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eDIGEST December 2006

UPCOMING EVENTS

1. PolicyMatters Fall 2006 Issue Release

December 4, 2006, 1:00-2:00 p.m. - GSPP Living Room

Please join us as we officially launch the new issue of PolicyMatters, including five feature-length articles and a special section on election and voting policy issues. Student authors will be available to talk about their work at the launch party.

2. “When the Environment and Politics Collide: Recent Developments in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta”

Dec. 5, 2006. 5:30-7:00 p.m., GSPP 250

Mike Taugher, Environmental reporter, Contra Costa Times

The mysterious collapse of fish populations in the Delta is a sign that the policies in place to protect the Delta and California’s water supply are failing.

3. “Who’s Governing the Academy: Who’s the Boss?”

Dec. 8, 2006. 1-6 p.m. Gebelle Room, Stephens Hall

Sponsored by the Institute of Governmental Studies and the Center for Studies in Higher Education

1:00-2:15 p.m. “The Academy: National Trends and Critical Issues in Governance”

· William Zumeta (MPP 1973, PhD 1978), Professor of Public Affairs, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Washington

4:00-5:15 p.m. “The University of California: Past, Present and Future”

· Tim Gage (MPP 1978), Former Director, California Department of Finance

4. “Network San Francisco”

January 9, 2007. 6-8:30 p.m., War Memorial Veterans’ Building, San Francisco.

The 2nd Annual Network San Francisco reception provides students with the opportunity to meet and talk with prospective employers and Goldman School alumni from across the Bay Area. /career_resources/events.html

QUICK REFERENCE LIST

In addition to the print media referenced below, broadcast media coverage includes numerous interviews with DEAN NACHT by KRON TV, KGO TV and KTVU, among others.

ALUMNI AND STUDENT NEWSMAKERS

1. “Man killed in plane crash called ‘the American father of the Prius’” (Los Angeles Times, November 27, 2006); story citing ROLAND HWANG (MPP 1992); http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-prius27nov27,1,94139.story

2. “Tax issue presents dilemma for Dems” (San Francisco Chronicle, November 27, 2006); story citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976); http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/27/MNGVLMKIAI1.DTL

3. “Not enough doctors for kids. Clinics in south part of county struggle to care for almost half of county’s low-income children” (San Mateo Times, November 27, 2006); story citing MAYA ALTMAN (MPP 1985); http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_4727706

4. “Awaiting Lengthy Lab Confirmation of Bird Flu Risks Treatment Delays, Studies Find” (New York Times [*requires registration], November 26, 2006); story citing TIM UYEKI (MPP 1985); http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/health/26flu.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

5. “Court rules Raiders out of bounds. Decision may keep team from raking in $34 million it won in suit against county” (Oakland Tribune, November 18, 2006); story citing RICHARD WINNIE (MPP 1971); http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_4684408

6. “Sizable deficits ahead for state, analyst warns. Repayment of debt, real estate slowdown worsen the problem” (San Francisco Chronicle, November 16, 2006); story citing ELIZABETH HILL (MPP 1975); http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/16/BAGGKMDO2T1.DTL&type=politics

7. “Analyst: Budget will come up short. Falling home sales slow economy” (Sacramento Bee, November 16, 2006); story citing ELIZABETH HILL (MPP 1975); http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/77932.html

8. “Cuts on way, officials say - Lawmakers push for 20 percent slash” (Herald News (West Paterson, NJ), November 15, 2006); story citing ROBERT GORDON (MPP 1975); http://www.heraldandnews.net/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDE5OTY2

9. “The ‘access gap’ to college” (San Francisco Chronicle, November 14, 2006); editorial citing NANCY BOROW SHULOCK (MPP 1978); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/14/EDG6ELJ3J31.DTL&hw=shulock&sn=001&sc=1000

10. “New blue goals on Hill: tax cuts out, higher wages in - The consensus among analysts is for modest growth in the coming months, with the unemployment rate rising slightly” (Christian Science Monitor, November 10, 2006); story citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976).

11. “Hopes high at Peralta schools for their newly elected trustee. Guillen, 31, considered asset because of financial background” (Oakland Tribune, November 11, 2006); story citing ABEL GUILLEN (MPP 2001); http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_4643284

12. “AC Transit board victory even stuns winner” (Oakland Tribune, November 10, 2006); story citing JEFF DAVIS (MPP 1982); http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_4635759

13. “GM to unveil electric car prototype” (Los Angeles Times (LATWP News Service), November 9, 2006); story citing ROLAND HWANG; http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-fi-ev9nov09,0,462529.story?coll=la-highway1-features

14. “New news strategy has risks, too” (Sacramento Bee, November 9, 2006); story citing GARY PRUITT (MPP 1981); http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/73797.html

15. “A’s staying put until new park’s done” (Alameda Times-Star, November 8, 2006); story citing RICHARD WINNIE (MPP 1971); http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_4622843

16. “Yosemite makeover put on hold over concerns for scenic river” (Sacramento Bee, November 6, 2006); story by GARANCE BURKE (MPP 2005); http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/72424.html

17. “State moves against mercury. Cuts on power plant pollution advance” (Chicago Tribune November 3, 2006); story citing STEVE FRENKEL (MPP 2000).

18. “Realtors project housing boom if alternate credit scores adopted” (Sacramento Bee, November 3, 2006); story by GARANCE BURKE (MPP 2005); http://www.sacbee.com/308/story/71298.html

19. “Taxed to max - Reform committee running out of time” (Herald News (West Paterson, NJ), November 2, 2006); story citing ROBERT GORDON (MPP 1975); http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDEzOTcz

20. “BART can continue to San Jose” (Tri-Valley Herald, November 2, 2006); story citing STUART COHEN (MPP 1997); http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_4590058

21. “Arts Briefs: Lafayette—Gallery debuts newest member” (Contra Costa Times [*requires registration], Nov. 02, 2006); story citing PATRICK HAYASHI (MPP 1977, PhD 1993); http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/contra_costa_county/central_contra_costa/15909361.htm

22. “Home helps former foster kids” (San Mateo County Times, October 29, 2006); story citing AMY LEMLEY (MPP 1998).

23. “Fed confident of continued growth” (The Record (Hackensack, NJ), October 27, 2006); story citing MICKEY LEVY (MPP 1974).

24. “Foster-care reform” (San Francisco Chronicle, October 17, 2006); Letter To The Editor citing First Place Fund for Youth [co-founded by AMY LEMLEY (MPP 1998) and DEANNE PEARN (MPP 1998)]; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/17/EDG6PKDVN41.DTL&hw=sam+cobb&sn=001&sc=1000

25. “SCANDAL (again). Foley case has Hastert reeling in age when crisis unfolds at light speed” (Chicago Tribune, October 8, 2006); column citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976).

26. “The real failure in Foley case” (The Record (Hackensack, NJ), October 9, 2006); op-ed citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976).

27. “Oil Giants Put Energy Into Other Resources” (Los Angeles Times, October 8, 2006); story citing ROLAND HWANG (MPP 1992); http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-altenergy8oct08,1,7881693.story?page=1

28. “Re-modeling of Lower Bari Doab Canal-Report completed” (The Pakistan Newswire, October 8, 2006); story citing TOM PANELLA (MPP 1995).

29. “Governor moves to cut state pollution. Greenhouse gas emission limit set” (Chicago Tribune, October 5, 2006); story citing STEVE FRENKEL (MPP 2000).

30. “Land transfer may lead to a face-lift for East Bay - Half of Oakland base may be retail gateway; other to be port expansion” (Contra Costa Times, August 26, 2006); story citing ALEX GREENWOOD (MPP 1993).

FACULTY IN THE NEWS

1. “High court dips its toe into global warming. Landmark case may put heat on California” (San Diego Union-Tribune, November 29, 2006); story citing DAN KAMMEN; http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20061129-9999-1n29warm.html

2. “Criminal Background Checks Boost Black Employment” (Forbes, November 29, 2006); story citing study by STEVEN RAPHAEL; http://www.forbes.com/2006/11/28/criminal-background-employment-ent-hr_cx_ee_1129papers_print.html

3. “SAN FRANCISCO - $1 million grant for new gardening center” (San Francisco Chronicle, November 28, 2006); story citing RICHARD & RHODA GOLDMAN; http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/28/BAGG5MKST11.DTL

4. “Seven faculty members named AAAS fellows” (Berkeleyan, November 27, 2006); story citing HENRY BRADY; http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/11/27_aaas.shtml

5. “Op-Ed: Paulson’s folly” – Commentary by ROBERT REICH (Marketplace, American Public Media [National Public Radio]), November 22, 2006; listen to the commentary: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2006/11/22/AM200611221.html

6. “Political Roundtable with ROBERT REICH, George Will, and Fareed Zakaria” (This Week with George Stephanopoulos, ABC TV News, November 19, 2006); view video at: http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/

7. “Obituary: Free-Market Economist Milton Friedman Dies at 94” (New York Times Online [*requires registration], November 16, 2006); story citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-friedman.html?pagewanted=print

