “ Central Valley Business Times (January 30, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71024]

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California Tribal-State Gambling Compacts: 1999-2006. By Charlene Wear Simmons, California Research Bureau, California State Library. CRB-07-001. (The Bureau, Sacramento, California) February 2007. 85 p.

Full Text at: www.library.ca.gov/crb/07/01/07-001.pdf

["The purpose of this report is to examine the evolution of key provisions in California’s tribal-state compacts. It does this by summarizing changes in major subjects such as revenue sharing and environmental standards, beginning with the 1999 compacts, and then tracking major changes in subsequent compacts....Sixty one of California’s 108 federally recognized tribes have signed a tribal-state compact."]

[Request #S71025]

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California Tribal Casinos: Questions and Answers. By Jason Dickerson, Legislative Analyst’s Office. (The Office, Sacramento, California) February 2007. 20 p.

Full Text at: www.lao.ca.gov/2007/tribal_casinos/tribal_casinos_020207.pdf

[“California’s casino industry outranks all but Nevada’s in size. In this report, we answer key questions about tribal casinos in California and their payments to state and local governments.... The governor's budget projection of $506 million in new state revenues from Indian gambling this year may be off by more than $300 million.... The tribes may not be able to add any machines at all this year unless the Legislature approves an urgency vote -- requiring a two-thirds majority -- to enact the compacts immediately.” Sacramento Bee (February 3, 2007) A4.]

[Request #S71026]

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2006 California Problem Gambling Prevalence Survey. By Rachel A. Volberg and others, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago. Submitted to the Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling, California Department of Alcohol & Drug Programs. August 2006. AND: Statewide Plan. By the Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling, California Department of Alcohol & Drug Programs. (The Office, Sacramento, California) November 2006.

["Individuals are classified as problem gamblers or pathological gamblers on the basis of their responses to questions.... As understanding of the distribution of gambling problems in the population improves, the characteristics of individuals who score even lower on problem gambling screens (at-risk gamblers) have gained importance.... The most recent census indicates that there are 26.3 million individuals aged 18 and over living in California. Based on these figures, there are between 296,500 and 490,000 California adults who can be classified as lifetime pathological gamblers. Another 450,000 to 713,400 California adults can be classified as lifetime problem gamblers. Finally, an additional 2.2 to 2.7 million California adults can be classified as lifetime at-risk gamblers."]

Prevalence Survey. 117 p.
http://www.problemgambling.ca.gov/pdf/CA_Problem_Gambling_Prevalence_Survey-Final_Report.pdf

Statewide Plan. 24 p.
http://www.problemgambling.ca.gov/pdf/OPGstatewideplanColor.pdf

[Request #S71027]

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Global Aging and the Sustainability of Public Pension Systems: An Assessment of Reform Efforts in Twelve Developed Countries. By James C. Capretta, Center for Strategic and International Studies. (The Center, Washington, DC) January 2007. 57 p.

Full Text at: www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/pension_profile.pdf

["Instead of building in automatic cost-escalation, indexing formulas ... Germany, Japan and Sweden ... now build in automatic cost-restraint.... Australia now has a large and near universal system of mandatory funded employer pensions. Sweden, Europe’s quintessential welfare state, has introduced a mandatory system of personal retirement accounts. Canada, taking a different course, is investing the public pension system’s reserve fund in private markets. Other countries are trying to jump start voluntary private pension systems.... America enjoys many advantages in confronting the age wave, from its relatively youthful demographics to its large funded private pension system. Yet its failure to engage entitlement reform could leave it no better off than many European countries facing far larger demographic challenges."]

[Request #S71028]

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HEALTH

HOSPITALS

SB 1953 and the Challenge of Hospital Seismic Safety in California. By Charles Meade and Jonathan Kulick, RAND Corporation. (California Healthcare Foundation, Oakland, California) January 2007. 62 p.

Full Text at: www.chcf.org/documents/hospitals/SB1953Report.pdf

[“Half of the California hospital facilities considered vulnerable to collapsing in a strong earthquake won't be fixed in time for a 2013 deadline for seismic safety repairs. The report also projects that earthquake safety improvements stemming from a 1994 state law would cost as much as $110 billion — a financial burden that could lead to widespread hospital closings. The study cites three options for policymakers: keep the existing earthquake-safety requirements despite the likely hospital closures, loosen the requirements despite the potential safety hazards, or use state funds to pay for needed seismic improvements.” Los Angeles Times (January 18, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71029]

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Searching for Healthy Food: The Food Landscape in California Cities and Counties. By the California Center for Public Health Advocacy. Policy Brief No. 5. (The Center, Davis, California) January 2007. 8 p.

