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“Presumed Guilty” a film by Roberto Hernández [with Layda
Negrete] and Geoffrey Smith
Premiere broadcast on PBS’s “P.O.V.” on July 27, 2010 [check your local PBS broadcast schedule].
The award-winning “Presumed Guilty” is the story of two young lawyers and their struggle to free a wrongfully imprisoned man and to expose a criminal justice system that imprisons thousands of other innocent people like him. With no background in film, Roberto Hernández (PhD cand.) and Layda Negrete (MPP 1998/PhD cand.) set about recording the injustices they were witnessing. More info
ALUMNI AND STUDENT NEWSMAKERS
1. “S.F. bond rating takes a nosedive to negative” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 30, 2010); story citing CARMEN CHU (MPP 2003); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/30/BANQ1E6E68.DTL#ixzz0sLsEpE23
2. “Healthy
3. “Impact of Wind Farms on Military Readiness” (CQ Congressional Testimony, June 29, 2010); Capitol Hill Hearing Testimony by DOROTHY ROBYN (MPP 1978/PhD 1983).
4. “S.F. alcohol-fee plan for health costs a first” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 27, 2010); story citing BRUCE LIVINGSTON (MPP 1989); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/27/BA1B1E3P34.DTL#ixzz0sAp3tW00
5. “Viewpoints: Water woes aren’t over; save what we still have” (Sacramento Bee, June 26, 2010); op-ed citing research by DAVE METZ (MPP 1998); http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/26/2850248/water-woes-arent-over-save-what.html
6. “For Denied Claims, a Bit of Help in the Health Law” (New York Times June 21, 2010); story citing study led by KAREN POLLITZ (MPP 1982); http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/health/22land.html?th&emc=th
7. “S.F. weighs fees to close budget gap” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 20, 2010); story citing GREG WAGNER (MPP 2004); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/20/BAAO1E1M7R.DTL
8. “Class Struggle Blog: New evidence that SAT hurts blacks” (Washington Post, June 17, 2010); column citing MARIA VERONICA SANTELICES (MPP 2001); http://voices.washingtonpost.com/class-struggle/2010/06/new_evidence_that_sat_hurts_bl.html
9. “
10. “First All-Electric Delivery Truck in New York City
Unveiled in
11. “Public employee unions on the defensive” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 13, 2010); op-ed citing DANIEL BORENSTEIN (MPP 1980/MJ 1985); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/13/INSD1DRDIC.DTL
12. “Insurance premium hikes hit small business hard” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 12, 2010); story citing study coauthored by LAUREL TAN LUCIA (MPP 2005); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/12/BUGG1DONP4.DTL
13. “Plan Would Divvy Up a Town” (The Record (
14. “Gavin Newsom: S.F. mayor, candidate or both?” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 10, 2010); analysis citing DAVID LATTERMAN (MPP 2002); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/10/MNCN1DSL9B.DTL
15. “
16. “Bernanke begs for a double dip recession” (Salon.com, June 9, 2010); analysis citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976); http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/06/09/double_dip_recession/index.html
17. “Should Teachers’ Raises Depend on Kids’ Test Scores? Some states are getting serious about the idea” (Mother Jones, June 9, 2010); story citing JESSE ROTHSTEIN (MPP/PhD 2003); http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/05/should-teachers-raises-depend-kids-test-scores
18. “Court Innovators Take Readers on Nuanced Exploration of Criminal Justice Reform” (Ascribe Newswire, June 9, 2010); newswire citing AUBREY FOX (MPP 1998).
19. “Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families Hearing; The State of the American Child” (Congressional Documents and Publications, June 8, 2010); congressional testimony citing JULIA BIXLER ISAACS (MPP 1985) and MICHAEL LINDEN (MPP 2007).
20. “City Panel OKs ArtYard Lease Surrender - Full Council Will Likely OK Move” (Albuquerque Journal, June 8, 2010); story citing CHRIS CALVERT (MPP 1979).