8. “In Farm-Heavy Central Valley, Cows to Produce More Than Milk” (The California Report, KQED-88.5 FM, November 14, 2006); features commentary by DAN KAMMEN; Listen (RealMedia stream) or Download (MP3)

9. “Rumsfeld’s Resignation and the Iraq War” ((Forum, KQED-88.5 FM, November 10, 2006); features commentary by Distinguished Visiting Scholar HAROLD SMITH; Listen (RealMedia stream) or Download (MP3)

10. “US energy policy after midterm elections” (The World, Public Radio International, November 10, 2006); features commentary by DAN KAMMEN; listen at: Energy policy interview

11. “Robert Reich: Democratic Victory Won’t Change Economic Policies Affecting IT Workforce” (eWeek.com, November 10, 2006); Q&A with ROBERT REICH; http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,2054268,00.asp

12. “Again, Pelosi will redefine women’s work” (San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 9, 2006); story citing Visiting Professor RUTH ROSEN;

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/15968295.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

13. “Democrats Take the House, Could Also Grab the Senate” (The Daily Californian, November 8, 2006); story citing JOHN ELLWOOD; http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=22205

14. “Measure H: Call to Impeach President Passes Easily” (The Daily Californian, November 8, 2006); story citing JOHN ELLWOOD; http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=22209

15. “Schwarzenegger sweeps to victory in California” (Financial Times, November 8 2006); story citing DAN KAMMEN; http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0fa09b10-6f49-11db-ab7b-0000779e2340.html

16. “Solar Powers Up, Sans Silicon” (Wired.com, November 6, 2006); story citing DAN KAMMEN; http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72058-0.html?tw=wn_technology_1

17. “Freakoutonomics. Were Clintonites wrong about the economy?” (The New Republic, November 6, 2006); story citing ROBERT REICH.

18. “Campus joins state climate registry” (UC Berkeley Newscenter, November 3, 2006); story citing ROBERT BERDAHL and DAN KAMMEN; http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/11/03_registry.shtml

19. “Calif. greenhouse emissions up 14 pct 1990-2004” (Scientific American, November 3, 2006); story citing DAN KAMMEN; http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=1FCEE5E040CF2CB786883EB2AFD6F47F

20. “Open to debate: the fuel-saving benefits of ethanol. Is it a useful alternative while other technologies ramp up? Or do its costs already exceed its potential payoff?” (Berkeleyan, November 1, 2006); story citing DAN KAMMEN; http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2006/11/01_biofuels.shtml

21. “The Economics of Global Warming” (Forum, KQED-88.5 FM, Nov 1, 2006); features commentary of DAN KAMMEN; listen to the program at: http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R611010900

ALUMNI AND STUDENT NEWSMAKERS

By Duke Helfand and Kurt Streeter, Times Staff Writers

He was an engineering wizard for Toyota with an environmentalist’s heart—an executive who championed hybrid gasoline-electric cars years before global warming entered the popular conversation.

He translated the virtues of the fuel-efficient Prius in appearances before lawmakers and scientists, promoting a car of the future that would win the embrace of a once-skeptical American public.

David Hermance, 59, of Huntington Beach, who died Saturday afternoon when his experimental plane crashed into the ocean off San Pedro, was remembered fondly for his efforts to advance the kind of technology that could one day reduce America’s reliance on fossil fuels and ease pollution caused by the nation’s love affair with gas guzzlers….

Hermance was instrumental in helping to develop a second-generation [Prius], released in 2004, to appeal to the American public, with greater acceleration, better fuel efficiency and lower emissions….

“He made the Prius something that worked for the American market,” said Roland Hwang, vehicles policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“When people think of hybrid systems, they think of Toyota, and that is due in good part to Dave’s work. He was Mr. Hybrid, the American face of the hybrid.”…

-- Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Washington -- After six years of railing against Republican tax cuts for the rich and fiscal irresponsibility, Democrats will find themselves come January under enormous pressure to pass a hugely expensive tax cut—without any way to make up the revenue.

The alternative minimum tax, which slaps an extra income tax on many higher-income people, has become a political monster for Democrats, threatening to clobber prosperous professionals in such Democratic strongholds as California and New York.

The tax was installed by Democrats in 1969 to make people with high incomes pay their fare share. However, because the rate was never adjusted for inflation, many more people each year become subject to the tax. Congress has made temporary fixes by approving short-term increases in the exemption amounts, but Republicans have resisted a long-term fix because it would mainly help Democrats. Nineteen of the senators representing voters in states with the highest per capita alternative tax next year are Democrats.

A permanent solution could cost a trillion dollars over 10 years, but without one, the extra tax will start reaching deep into the middle class….

Stan Collender, a former Democratic House and Senate budget analyst and now a managing director of Qorvis Communications, predicted Democrats will fix the tax problem, even if it means ditching the pay-go rule. “Otherwise,” he said, “you’re going to have the equivalent of the peasants storming the castle with pitchforks.”

Except that these peasants are wearing suits. Taxpayers most likely to be subject to the extra tax consider themselves middle class, but earn between $200,000 and $500,000 a year.

Making things even worse, under pay-go, the programs that could be cut to pay for the tax are mainly Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. “No one is going to cut Social Security to pay for the AMT,” Collender said. “Medicare and Medicaid—I suppose there are some dollars there, but there’s not $1.1 trillion. ... God knows where they’re going to find the revenues.”…

By Rebekah Gordon, Staff Writer

Thanks to doctor shortages and high demand, it can take more than three months for low-income kids living in the south part of San Mateo County to get a check-up with a pediatrician.

Of the more than 30,000 children in the county enrolled in low-income health-coverage programs such as Medi-Cal, Healthy Kids or Healthy Families, 43 percent live in Redwood City, Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. Twenty-two percent live in Redwood City alone.

That 22 percent—nearly 6,800—has exactly one local clinic to serve them. Expand to Menlo Park and East Palo Alto, and there are just four more to provide primary care for some 13,000 kids.

But work your way north and from San Carlos to South San Francisco there are 15 clinics, provider groups and private practitioners to take in the county’s most vulnerable patients.

“We have a lot more kids that are members in the south part of the county, but we don’t have enough pediatricians,” said Maya Altman, the executive director of Health Plan of San Mateo, which administers Medi-Cal, Healthy Kids, and Healthy Families for the county. “We’re very dependent on the county system, and the county system is very full.”…

There are other pediatricians in private practice in the area, but none of them are willing to take new patients, Altman said. The problem is most acutely felt in Redwood City….

“On average, only about 40 percent of our pediatric members had a preventive-care visit in the last year, a measure we certainly want to improve,” Altman said.

San Mateo Health Plan has responded well to the county’s ambitious Children’s Health Initiative, begun in 2003, to insure all its uninsured children, signing thousands of children up for these programs. But the number of doctors and clinics has not increased accordingly.

“Even if you have insurance coverage, if you can’t get in to see a doctor on a regular basis, that’s a problem,” Altman said. “Now that we can say that every kid in this county should have insurance, it really highlights the issue of physician access, because the coverage issue has been resolved.”…

By Donald G. McNeil Jr.

Because detecting Avian flu with standard tests is so difficult and time-consuming, waiting for laboratory confirmation of an outbreak would cause dangerous treatment delays, according to new studies of two flu outbreaks.

The studies, published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, were of family clusters of flu cases in Turkey and Indonesia….

The studies followed clusters in three families in Indonesia in 2005 and in what appears to have been one extended family near Dogubayazit, in eastern Turkey, in January. Case clusters particularly worry public health authorities because they raise the possibility that the flu is mutating to spread faster between people.

In the Indonesian cases, the authors, from Indonesia, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, concluded that human-to-human transmission had probably taken place in two of the three family clusters. In one case, a 38-year-old government auditor appeared to have caught the flu from his 8-year-old daughter or her 1-year-old sister. All three died; his wife and two sons did not get sick. No one in the family had any known contact with poultry, wild birds, animals or sick people, so the source was a mystery.

“But you can’t always tell what a young child has done,” said Dr. Tim Uyeki, a Centers for Disease Control flu specialist and an author of the study. “There’s no magical test, and you don’t always get a perfect explanation.”…

Dr. Uyeki declined to comment on the Turkey outbreak, but said both studies lent support to the theory that some people were genetically more susceptible to the flu.

By Paul T. Rosynsky, Staff Writer

OAKLAND — The Oakland Raiders’ biggest win in the last three years was sacked Friday when a state appellate court ruled the team never should have been allowed to sue its landlord for fraud.

As a result, the Raiders may never collect the $34 million a Sacramento jury awarded them when it determined team owner Al Davis was lied to by Alameda County and Oakland officials in 1995….

But the three-member appellate judge panel said the case never should have gone to trial because a year after the fraud allegedly took place, Davis and the Raiders signed a new agreement with the Coliseum Authority. That agreement not only reaffirmed the original agreement but also gave the Raiders new benefits….

Whether the Raiders will ask the California Supreme Court to hear the case or simply give up the fight remained unclear Friday.