Full Text at: www.publichealthadvocacy.org/RFEI/policybrief_final.pdf

[“In California, people are more than four times as likely to find a fast-food restaurant or convenience store than a grocery or produce store. The researchers say it's a dangerous ratio in the face of an expanding national obesity crisis: It limits consumers' choices to the convenient rather than the nutritious. [The study] recommended that communities offer incentives to increase the number of grocery stores and produce vendors and that they limit the number of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores.” Los Angeles Times (January 19, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71030]

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Interim Pre-Pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the United States: Early, Targeted, Layered Use of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions. By the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (The Department, Washington, DC) February 2007. 97 p.

Full Text at: www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/community/community_mitigation.pdf

[“The Pandemic Flu Severity Index is the newest element of an effort to prepare the country for a return of a Spanish Flu-like event. It is part of a new planning document, offering guidance to state and local governments, as well as to businesses, schools and even families and individuals, in the event of a pandemic. This document focuses on ways to buy time against a rapidly spreading epidemic in the estimated six months it would take before a vaccine might be available. So the focus is not on distributing drugs, which may not be available and may not work, but on multiple ways of tamping down the spread of the virus.” San Francisco Chronicle (February 2, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71031]

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HUMAN SERVICES

FOSTER CARE

Expanding Transitional Services for Emancipated Foster Youth: An Investment In California’s Tomorrow. By Melanie Delgado, Children’s Advocacy Institute, University of San Diego School of Law, and others. (The School, San Diego, California) January 2007. 54 p.

Full Text at: tinyurl.com/yuuk8f

[“California provides foster youth with less than 5 percent of the financial support that average parents spend on their young adult children. A lack of assistance with tuition, rent and other necessities is one of the reasons many former foster youth become homeless or unemployed. The group is calling for the state to start providing more support in the form of a $38 million annual program that would give a former foster children monthly stipend and services for five years after they turn 18.” Sacramento Bee (January 17, 2007) A3.]

[Request #S71032]

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Poverty in America: Economic Research Shows Adverse Impacts on Health Status and Other Social Conditions as Well as the Economic Growth Rate. By the U.S. Government Accountability Office. GAO-07-344. (The Office, Washington, DC) January 2007. 35 p.

Full Text at: www.gao.gov/new.items/d07344.pdf

["Research shows that poverty can negatively affect economic growth by affecting the accumulation of human capital and rates of crime and social unrest. Economic theory has long suggested that human capital -— that is, the education, work experience, training, and health of the workforce -— is considered one of the fundamental drivers of economic growth.... Although historically research has focused mainly on the extent to which economic growth alleviates poverty, some recent empirical studies have begun to demonstrate that higher rates of poverty are associated with lower rates of growth in the economy as a whole."]

[Request #S71033]

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TRANSPORTATION

FINANCING

California Travels: Financing Our Transportation. By the Legislative Analyst's Office. (The Office, Sacramento, California) January 26, 2007. 71 p.

Full Text at: www.lao.ca.gov/2007/ca_travels/ca_travels_012607.pdf

["About 60 percent of Californians view traffic congestion as a major problem. This dissatisfaction is probably because the state’s transportation capacity has not kept pace with growth in population and travel demand.... How should the state ensure Proposition 1B funds effectively address congestion problems and provide mobility to facilitate the state’s growing economy? What other fund sources are available for transportation? How are these funds distributed? This publication seeks to answer these and other related questions in an effort to help those interested in finding solutions to our transportation challenges."]

[Request #S71034]

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"The Future of Highway and Transit Finance: Steering Clear of the Breakdown Lane." By Jonathan Upchurch. IN: TR News (December 2006) pp. 3-10.

Full Text at: onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trnews/trnews247FutureFinance.pdf

["The article presents an array of strategies now under dialogue and debate as policy makers work to formulate a financing system that would raise adequate revenues, be funded by users, encourage efficient use of transportation facilities, and serve the U. S. well in the decades ahead." TRB Newsletter (January 2007) 1.]

[Request #S71035]

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Future Financing Options to Meet Highway and Transit Needs. By Gary Maring, Cambridge Systematics, and others. Prepared for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board. (The Board, Washington, DC) December 2006. 197 p.

Full Text at: onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_w102.pdf

["This report presents options for all levels of government to close the nation’s highway and transit investment deficits on a sustainable basis. The study estimated the needs and revenues available at all levels of government from 2007 to 2017; examined existing and emerging revenue options; and demonstrated potential portfolios of funding options to close the revenue gap. The report also discusses necessary implementation steps to help secure the needed additional transportation investment."]

[Request #S71036]

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Public-Private Partnerships: Financing and Protecting the Public Interest. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, U.S. House of Representatives. (The Subcommittee, Washington, DC) February 13, 2007. Various pagings.

Full Text at: transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=51

["The Subcommittee held a hearing to explore innovative financing under public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements. The hearing examined how the public interest should be protected when PPPs are used to provide innovative financing for infrastructure investment and whether the model legislation developed by the Federal Highway Administration provides adequate safeguards for the public interest. Additional background on the hearing and witness testimony are available online."]

[Request #S71037]

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