21. “A Happy Homecoming for Long-Lost Silent Films” (All Things Considered, National Public Radio, June 7, 2010); interview with ANNETTE MELVILLE (MPP 1992); Listen to this story
22. “Lost John Ford movie unearthed in
23. “1,900 cyclists embark on AIDS ride” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 7, 2010); story citing organization headed by MARK CLOUTIER (MPP/MPH 1993); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/07/BAA61DQU91.DTL
24. “Volunteers cut back on car use for a week” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 7, 2010); story citing organization headed by STUART COHEN (MPP 1997); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/07/BA5K1DQ1S1.DTL&type=newsbayarea
25. “NY passes students who get wrong answers on tests” (New York Post, June 6, 2010); story citing RAY DOMANICO (MPP 1979); http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/how_do_you_pass_ny_school_tests_tCqFKo40FhcwkO5SoPYWRI
26. “ACLU and Civil Rights Groups Ask Court to Block Implementation of Arizona’s Racial Profiling Law during Legal Battle” (Targeted News Service, June 5, 2010); newswire citing KAREN TUMLIN (MPP 2003/JD 2004).
27. “Many workers are jobless far longer than usual” (McClatchy-Tribune News Service, June 4, 2010); newswire citing JESSE ROTHSTEIN (MPP/PhD 2003).
28. “Science education will soon be required in
29. “Panel: Significant Fuel Savings are Possible for Cars” (The Associated Press, June 4, 2010); story citing ROLAND HWANG (MPP 1992).
30. “More options for supplement plans - ‘Medigap’ changes not always cheaper” (Orlando Sentinel, June 4, 2010); analysis citing JULIETTE CUBANSKI (MPP 1998/MPH 1999).
31. “Californians willing to save water, poll finds” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 3, 2010); story citing DAVE METZ (MPP 1998); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/03/BAKN1DOMA5.DTL&type=newsbayarea
32. “Council on Foreign Relations Meeting Subject: World Economic Update” (Federal News Service, June 3, 2010); event featuring MICKEY LEVY (MPP 1974).
33. “California Is Set to Ease Path for Transfer Students” (Chronicle of Higher Education (*requires registration), June 2, 2010); story citing research coauthored by NANCY BOROW SHULOCK (MPP 1978); http://chronicle.com/article/California-Is-Set-to-Ease-Path/65763/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
34. “Newsom’s budget foresees layoffs, program cuts” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 2, 2010); story citing GREG WAGNER (MPP 2004); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/02/BAL11DO3EF.DTL
35. “Health insurance watchdogs on duty; Four guide market revamp. Appointments suggest increased scrutiny” (The Washington Post [*requires registration], June 1, 2010); story citing KAREN POLLITZ (MPP 1982).
36. “US Congress Watch: Little Interest Tackling Basic Fiscal Chores” (The Main Wire, Market News International, June 1, 2010); newswire citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976).
37. “Alexion Announces the Appointment of Ann M. Veneman to Its Board of Directors; Former Executive Director of UNICEF and Secretary of U.S. Department of Agriculture” (Business Wire, June 1, 2010); newswire citing ANN VENEMAN (MPP 1971).
38. “UW-Madison to host series of talks on core poverty
issues” (States News Service, June 1, 2010); event featuring JULIA BIXLER ISAACS (MPP 1985).
39. “Prop. B would retrofit fire, police stations” (San Francisco Chronicle, May 28, 2010); story citing MICHAEL THOMPSON (MPP 2003); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/28/BA711DI5K9.DTL
40. “Children’s Health Care: One Mother’s Story” (L.A. Watts Times, May 27, 2010); story citing KELLY ABBETT HARDY (MPP/MPH 2004).
41. “Governor Delivers Remarks at Green Products Innovation Institute Announcement” (States News Service, May 20, 2010); newswire citing JIM MARVER (MPP 1974/PhD 1978).
42. “EDITORIAL: An unrealistic doomsday prediction” (The
Journal Gazette, (
43. “Piedmont City Briefs: Foster care topic of league talk” (Oakland Tribune, April 8, 2010); event featuring AMY LEMLEY (MPP 1998).