Alameda County Counsel Richard Winnie said the appellate court ruling should not damage the relationship.

“We have shown that we can work together. We know that is better for the fans and this case is old news,” he said. “We need to move on.”

By Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau

Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who pledged during his re-election campaign to hold the line on taxes and make health care a top priority in his second term, will face budget deficits of at least $5 billion over the next two years, according to a report issued Wednesday by the nonpartisan legislative analyst.

The high cost of repaying debt from previous years, combined with higher prison costs and a downturn in the real estate market, is leading to large deficits at time when the state’s broader economic expansion should be producing budget surpluses, Elizabeth Hill said in her assessment of state finances.

The state faces a $5.5 billion deficit in the fiscal year that begins July 1, and a $5 billion deficit the following fiscal year. Easing next year’s shortfall will be $3.1 billion that will be carried over from this year. But Hill warns that slightly smaller deficits will linger into 2012 unless something is done to correct the chronic imbalance between spending and revenue….

Hill, whose analyses are highly regarded by both Democrats and Republicans in the Capitol, said the state cannot afford the programs it now runs.

“If you’re looking to program expansion, you have to fund them from somewhere,” she said. “It’s hard to sustain the existing package of programs that we have with the current revenue structure that is in place.”

Lawmakers of both parties said they plan to heed Hill’s warning….

By Clea Benson - Bee Capitol Bureau

Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill presents her findings. Sacramento Bee/Brian Baer

With a decline in home sales driving a slowdown in California’s recent economic boom, lawmakers will find it “much tougher” to balance the state budget next year than they did this year, the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget adviser said in a report Wednesday.

The economy is still doing slightly better than lawmakers expected when they approved the current $131 billion state spending plan in June, partly because oil prices have dropped since the summer, the report said.

But if trends continue, the state will still take in about $5 billion less than it spends for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill said.

“Basically, we’re living on borrowed time,” Hill said Wednesday at a news conference where she urged lawmakers to end the operating deficits.

To cover costs, lawmakers will have to find a way to cut about $2 billion out of the budget for the 2007-2008 fiscal year even without increasing spending on current programs or creating new ones, the report from Hill’s office said….

Though the legislative analyst urged caution in budgeting, the report was guardedly optimistic about the state’s economy. It predicted that the state’s finances would rebound slightly next year and experience “moderate growth” in 2008….

At the same time, Hill cautioned that the state is facing some risks that could cause the economy to do worse than projected.

Real estate sales could continue to fall sharply, and the cost of complying with court orders to improve the prisons could rise, she said.

In addition, the report’s forecast did not include the potential liability of adding billions of dollars to the budget to reflect the true cost of state retiree pensions and health benefits, an amount approaching $100 billion….

[ELIZABETH HILL was also widely quoted in stories reported in Associated Press and other state newspapers: Los Angeles Times, MediaNews Group, etc.]

By Heather Haddon, Herald News

If state legislators have their way, Lisa Yourman’s property tax bill will drop by $1,800 next year—reflecting a proposal to cut most New Jersey homeowners’ bills by 20 percent.

“That would help at a very minimum,” said Yourman, 47, who is hurting from the $9,000 a year she pays in taxes on her Fair Lawn home. “I can’t afford to live where I live.”

Lawmakers Tuesday said they are confident about slashing property tax bills next year. After weeks of work, members of four legislative committees studying how to reduce property taxes were finalizing reports on curtailing or retooling state benefits, school funding and municipal costs.

“After 30 years of discussion, we’re looking for some real change,” said Assemblyman Robert Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, a member of the shared-services committee….

Reducing public pension and benefit costs has emerged as one of the top ways to decrease the state’s reliance on property taxes. Legislators are seeking to delay the employee retirement age from 55 to 62, and base pensions for most employees on the last five years of service, instead of three.

The committee on shared services scraped [sic] a controversial proposal to shift to county-level school districts, Gordon said.

The committee’s 16 proposals would add more administrative responsibility to county-level school superintendents, shift property tax assessment to the counties, and establish a committee to evaluate municipal consolidation.

Gordon did not have specific estimates on the possible savings, though he said it would be significant….

MUCH OF the concern about access to a college education in California has focused on the effects of Proposition 209, the 1996 ballot initiative which banned the use of race or gender in college admissions.

At least some of that attention has been misplaced. The greatest obstacle to increasing college enrollments is not Prop. 209, but the fact that too few of our young people go directly from high school to a four-year college.

The reason that’s important is that research shows that students who go from high school to a four-year college are most likely to earn a college degree. California’s performance in this regard has been abysmal. Out of all 50 states, only Mississippi sends a lower percentage of its high-school seniors to a four-year college….

But the community college enrollment of 1.2 million presents a misleading picture of college accessibility. “We have lots and lots of people enrolled, but relative to the numbers of students going to college, we award very few degrees compared to other states,” said Nancy Shulock, director of the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy at Sacramento State.

She pointed out that community colleges have done an excellent job in sending the message that anyone can enroll, even those without a high-school diploma. But they’ve been less successful in emphasizing the need for high-school students to acquire the skills they need to succeed in college—or to convince them not to postpone going to college.

“If you postpone and go later, and only go part time, and you have a family and other financial obligations, your chances of completing are severely diminished,” she said….

What’s distressing is that the state is moving in the wrong direction—at precisely the time when the state needs more college-educated workers. In 2005, only 44.7 percent of high-school graduates were enrolled in a public university—compared to 50.5 percent in 1986….

By Ron Scherer - Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

With the blue shift in Congress, lawmakers’ priorities are likely to change in a way that touches both Main Street and Wall Street.

Look for attempts to raise taxes on the rich, instead of an extension of President Bush’s tax cuts. Keep in mind that guest-worker legislation, opposed by conservative members of Congress, may become doable. And be ready for the possibility that Congress will put the spotlight on the bulky trade gap and competition with China….

In terms of tax cuts, it is now unlikely that Congress will extend them past their expiration date in 2010. This could result in the maximum tax rate moving from 35 percent back to 39.6 percent.

“The Democrats won’t want to give the Republicans a victory,” says Stan Collender, a budget expert and managing director at Qorvis Communications in Washington. “But it’s likely Congress will do a one-year fix on the alternative minimum tax so it doesn’t cut so deeply into the middle class.”…

By Katy Murphy, Staff Writer

OAKLAND — Abel Guillen took what might have been a humdrum race for a seat on the Peralta Community College District board and turned it into one that made students…feel like they had a stake.

With a pro-student platform, the 31-year-old challenger managed to unseat a politically connected, two-term incumbent in the board’s only contested race.

Along the way, he won endorsements from labor unions and from OakPAC, Oakland’s business lobby, with his financial background. Guillen is a school finance adviser for Caldwell Flores Winters Inc.

“I personally think that there is more of a buzz about campus and an awareness of what’s going on,” said Folasade Scott, a LaneyCollege student-leader, who contributed to the Election Day buzz by making an outfit out of Guillen’s campaign signs….

Scott, 27, says she sees Guillen as an advocate—someone who will make sure the business of the college is conducted in an up-front way, with students, staff and faculty in mind….

As the district begins to prioritize its capital improvement projects, Guillen said, he will suggest that the colleges hold forums that include tours of the facilities. That way, he said, the public—as well as the students, faculty and staff—will have a chance to see existing conditions and weigh in on what they perceive to be the greatest needs.

“I think it’s important to be more accessible to the community,” Guillen said.

Policies aside, Guillen’s demeanor and personal history resonate with some students. Guillen grew up in the Mission District of San Francisco and was the first in his family to graduate from college. He went to the University of California, Berkeley, on a full scholarship, and his younger brother goes to Laney College.

“He just seems to add a different vibe to the atmosphere,” Scott said. “He’s not intimidating, he’s not pompous. He’s approachable. It’s like we need some folks that are on our flatland level—just equal.”

12. “AC Transit board victory even stuns winner” (Oakland Tribune, November 10, 2006); story citing JEFF DAVIS (MPP 1982); http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_4635759

By Matthew Artz, Staff Writer

JEFF DAVIS, sitting at his Fremont home office Thursday, won a seat on the AC Transit Board one month after abandoning his campaign. (Anda Chu – Staff)

Last Month, Jeff Davis abandoned his campaign to represent Fremont, Newark and southern Hayward on the AC Transit board, in part because he said he did not know enough about the agency.

Voters, apparently, disagreed.

They elected Davis with 54.5 percent of the vote, compared with 44.9 percent for three-term incumbent Joe Bischofberger….

Davis did not bother to monitor election returns until a reporter called about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and alerted him that he was ahead.

“I was in total disbelief,” Davis said.

The former Fremont school board member aborted his campaign last month after struggling to answer questions during a candidates forum. But the primary reason he dropped out of the race was to focus on finding employment. His job implementing 2002’s Regional Transportation Measure B in Santa Clara County recently was eliminated.

Bischofberger said his opponent should cede him the seat, but Davis, who is still looking for full-time work, said he will honor the will of the voters.

“I didn’t think I was well-versed enough to debate Mr. Bischofberger, but I have spent the last 20 years working in transit,” he said. “I certainly think I can educate myself.”

Davis said he plans to meet with AC Transit management to brush up on issues facing the agency. Expanding express bus service to Santa Clara County would be a top priority, he said….

Davis, who never sent out campaign mailers, said he wrote a better ballot statement, and that he might have seemed to be the more impressive candidate to people thumbing through the voter guide.

“I definitely see this as a gift,” he said. “I don’t know what it says about our electoral system.”…

By John O’Dell, Times Staff Writer

General Motors Corp., vilified by environmentalists for killing the electric car, is hoping to bring one back.

But the new electric won’t be an emissions-free vehicle, unlike the initial GM electric, the EV1.

The new car, to be unveiled as a prototype early next year, would use an onboard internal-combustion engine as a generator to produce electricity to extend the range of the vehicle’s rechargeable batteries.

The idea was greeted enthusiastically by Chris Paine, director of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” The recent documentary took GM to task for creating and then abandoning the first production electric vehicle since the early 1900s….

Some environmental activists also seemed intrigued by the idea, noting that though it is not a “pure” electric vehicle like the battery-powered EV1, a generator-driven hybrid electric car would still consume far less fuel than a vehicle that relied on a larger, thirstier gasoline or diesel engine for propulsion.

“We shouldn’t make ‘perfect’ the enemy of ‘good,’ “ said Roland Hwang, Berkeley-based vehicle policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “If it helps reduce global warming emissions and dependency on oil, then it is a plus,” he said.

GM “apparently recognizes that it is falling behind in the race for a piece of the ‘green’ vehicle market … and needs something it can get out there and sell in substantial numbers,” Hwang said.

He remained skeptical, however, saying that GM “is fond of showing us things it never brings to market. The question is whether this will be just a prototype for public relations or a real effort.”…

14. “New news strategy has risks, too” (Sacramento Bee, November 9, 2006); story citing GARY PRUITT (MPP 1981); http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/73797.html

By Dale Kasler - Bee Staff Writer

The stock market has been setting records lately, but some newspaper publishers and other big media companies want no part of Wall Street.

Saddled with sluggish profits and stock prices, facing an uncertain future as they try to compete against the Internet for consumers and advertisers, mainstream media titans such as Tribune Co. and radio giant Clear Channel Communications Inc. may sell to private investors or take themselves private, removing themselves from the ranks of publicly traded corporations. Tribune’s efforts gained momentum Wednesday when Los Angeles investors Eli Broad and Ron Burkle reportedly bid for the company….

Just as TV scrambled everything else—from movie production to newspaper publishing and beyond—the Internet is forcing the mainstream media to create entirely new business models,[ said Stephen Lacy, a media economist at Michigan State University]. Going private, the theory goes, insulates them from Wall Street’s quarter-to-quarter profit pressure and gives them time to sort out their strategies….

One company that won’t go private any time soon is McClatchy. The Bee’s owner borrowed about $3 billion to buy Knight Ridder Inc. earlier this year; borrowing billions more to buy out its shareholders isn’t a realistic option, said Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Pruitt.

Pruitt said going private could happen some day. “In the future, if we felt that (it was) the best way to preserve the quality and independence of the company ... we certainly would consider that option,” he said.

In the meantime, Pruitt said, public ownership has been good for McClatchy. Among other things, the company has been able to use its stock as currency to make acquisitions; stock represented about one-third of the $4 billion price McClatchy paid to buy Knight Ridder….

15. “A’s staying put until new park’s done” (Alameda Times-Star, November 8, 2006); story citing RICHARD WINNIE (MPP 1971); http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_4622843

From Staff Reports

OAKLAND — Major League Baseball will remain in the city until a new home for the Oakland Athletics is built in Fremont, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday as it approved a lease extension for the team.

Handing team owner Lewis Wolff valuable wiggle room as he embarks on a ballpark construction project, the lease extension allows the team to leave Oakland whenever it wants without penalty should it move to another stadium in Alameda County.

But while the team plays at McAfee Coliseum, it will be required to pay yearly rent of $600,000 next year and$750,000 each year until 2010….

Supervisor Nate Miley was the only elected leader who questioned the deal Tuesday, asking if an Athletics move to Fremont would have any ramifications for the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, the team’s current landlord.

County Counsel Richard Winnie said he did not believe it would and mentioned that any financial impact would be minimal….

16. “Yosemite makeover put on hold over concerns for scenic river” (Sacramento Bee, November 6, 2006); story by GARANCE BURKE (MPP 2005); http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/72424.html

By GARANCE BURKE, - Associated Press Writer

Ambitious plans to remodel lodging, move a road and expand campsites in Yosemite National Park are on hold until officials prepare a better plan to protect the Merced River, which runs through the heart of the park, a judge ruled.

Two conservation groups celebrated Friday’s ruling, which effectively halts about $60 million in construction projects for at least two years, as a major environmental victory.

Yosemite officials, still reeling from the decision, said it could have “huge negative impacts” on the park’s efforts to accommodate the 3 million visitors who travel there each year.…

But park officials have failed to write a management plan that adequately protects the river, U.S. District Judge Anthony Ishii ruled Friday.

The judge sided with the plaintiffs, who argued some of the construction projects lie directly in the Merced’s flood plains and as such, could harm the river’s “outstandingly remarkable values.”…

“Yosemite is an ecological treasury of the Sierra Nevada and as we see the population growing and global changes happening, its resources become more and more precious,” [said Greg Adair, executive director of Friends of Yosemite Valley, which filed the suit along with Mariposans for Environmentally Responsible Growth]….

17. “State moves against mercury. Cuts on power plant pollution advance” (Chicago Tribune November 3, 2006); story citing STEVE FRENKEL (MPP 2000); http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0611030301nov03,1,820856.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

By Michael Hawthorne, Tribune staff reporter

Taking a swipe at the Bush administration’s environmental policy, Illinois moved closer Thursday to requiring deep cuts in mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants.

The limits endorsed by a state rule-making panel would make Illinois one of two dozen states that have rejected a slower, more lenient approach adopted by the federal government.

What makes the Illinois regulations stand out is that Illinois is a major coal producer and user.

Half of its electricity comes from aging power plants that burn coal. Those smokestacks are major sources of mercury, a toxic metal that can damage the developing brain and nervous system of a fetus or young child.

“Mercury shouldn’t be contaminating our lakes and rivers,” said Steve Frenkel, director of policy development for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who has made the tougher state rules a key part of his re-election campaign.

“We know it’s a potent neurotoxin,” Frenkel said. “And now we know we can reduce it effectively and inexpensively.”…

Mercury pollution is so pervasive that Illinois and 43 other states advise anglers to limit consumption of freshwater fish … that can accumulate large amounts of the metal….

[Steve Frenkel was also cited in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The State Journal-Register, Copley News Service, etc.]

18. “Realtors project housing boom if alternate credit scores adopted” (Sacramento Bee, November 3, 2006); story by GARANCE BURKE (MPP 2005); http://www.sacbee.com/308/story/71298.html

By GARANCE BURKE - Associated Press Writer

The slumping housing market could get a $200 billion boost from new immigrant home buyers if mainstream lenders start using alternative methods to score credit, a national group of Hispanic realtors said Friday.

Creditors like Citigroup Inc.’s Citibank see recent immigrants as a growing market niche, but those who lack Social Security numbers or legal status in the U.S. are often rejected by the three major credit bureaus.

A handful of new credit reporting systems already used by 200 real estate brokers, community groups and mortgage counselors nationwide allows them to calculate risk by evaluating a prospective client’s utility bills and rent checks.

Should the new reporting methods gain wider acceptance on Wall Street and among secondary mortgage lenders like Fannie Mae, housing markets in places like California’s Central Valley would stand to gain the most, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals said.

“Gateway states like California and Texas will disproportionately benefit from the housing boom because so many of their residents are immigrants,” said Gary Acosta, the association’s co-founder, speaking from the group’s annual convention in Las Vegas. “Boosting homeownership among these populations is a positive contribution to the overall fabric of our society and our economy.”

A study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University shows Latinos will account for nearly one-third of the home-buying pool by 2010. That same year, the disposable income of Hispanics will exceed $1.08 trillion, or 9.2 percent of total purchasing power nationwide, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia….

By Heather Haddon, Herald News

Homeowner Pearlean Brown bought her Paterson home in 1983, when she was paying $750 quarterly in property taxes. Her tax bill, on which she has fallen behind, is now more than $7,500 a year. Amy Newman / Herald News Pearlean Brown is behind on her tax bill for her home in Paterson. Her bill is more than $7,500 a year.

Property taxes on Pearlean Brown’s Paterson home swallow her entire monthly pension and Social Security income. She has fallen behind on payments on her tax bill of more than $7,500 a year and is desperate for help, she says….

Lawmakers came to Bergen County on Wednesday night to consider ways to help Brown and other residents suffering from the state’s unwieldy property taxes….