44. “The Price is right for preserving black history at
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
1. “Making the most of a trip” – Commentary by ROBERT REICH (Marketplace [NPR], June 30, 2010); Listen to this commentary
2. “Want to see Big Papi? Manny? You’ll pay for it” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 25, 2010); column citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/25/BUPD1E4CFB.DTL
3. “
4. “Climate change / Berkeley scientists to help author IPCC report” (UC Berkeley NewsCenter, June 23, 2010); IPCC press release citing MICHAEL HANEMANN and SEBASTIAN VICUÑA-DIAZ (MPP 2004/MA ENGR 2004); More info
5. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Why
6. “Oil spill pushes carbon tax back into spotlight” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 22, 2010); story citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/22/MNBL1E0PCQ.DTL
7. Robert Reich’s Blog: “The Obama plot for a carbon tax. Some speculate that President Obama is planning to push cap and trade legislation and a carbon tax behind closed doors. Is this the best strategy?” commentary by ROBERT REICH; (Christian Science Monitor Online, June 18, 2010); http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0618/The-Obama-plot-for-a-carbon-tax
8. “
9. “Renewing Energy Policy, Post-Spill” (Forum, KQED public radio, June 16, 2010); features commentary by DAN KAMMEN; Listen to this program
10. “Bay Area expresses concern over Gulf oil disaster” (KGO TV, June 16, 2010); features commentary by DAN KAMMEN; http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7502779
11. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Why the
12. Robert Reich’s Blog: “BP clean up: A contest between citizenship interests and shareholders” (Christian Science Monitor Online, June 15, 2010); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0615/BP-clean-up-A-contest-between-citizenship-interests-and-shareholders
13. “This time, will we end the water war?” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 13, 2010); commentary citing MICHAEL HANEMANN; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/13/INV31DRTR9.DTL
14. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Why the
15. “House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Hearing; Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Barriers to Reentry for the Formerly Incarcerated” (Congressional Documents and Publications, June 9, 2010); congressional testimony citing STEVEN RAPHAEL.
16. “Fears of Double-Dip Recession” (CNN Newsroom, June 8, 2010); interview with ROBERT REICH.
17. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Amidst chaos, Obama must take charge” (Christian Science Monitor, June 8, 2010); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0608/Amidst-chaos-Obama-must-take-charge
18. “Big Spenders Head to Polls. Meg, Poizner and other moneyed candidates gear up for primaries” (Bay Citizen, June 7, 2010); analysis citing JOHN ELLWOOD; http://www.baycitizen.org/june-8-election/story/big-spenders/
19. Robert Reich’s Blog: “US is falling into a double-dip recession” (Christian Science Monitor Online, June 5, 2010); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0605/US-is-falling-Into-a-double-dip-recession
20. “Gulf Catastrophe Update” (Forum, KQED public
radio, June 4, 2010); program features commentary by DAN KAMMEN; Listen to the program
21. “Tom Campbell runs into a campaign cash crisis” (KGO TV, June 2, 2010); story citing HENRY BRADY; http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/politics&id=7475700
22. “Entrepreneur or Unemployed?” (New York Times, June 2, 2010); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/opinion/02reich.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th
23. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Five reasons Obama should put BP under receivership” (Christian Science Monitor Online, June 1, 2010); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0601/Five-reasons-Obama-should-put-BP-under-receivership
24. “Gulf of Mexico oil spill: BP shares slide
further as US opens criminal investigation” (Telegraph [
25. “BP investors struggle to factor in the
unfathomable” (Washington Post, June 6, 2010); story citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/05/AR2010060500727_pf.html
26. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Is BP protecting the Gulf or its bottom line in the oil spill?” (Christian Science Monitor Online, June 4, 2010); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0604/Is-BP-protecting-the-Gulf-or-its-bottom-line-in-the-oil-spill
1. “S.F. bond rating takes a nosedive to negative” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 30, 2010); story citing CARMEN CHU (MPP 2003); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/30/BANQ1E6E68.DTL#ixzz0sLsEpE23
--Rachel Gordon
Fighting crime: The penalties for committing certain crimes on Muni platforms, vehicles or within 25 feet of a transit stop would double under legislation introduced Tuesday by Supervisor Carmen Chu.