Legislators have until the end of the year to pass proposals that would offer some relief. The committee examining shared services has led the pack in concrete progress, now considering more than 10 bills.

The most controversial of these would ask voters whether the state’s 616 school districts should be collapsed into 21 county-level bodies by July 2009….

A variation on the proposal would create regional deputy superintendents under the county-level chief. Local decisions over books, curriculum and other content matters would be kept at the local district and board level.

“You would still eliminate administrative head count,” said Assemblyman Robert Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, who sits on the shared services committee….

20. “BART can continue to San Jose” (Tri-Valley Herald, November 2, 2006); story citing STUART COHEN (MPP 1997); http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_4590058

By Erik N. Nelson, Staff Writer

Federal transit officials have cleared the way for BART to resume work on extending the rail system to Warm Springs, a critical segment on the way to connecting the East Bay with San Jose, the BART officials announced Wednesday….

Opponents of the BART extension don’t buy predictions that the line will serve a pressing need that can’t be met cheaper by other means.

By itself, the project doesn’t make any sense from a ridership perspective, said Stuart Cohen, executive director of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition. It really ends up on an industrial part of Fremont where the hills are very close to the Bay and the walking and bicycling environment is quite poor.

The entire project to San Jose and beyond could be done for a tenth of the cost by augmenting commuter rail lines like Caltrain, Capitol Corridor and Altamont Commuter Express, Cohen said. It won’t get much ridership, so not only do taxpayers have to spend $700 million to build it, but if its not getting much ridership, then it will need subsidies to operate, too.

The Lafayette Gallery welcomes Patrick Hayashi to its membership of artists.

Hayashi, who works in a variety of media—oil, pastel, charcoal, watercolor and pen and ink—began studying art seven years ago, shortly before he retired as Vice Chancellor at UC Berkeley.

He paints still life, landscapes, portraits, figure studies and an occasional abstract.

Hayashi is among the featured artists in the gallery’s new exhibit, “A Time for Peace,” running through Dec. 23 and featuring gallery members’ works in clay, acrylics, glass, gourds, jewelry, printmaking and more….

22. “Home helps former foster kids” (San Mateo County Times, October 29, 2006); story citing AMY LEMLEY (MPP 1998).

By Truong Phuoc Khanh

SAN JOSE — At 2, he was removed from the custody of his mother, a drug addict. At 17, he became a father. At 18, he was emancipated from the foster care system, homeless, a ward of no one.

Daniel Bell’s story might have ended disastrously except that he now has a network that wraps him in a blanket of supportive services, including a house that shelters him and mentors who motivate him to be a better man.

On Monday, Unity Place Apartments opens with great expectations in San Jose, the first 24 units in Santa Clara County dedicated exclusively to young adults like Bell, who at 19, have “aged out” of foster care. It is a hidden population with abysmal statistics: Up to 40 percent are homeless; 20 percent are incarcerated; 51 percent are unemployed….

California has more than 80,000 youths in foster care with about 4,000 turning 18 each year. That’s when the state stops payments to foster families and to agencies that have served as surrogate parents. At 18, kids become adults and are cut off from the system.

“The transition can be very stark,” said Amy Lemley, policy director for the John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes. “We put all their belongings in a big black garbage bag and wish them well. It’s not even good economic policy.”

One widely cited statistic puts as many as 50 percent of former foster youth becoming homeless within the first 18 months of emancipation….

23. “Fed confident of continued growth” (The Record (Hackensack, NJ), October 27, 2006); story citing MICKEY LEVY (MPP 1974).

By Scott Lanman and Steve Matthews, Bloomberg News

WASHINGTON—Federal Reserve officials may leave interest rates alone until the middle of next year, confident of “moderate” economic growth and abating inflation pressures.

Futures traders anticipate that the Fed’s benchmark lending rate will stay at 5.25 percent through May, and this week’s prediction by policymakers of a modest expansion reinforced those wagers. The Federal Open Market Committee, which left its rate unchanged for a third month, also ceased describing energy prices as a source of inflation danger….

“The Fed described the scenario in which they’re very comfortably on hold,” said Mickey Levy, chief economist at Bank of America Corp. in New York. “Moderate pace” represents a drop to “below-trend-like growth, but not any kind of hard landing, not a sharp slump,” he added….

Editor -- The recent developments in foster-care reform as a result of the governor signing eight bills into law to enact improvements are both important and very exciting. I wanted to take this opportunity to commend The Chronicle editorial staff for its excellent coverage of this issue in recent months. As The Chronicle stated: “This is not someone else’s problem. Californians have a moral and compassionate covenant to provide safety, care and guidance to the kids who have been given into the custody of the state. Californians also must confront the practical reality of what happens when young adults emerge from this broken system without the life skills to become productive contributors to society.”

The First Place Fund for Youth is a Bay Area-based nonprofit organization founded in 1998 [by Amy Lemley and Deanne Pearn] to remedy the lack of services available to youth who are making the difficult transition from foster care to independent living. First Place targets its services to 16-to-23-year-olds who are preparing to age out of foster care or who have recently aged out of care. First Place provides support and guidance during this critical transition. We serve emancipated foster youth who are without housing, a source of income, adult encouragement or community support.

By bringing these issues to light, The Chronicle played an important role in the passage of this life-changing legislation. As a result of these reforms, we will be better able to serve former foster youth during their transition to adulthood. We thank you for your dedication to improving the lives of these youth and the lives of all Californians in turn.

Sam Cobbs

Executive Director - First Place Fund for Youth

Oakland

25. “SCANDAL (again). Foley case has Hastert reeling in age when crisis unfolds at light speed” (Chicago Tribune, October 8, 2006); column citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976).

By William Neikirk, a senior correspondent in the Tribune’s Washington Bureau

“I’m not a crook,” said Richard M. Nixon before the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach him for his role in Watergate….

“The buck stops where I’m at,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert said as he declared that he was taking the responsibility—but none of the blame—for the congressional page scandal involving departed Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.)…

As Hastert, much to his dismay, and other Republicans quickly learned, scandal swiftly takes charge of the public debate and dominates it until there is a resolution, usually someone’s head rolling….

Damage control means it is best to get the truth out as quickly as possible—a lesson that politicians have struggled to absorb since Watergate. But Charles Black, a Republican political consultant, said things often move so fast that it is hard to get all the facts out to halt the feeding frenzy….

In the case of the Foley scandal, the story quickly shifted from Foley to the speaker because Hastert was slow to respond, said Stan Collender, managing director of the Washington office of Qorvis Communications, a public-relations company. Without a strong identity, even for a man who is second to the vice president in the line of succession, Hastert let a crisis define him, a definite no-no in the world of public relations, Collender said….

26. “The real failure in Foley case” (The Record (Hackensack, NJ), October 9, 2006); op-ed citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976).

By David Broder - Syndicated columnist for The Washington Post

The disgrace of Congress extends far beyond the scandals that have sullied the record of the dominant House Republicans.

They are properly being blamed for most of the misdeeds and blunders that have marked this year on Capitol Hill, from the power-grabs by Tom DeLay, to the greed of Duke Cunningham and Bob Ney, to the sexual overtures of Mark Foley….

The legacy of what it left undone—especially in the fiscal area—will damage future generations long after the memories of DeLay and Foley and their follies have vanished….

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan group of former government officials, expressed dismay last week that Congress had adjourned without ever adopting a formal budget resolution….

The liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities added up the damage done by this Congress in a session-end report: “The 109th Congress took our already large projected budget deficits and passed legislation that will make them larger. The legislation increased projected deficits from 2005 … through 2011 … by a total of $452 billion. Moreover, the budget deterioration over the past six fiscal years—2000 to 2006—is the largest deterioration for any six-year period in the past half-century.”

Stan Collender, an independent budget analyst writing in National Journal, said that this year’s failure implies more tough sledding next year. “Combined with the likely narrower margins in Congress next year (regardless of which party is in the majority), this almost guarantees that work on the budget will be slow, halting and painful. It also means that incremental progress may be too much to expect.”…

By Elizabeth Douglass, Times Staff Writer

Inside two half-million-gallon tanks built in the 1950s, a team of microorganisms is preparing to munch its way into the annals of energy innovation.

Late this month, the microbes will start transforming truckloads of restaurant grease into electricity for a water pollution control plant in Millbrae, Calif. The one-of-a-kind setup relieves the city and area eateries of a fatty disposal headache while saving energy. And it has come with the help of a surprising backer: Chevron Corp….

It’s a small undertaking for a company that takes in millions of dollars in profit each day from selling oil and natural gas, not saving them. But it’s part of a growing portfolio of projects backed by some of the biggest oil companies to wring energy from the sun, wind, water and waste….

Critics dismiss the efforts as “greenwash”—using environmentally friendly programs to draw attention away from unfriendly activities.

“If you look at what they are doing in terms of any kind of renewable fuel, it’s swamped by a factor of 100 by what they are doing to continue to exploit fossil fuel resources,” said Roland Hwang, vehicles policy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “If they want to have real green credentials, they need to support real policies to ensure that we can develop cleaner fuels [and] they have to support emission standards on global warming pollution.”

Hwang sees Proposition 87, which would tax California oil producers to fund biofuel research, as a test of the oil companies’ resolve. “They’ve failed miserably. They’re fighting it tooth and nail,” he said….

In addition, none of the oil companies stood with California as it embarked on its groundbreaking move to reduce greenhouse gases. The state’s ambitious Global Warming Solutions Act, signed into law Sept. 27, faced resistance from the region’s largest oil industry trade associations….

28. “Re-modeling of Lower Bari Doab Canal-Report completed” (The Pakistan Newswire, October 8, 2006); story citing TOM PANELLA (MPP 1995).

LAHORE -- Feasibility report for the re-modeling of Lower Bari Doab Cannal (LBDC) has been completed and the work on PC-I is in progress. Asian Development Bank (ADB) would provide first installment for this five years project in December. It was stated by the Senior Water Resource Specialist of ADB, Mr. Tom Panella in a meeting with Minister for Irrigation Ch. Aamir Sultan Cheema at minister’s office. Mr. Panella said that ADB, would provide Rs.10 billion for the project. He said bank would also assist in formation and training of Farmers Organizations….

[Tom Panella was also cited in Business Recorder: Financial Times Information Limited.]

29. “Governor moves to cut state pollution. Greenhouse gas emission limit set” (Chicago Tribune, October 5, 2006); story citing STEVE FRENKEL (MPP 2000).

By Michael Hawthorne, Tribune staff reporter.

Joining a burgeoning movement to address global warming, Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday will order state government to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade.

The election-year plan will require state vehicles and buildings to be cleaner and more energy efficient. But critics noted that unlike a new California law, the initiative fails to impose restrictions on private vehicles and coal-fired power plants, the largest sources of heat-trapping carbon dioxide….

“We realize this is not a substitute for a broader policy,” said Steve Frenkel, Blagojevich’s director of policy development. “But absent any federal leadership on this issue, states are taking the initiative.”…

…[S]tate vehicles and buildings are responsible for about 1 million tons of climate-changing gases every year, according to government estimates.

Reducing those emissions by 6 percent--or 60,000 tons--would be the equivalent of taking about 13,000 cars off the road.

To meet that goal, Frenkel said, the state plans to buy more cars and trucks that can run on a high blend of ethanol, the corn-based fuel that produces slightly less carbon dioxide than gasoline. The state currently owns about 2,000 flex-fuel vehicles, or 16 percent of its fleet.

Moreover, wind power and other renewable energy sources are expected to provide 5 percent of the electricity for state buildings by 2010, a change that will reduce the need for fossil fuels….

By Chris Metinko, Times Staff Writer

While it might never match the views drivers get from the upper deck of the Bay Bridge heading into San Francisco, the entrance to the East Bay might soon be made up of more than just port cranes.

Earlier this month, the Port of Oakland and the city’s redevelopment agency officially became the owners of approximately 364 acres of the old Oakland Army Base, which was closed in 1995. The long-awaited land transfer means both the port and the redevelopment agency can move forward with plans to reinvigorate the flatlands just southeast of the Bay Bridge.

“This is a great opportunity to change the economic landscape and perception of Oakland,” said Alex Greenwood, the redevelopment agency’s urban economic coordinator. “This is a large amount of open space right in the geographic center of the Bay Area. We see this as the new gateway to the East Bay.”…

One [potential developer] is the Fulton Project Development Group… headed by the Wayans brothers…. The proposed facility would include a movie studio, entertainment-themed attractions, retail space and a hotel. Greenwood said the agency is still in a negotiation period with Fulton to make the 70-acre project a reality….

Although a park and more commercial development also might be in the cards for the remaining land on the base, housing currently is not. Greenwood said the city’s environmental impact report on the property did not look at residential uses for the base….

For now, it appears the city will focus mainly on creating new business opportunities on the base that will bring in new jobs.

“This has a chance to have a significant impact on the economy here,” Greenwood said. “This could generate a large number of jobs, and not just any jobs, but high-quality, well-paying jobs.”…

Greenwood said the city is trying to combat [potential traffic and pollution problem caused by relocation of some current businesses] by allocating at least 15 acres of the base for a truck parking lot. The lot would provide overnight parking for the truck drivers and limit big rig commutes through nearby neighborhoods….

FACULTY IN THE NEWS

By Michael Gardner - Copley News Service, and Bruce Lieberman - Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO – The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a landmark case that could complicate California’s campaign to slow global warming by dramatically curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Depending on the court’s decision and its reach, the ruling could hand automakers powerful ammunition in their legal challenge to California’s 2002 law that requires a reduction in emissions starting with the 2009 model year.

In turn, that could push California to pressure industries such as refineries and utilities to cut pollution faster than what’s being called for in separate legislation signed into law this year.

The Supreme Court case also is expected to spur the incoming, Democratic-controlled Congress to pass legislation that would force polluters to cut greenhouse gases.

“If the Supreme Court case goes well, it will make Congress and other states recognize that what California is doing is clearly the wave of the future,” said Dan Kammen, an energy policy expert at the University of California Berkeley. “If the Supreme Court goes badly, it will give the auto industry another excuse to go slow, which is exactly what we don’t need.”…

By Elisabeth Eaves [Columnist]

As more and more employers conduct criminal background checks on applicants, critics have charged that such screening is unfair to blacks, who are more likely to have criminal records.

But a new study published in The Journal of Law and Economics argues just the opposite. In fact, employers who perform criminal background checks “are in general more likely to hire African-Americans,” say the authors, Harry J. Holzer of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, Steven Raphael of the University of California, Berkeley, and Michael A. Stoll of the University of California, Los Angeles….

We tend to think of racial discrimination as hard to root out, but the study suggests that in employment, at least, sharing information on criminal backgrounds can have a big impact. That’s especially true because “employers with a particularly strong aversion to ex-offenders may be more likely to overestimate the relationship between criminality and race.” Give those same employers access to criminal background information, and they start hiring blacks with clean records.

… The researchers also found that conducting criminal background checks improves the odds that employers will hire welfare recipients and applicants who were unemployed for long periods. Some employers tend to treat such backgrounds, like race, as potential signs of criminality.

… Holzer, Raphael and Stoll argue against curtailing access [to criminal history records], concluding that this “may actually harm more people than it helps and aggravate racial differences in labor market outcomes.”

-- Glen Martin

The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund has announced a $1 million grant to the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society for a new gardening center where rare and endangered plants will be propagated.

Garden Society executives said the center will conform to the latest “green building” guidelines and also serve as an education center for the public.

“This is an extremely important grant,” said Michael McKechnie, the executive director of the society. “It puts us at 33 percent of the funding we’ll need for the center, and makes it much easier for us to raise the remaining money.”

Based in San Francisco, the Goldman Fund donates to international environmental causes. It is best known for the Goldman Prize, annual cash bequests to grassroots environmental activists from around the world….

4. “Seven faculty members named AAAS fellows” (Berkeleyan, November 27, 2006); story citing HENRY BRADY; http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/11/27_aaas.shtml

By Robert Sanders, Media Relations

BERKELEY – Seven faculty members from the University of California, Berkeley, have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), bringing the total number of fellows on campus to about 200.

The UC Berkeley electees are among 449 new fellows…. All are honored “because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications,” according to AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

The new fellows [are] announced in the Nov. 24 issue of Science. …:

* Henry Brady, professor of political science and of public policy, and director of UC DATA: “For outstanding contributions to the study of elections, for leadership of Berkeley’s Survey Research Center, and for pioneering efforts to break barriers between qualitative and quantitative methods.”…

SCOTT JAGOW: Seems about every week, we hear of a private equity firm buying a public company. This week, it was Blackstone Group buying a huge office real estate firm. Last week, we learned Clear Channel would be going private. In fact, this year, private equity’s been involved in 17 percent of all mergers and acquisitions. Low interest rates have something to do with this. And private equity firms have a lot of spending money. But this week, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pointed a finger at government accounting regulations. He said laws like Sarbanes-Oxley have saddled public companies with too much of a burden. Commentator Robert Reich believes Paulson is wrong.

ROBERT REICH: If Hank Paulson thinks the flood of private equity-backed acquisitions of public companies is occurring because of regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley, he’s either naive or doesn’t want you to know the truth.

Companies that go private return to the public market within a few years. That’s the whole point of the deal. When they go public again, their stock sells at a far higher price than what the private equity firm originally paid for it. So the private partners, along with the CEO and other top executives, make a killing....

If Paulson wants small investors to stay confident the market isn’t rigged against them, he shouldn’t try to weaken Sarbanes-Oxley. He should expand it to prevent this new form of CEO looting.

JAGOW: Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich now teaches public policy at the University of California at Berkeley....

This Week’s Topics: Sen. McCain calls for more troops in Iraq; the Baker-Hamilton commission; House Democratic leadership’s power struggle; Speaker-to-be Pelosi’s tough choices; Trent Lott’s comeback; anti-globalization.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS:…Welcome back to … Robert Reich, professor at Berkeley and publisher of The American Prospect…. What are the chances that either the President or Secretary Baker’s commission is going to give [Senator McCain] what he says is needed for victory?

ROBERT REICH: … [T]here’s no way the United States is going to provide more troops. The American public is not going to tolerate that, George. I mean there are two different worlds here. One there’s the world of what’s happening in Iraq. And there’s very little control we have over that world right now. That’s just going kind of out of control…. And there is then the world of American politics. And the question is: Who is going to be left with the blame? Who is going to get the cover? That’s what the Baker Commission’s all about. It’s kind of the Wizard of Oz theory of coming up with a solution.

STEPHANOPOULOS: …If that’s true and the Baker Commission isn’t going to come through with some huge, huge increase in troops that Senator McCain is calling for, one, does Senator McCain escape blame? And two, isn’t the logical consequence of this position then - doesn’t it have to be the troops must come home?

ROBERT REICH: I think it does. But I think that his position is a good one as long as he can hold on. That is, he cannot be blamed and it’s going to be a blame game. A year and a half from now there is going to be blood on the streets even more than there is today in Iraq, in Baghdad. It’s going to be a violent terrible civil war, worse than it is today. And the question is, are Democrats going to pulled into it? Are they now, because they have both houses of Congress, going to be part of that blame in 2008? Is John McCain going to be able to say, well I’ve been proposing for years a different solution, don’t look at me? Who is going to get the responsibility? ….

By Reuters

San Francisco - Milton Friedman, one of the most influential economists of the past century and a champion of free markets, died on Thursday morning of heart failure at age 94, a family spokeswoman said.

The winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize for economics, Friedman preached free enterprise in the face of government regulation and advocated a monetary policy involving steady growth in money supply, ideas that played pivotal roles in the governing philosophies of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former U.S. President Ronald Reagan....

While Friedman found favor among conservatives, he was most interested in obtaining practical results by tapping markets, said [UC Berkeley Professor] Robert Reich, a labor secretary in the Democratic Clinton administration. “He was more experimental than doctrinaire.”...

[This obituary also appeared in the <a href=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/16/AR2006111600635_pf.html>Washington Post</a>]

California is both the biggest energy-consuming as well as dairy-producing state in the nation. But according to PG & E and environmental entrepreneurs, that’s a winning combination. Now a new agreement between six Central Valley dairies will have cows producing enough natural gas to power 50,000 homes.

Reporter: Sasha Khokha

California is home to more than a million and half dairy cows and each of them produce some 100 lbs. of waste—a day, so PGE wants to take that and turn it into this. This electric generator at the Joseph Gallo cheese plant in Atwater is powered by cow gas. Now Gallo Farms and 5 other California dairies will be able to channel excess natural gas through PG&E’s pipe lines.

Energy experts say that will not only help California tap into a new source of renewable energy but will cut down on a major source of pollution. DAN KAMMEN is a professor at the Energy & Resources Group at UC Berkeley.

DAN KAMMEN: It’s not just that you’re finding essentially a free source of renewable energy, it’s that at the same time you’re reducing the direct leakage of the same stuff into the atmosphere. Methane is about 23 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide….

As Donald Rumsfeld exits as secretary of defense, Forum takes a look at the role and responsibilities of the office, and what Rumsfeld’s departure could mean for the war in Iraq.

Guests:

Harold Smith, distinguished visiting scholar at UC-Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and assistant to the secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs during the Clinton administration…

10. “US energy policy after midterm elections” (The World, Public Radio International, November 10, 2006); features commentary by DAN KAMMEN; listen at: Energy policy interview

Anchor Marco Werman talks with Daniel M. Kammen, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, about US policy under President Bush and possible changes in the policy under a Democratic Congress.

By Allan Alter editors@cioinsight-ziffdavis.com

Robert Reich, who was secretary of labor under president Bill Clinton and is now a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, is one of the leading experts on economic policy in the Democratic Party.

Executive Editor Allan Alter spoke to Reich the morning after the historic 2006 election and asked him what the Democratic victory will mean for business and the IT workforce….

ALTER: What are the implications of last night’s election for economic policy and regulation?

ROBERT REICH: I don’t think the direction of economic policy is going to change very much. The House Democrats will want to do such things as raise the minimum wage and use the bargaining leverage Medicare has to get drug prices down. But even there, I doubt they have the votes to override a presidential veto. We don’t know yet what the situation is in the Senate, in terms of Democratic control.

Generally speaking, I don’t see any substantive change in fiscal policy. The alternative minimum tax is going to be high on the agenda for both Democrats and Republicans.

There’s no way to reduce that tax on the middle class without getting revenues elsewhere. So I think it’s probably likely that there will be an attempt to roll back the Bush tax cuts, particularly those that provide the lion’s share of benefits to the wealthy. But here too it’s going to be very tough going, because the president will use his veto. It’s very unlikely the Democrats will have enough votes to override that.

ALTER: … It sounds like we will have a gridlock on Capitol Hill, given the vetoes you foresee. So what steps would you like to see the Democrats take on economic issues?

ROBERT REICH: Well, I think the Democrats ought to lay out an agenda for the future. They ought to use these two years before the 2008 presidential election to make the case for why America’s middle class does not need protectionism with regards to global trade, but does need the ability to adapt to new jobs and new industries.

And adaptation requires better social insurance, better job training and education, and wider coverage, for example, for unemployment insurance which now reaches a much smaller proportion of the workforce than unemployment insurance reached thirty years ago, in terms of people who are laid off. Wage insurance, a new idea that I think is a good one….

… On the minimum wage, Democrats want to raise it. … It ought to be indexed, so we don’t have to keep revisiting the minimum wage issue every few years. The earned income tax credits ought to be expanded. That’s a more efficient device than the minimum wage for insuring that low wage workers get to earn enough to get out of poverty….

[Robert Reich commented on the midterm elections in various other news venues, including ABC7 TV News.]

12. “Again, Pelosi will redefine women’s work” (San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 9, 2006); story citing Visiting Professor RUTH ROSEN;

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/15968295.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

By Mary Anne Ostrom - Mercury News

Nancy Pelosi laughed because she thought it could be one of her daughters calling about her overdue baby early Wednesday morning, but it turned out to be the White House.

President Bush kidded that, in the spirit of bipartisanship, he’d sent over a list of Republican interior decorators to help the San Francisco Democrat “pick out the new drapes in her new offices.’’…

All over television talk shows, pundits have pondered how difficult it might be for a woman to be in a position that conjures up images of smart-alecky, crusty men pounding a gavel. A common refrain: Is she tough enough?

“The presumption is to scrutinize her and look for recognizable male leadership capacities,’’ said Ruth Rosen, a visiting professor who teaches women’s history [and public policy] at the University of California-Berkeley. “She may not have all those, but she may have other skills that come from raising five children. She may have other ways of persuading members.’’…

13. “Democrats Take the House, Could Also Grab the Senate” (The Daily Californian, November 8, 2006); story citing JOHN ELLWOOD; http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=22205

By Bryan Thomas & Brian Whitley - Contributing Writers

The Democratic Party gained control of the House of Representatives yesterday, and with the Senate majority still in limbo voters across the country ousted at least 27 Republican representatives….

Voters most often cited Iraq as the issue that encouraged their decision, leading many political analysts to conclude the power reversal is the result of a backlash against President George W. Bush.

“It’s fair to say this was a reflection on the Bush administration,” said John Ellwood, a professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy. “This was not a pro-Democratic vote, it was a repudiation of the Republicans in power.”…

14. “Measure H: Call to Impeach President Passes Easily” (The Daily Californian, November 8, 2006); story citing JOHN ELLWOOD; http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=22209

— Will Kane

Berkeley residents decisively approved the city resolution calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Measure H—passed by more than two-thirds of voters—is purely symbolic, as only the U.S. House of Representatives can impeach the president and vice president. The measure cites violations of international law, unwarranted domestic surveillance, and the use of misleading evidence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq as grounds for impeachment. …

While the initiative did pass with a large margin, many said they felt that it should not have been put on the city ballot since the initiative did not have any tangible effects and diverts resources away from more important projects. “(The initiative is) stupid. Berkeley has to have a foreign policy, a defense policy, but it can’t fill potholes,” said John Ellwood, a professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy. “(The initiative) makes people happy, it gives them a sense of control.” ...

15. “Schwarzenegger sweeps to victory in California” (Financial Times, November 8 2006); story citing DAN KAMMEN; http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0fa09b10-6f49-11db-ab7b-0000779e2340.html

-- Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles

Arnold Schwarzenegger swept to victory in the California gubernatorial election, easily beating Phil Angelides, his Democrat challenger, and promising to continue governing from the centre ground….

Other ballot propositions were less successful, however. Proposition 87, which sought to raise money for research into alternative fuels by taxing California’s oil companies, was heading for defeat….

The oil industry, which fought the measure, spent almost $100m in campaign ads attacking the plans, claiming they would trigger other taxes.

Professor Daniel Kammen, professor in the energy and resources group at Berkeley University and a supporter of Proposition 87, said it was “impossible to compete against that kind of money”.

He added the proposition’s backers had failed to make a clear economic case for introducing the new taxes.

“The economics are complicated. When you say it’s a tax on oil [and not a tax on consumers] it requires more than just saying it. That single point, that prices would not have been passed on to consumers, was never made sufficiently clear.”…

16. “Solar Powers Up, Sans Silicon” (Wired.com, November 6, 2006); story citing DAN KAMMEN; http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72058-0.html?tw=wn_technology_1

By Joanna Glasner

In a world where sun-powered garden lights seem like a nifty idea, new technologies touted by solar energy startups sound very far out.

Entrepreneurs promise that soon solar-energized “power plastic” will radically extend the battery life of laptops and cell phones. Ultra-cheap printed solar cells will enable construction of huge power-generating facilities at a fraction of today’s costs. And technologies to integrate solar power-generation capability into building materials will herald a new era of energy-efficient construction.

Those are ambitious goals for a technology famous for powering pocket calculators, but investors are paying heed. This year, solar startups have snapped up more than $100 million in venture capital to develop printable materials capable of converting sunlight into electrical power. Soaring energy demand, as well as short supplies of polysilicon, a key ingredient in most solar cells, is fueling interest in alternative materials.

“These technologies look incredibly more real than they did five years ago,” said Dan Kammen, founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley. Kammen predicts solar sources, which today produce less than 1 percent of power consumed nationwide, could eventually meet one-fifth of U.S. energy demand….

17. “Freakoutonomics. Were Clintonites wrong about the economy?” (The New Republic, November 6, 2006); story citing ROBERT REICH.

By Jonathan Chait

In 1993, mere months into the Clinton era, the new administration went to war with itself. Liberals in the Cabinet argued that the central problem of the U.S. economy was the vast middle class that was not seeing its income improve—a problem, they said, that could only be addressed through massive public investment. Moderates, including Robert Rubin, then the chairman of the National Economic Council, replied that the central problem was restoring economic growth, which could only come about by slashing the budget deficit. The moderates won. Their triumph was chronicled memorably in Bob Woodward’s The Agenda and bitterly mourned in Locked in the Cabinet, the memoir of liberal Labor Secretary Robert Reich. President Clinton’s first major economic address “mentions education, and job skills,” lamented Reich, “but the real heart of the message is the importance of reducing the deficit.”…

By Robert Sanders, Media Relations

BERKELEY – The University of California, Berkeley, has joined the California Climate Action Registry, pledging to measure, report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as a means of mitigating climate change….

The registry was created by the California legislature in 2000 to help companies and organizations throughout the United States track, publicly report and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It has been widely recognized as a gold standard for public reporting of greenhouse gases.

At the campus’s third annual Sustainability Summit this April, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced the initiation of a program to implement a campus-wide climate protection plan, which had been recommended by a Campus Climate Protection Steering Committee….

These actions began three years ago, when then-UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl established the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability (CACS) to integrate principles of sustainability into existing campus educational, operational, research and public-service programs, and to instill a culture of sustainability into the campus’s long-range planning and design….

Earlier this year, in partnership with Berkeley Institute of the Environment (BIE), the committee launched the Cal Climate Action Partnership (CalCAP) to develop and implement a long-term strategy to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the campus.

“CalCAP is a student-faculty-staff-administration collaboration which demonstrates the university community’s commitment to developing solutions to society’s greatest challenges,” said Daniel Kammen, co-director of BIE and a professor of energy and resources, public policy and nuclear engineering….

By Bernie Woodall

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California’s polluting greenhouse gas emissions rose more than 14 percent between 1990 and 2004, a report issued this week by the California Energy Commission showed.

That’s the wrong direction for a state that has made law and a vow to cut those global warming gases to 1990 levels by 2020, said Dan Kammen of the energy and resources group at the University of California-Berkeley.

“It’s going in the wrong direction, but it’s considerably less than the national average,” which is about double California’s rate, Kammen said.

The report is important because for the first time California—which would be the eighth largest economy in the world and is by far the largest U.S. state—has accounted emissions in such detail, said Kammen and Michael Prather of the University of California-Irvine….

California’s per-capita CO2 emissions in 2001 were the fourth-lowest among the 50 U.S. states.

If it were a country, California would have been the 16th-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world in 2002. Texas would be the ninth-largest….

By Patti Meagher, College of Engineering

Henry Ford called ethanol the “fuel of the future” and planned to run his Model T on it until oil, which was plentiful and cheap at the time, emerged as the dominant fuel. Ethanol resurfaced during the 1973 oil crisis, when gasoline prices edged upward and price controls, gas rationing, and oil embargoes became the order of the day….

…A new campus center established this year, the Joint Center for Transportation Sustainability Research (http://www.its.berkeley.edu/sustainabilitycenter), will help focus Berkeley’s research in the areas of transportation, environment, and sustainability, including biofuels. But for the last three years, Berkeley has been a microcosm of the ongoing debate, as two of its most widely quoted authorities, Dan Kammen and Tad Patzek, are crunching data on opposite sides of campus in an effort to determine the truth about biofuels.

“We know that ethanol is a net energy winner,” says Kammen. “With investment and innovation, it could be a huge resource.” The Class of 1935 Distinguished Professor of Energy, Kammen has appointments in nuclear engineering, the Goldman School of Public Policy, and the Energy and Resources Group. His latest research shows that corn-derived ethanol—produced from the U.S. corn crop through an expensive and resource-intensive process that uses just the corn kernel—saves significantly on gas but reduces greenhouse-gas emissions only by about 15 percent.

Even so, what Kammen likes about corn ethanol is that it is available now and can begin making a dent in our petroleum consumption while research continues on better alternatives. Most promising, he says, is cellulosic ethanol, made from paper pulp, specially designed fuel crops like switchgrass, and many wastes that can be diverted from landfill and turned into fuel. The big success story in cellulosic ethanol comes from Brazil, which will achieve energy self-sufficiency some time this year thanks to a 30-year investment in ethanol derived from its native sugar cane. Cellulosic ethanol has the potential to yield many times more energy than corn ethanol and will greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Kammen says. With a few new experimental refineries under construction, he adds, cellulosic ethanol could be powering some U.S. cars in a few years….

Kammen and Patzek both advocate making aggressive investments in viable mass transit and highly efficient “plug-in” hybrid cars as well as implementing steep carbon emissions taxes. But while Kammen sees biofuels as an important part of this future scenario, Patzek says that simple gas-saving measures—like properly inflating car tires or increasing vehicle fuel efficiency by three to five miles—would reduce gas consumption more than converting to ethanol. We could do all three, Kammen counters, and reduce petroleum consumption even more….

(Dan Kammen: Peg Skorpinski photo)

21. “The Economics of Global Warming” (Forum, KQED-88.5 FM, Nov 1, 2006); features commentary of DAN KAMMEN; listen to the program at: http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R611010900

[In the wake of the British study warning that unabated global warming could cut 20% of world GDP each year,] Forum discusses the possible economic impacts of global warming.

Guests:

Dan Kammen, professor of energy and society at the Energy and Resources Group, and at UC-Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy….

FACULTY SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS & EVENTS

November 2 EUGENE BARDACH spoke on “The Theories of GovStat” at the APPAM annual fall research conference, Madison, WI.

November 2 LEE FRIEDMAN spoke on “How Do We Get There From Here? Examining the Links Between Environmental Policy and Clean Technologies” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

November 2 MARGARET TAYLOR presented her paper, “California Driving Change State Influence on the Development of Clean Car Technology,” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

November 2 RUCKER JOHNSON spoke on “Economics of the Transitions to Adulthood” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

November 3 RUCKER JOHNSON presented his paper, “Job Instability and Children’s Well-Being Among Families Leaving Welfare,” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

November 3 JOHN ELLWOOD chaired the panel, “Is America Too Polarized to Make Public Policy?” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

November 3 STEVEN RAPHAEL spoke on “Assisted Housing and Self-Sufficiency: Resolving Inconsistent Findings” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

November 4 RUCKER JOHNSON presented his paper, “Racial Differences in Asthma Prevalence and Morbidity: The Importance of Family Background and Neighborhood Quality During Childhood,” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

November 4 MARGARET TAYLOR spoke on “Regional Economic Development and Science and Technology Policy” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

November 4 STEVEN RAPHAEL spoke on “Controlling Crime” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

November 4 MICHAEL O’HARE chaired the panel, “Looking Back at, and Moving Forward from, the Park City Conference,” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

November 4 ROBERT MacCOUN presented his paper, “Do Citizens Accurately Perceive Differences in Marijuana Sanction Risks? A Test of Critical Assumption in Deterrence Theory and the Decriminalization Debate,” at the APPAM annual fall research conference.

VIDEOS & WEBCASTS

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Recent events viewable on UC Webcast: http://webcast.berkeley.edu/events/archive.php?select2=36

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Director of External Relations and Development

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(This digest was edited by Theresa Wong)