“Many individuals rely
on Muni as their only mode of transportation, and it’s important that we work
with the community and with our laws to improve public safety,”
The proposed changes to the police code pertain to aggressive pursuit, defined as “the willful, malicious or repeated following or harassment of another person,” and loitering while carrying a concealed weapon.
The legislation, co-sponsored by Supervisors David Chiu, Eric Mar, Sophie Maxwell and Bevan Dufty, comes after a series of violent incidents this year along the T-Third rail corridor in the Bayview.
One may have resulted in
the death of 83-year-old Huan Chen. A group of teenage boys assaulted him near
a transit stop at
2. “Healthy
--John Wildermuth, Chronicle Staff Writer
Elana Salzman, a Healthy San Francisco participant, speaks with Dr.
Evie Precechtil in March after coming to the urgent care clinic at
After four years,
The ruling “is a victory for the 53,000 San Franciscans who have health care today through our groundbreaking universal health care program,” Mayor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “The high court’s decision ... ensures we can continue providing health care coverage to thousands who would otherwise go without.”
The restaurant association’s suit argued that the city could not legally force businesses to either provide health benefits to its workers or pay into the city pool. A panel of judges from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument in September 2008.
Healthy
Despite the highly publicized legal maneuvering, Healthy San Francisco has been running, and running well, said Tangerine Brigham, the program’s director.
“So far, about 1,100 employers have selected Healthy San Francisco as their option,” she said.
Healthy
Nearly 80 percent of people in the program use primary care services during the course of a year, “and that’s something the uninsured don’t do,” Brigham said.
A study last year by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 94 percent of the participants in Healthy San Francisco were satisfied with the program….
3. “Impact of Wind Farms on Military Readiness” (CQ Congressional Testimony, June 29, 2010); Capitol Hill Hearing Testimony by DOROTHY ROBYN (MPP 1978/PhD 1983).
Committee on House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness
Statement of Dr. Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary, Installations and Environment Department of Defense
I would like to begin
with a recent example of the challenge and opportunity the Department of
Defense faces. On March 1, 2010, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
issued a Notice of Presumed Hazard for a proposed 338-turbine wind farm in
north central
The FAA decision brought to a halt a major renewable energy project, Shepherds Flat, that had been underway for five years (construction of the turbines was set to begin in May) and that had attracted several hundred million dollars in investment. The ensuing controversy led to extensive discussions between DoD and both project advocates (Caithness Energy and General Electric) and other federal agencies. It also prompted a great deal of analysis and discussion within the Department. Among other things, in late April, we commissioned a 60-day study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory to identify measures that could mitigate the electromagnetic interference.
On April 30, DoD withdrew its objection to the project based largely on two considerations. One, internal DoD analysis indicated that the impact of the additional turbines would not be as severe as initially thought. Two, the Department was optimistic that Lincoln Lab would be able to identify mitigation measures measures that could be implemented during the 18 months it would take the developer to construct the turbines….
This creates a dilemma for the Department. Above all, we must maintain the capabilities needed to defend the nation, including our surveillance network and our irreplaceable test and training ranges. At the same time, the Department strongly supports the development of renewable energy and is a recognized leader in the use of solar, geothermal, wind and other renewable sources. The use of renewable energy at forward operating bases can reduce the need for electricity powered by fuel, which costs lives as well as dollars to transport to theater.
(One commanding general
in
4. “S.F. alcohol-fee plan for health costs a first” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 27, 2010); story citing BRUCE LIVINGSTON (MPP 1989); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/27/BA1B1E3P34.DTL#ixzz0sAp3tW00
--Rachel Gordon
The alcohol fee to pay the city’s
alcohol-related healthcare costs has not been tried before at the local level
in
The alcohol mitigation
fee proposed by Supervisor John Avalos last week to cover the city’s
alcohol-related health care costs has not been tried before at the local level
in
But at least eight cities and counties in the state have imposed fees on retailers that sell booze to fund education programs and to ensure compliance with state and local alcohol-related regulations, according to the Marin Institute, an advocacy organization that supports the fees….
The proposed fee on beer, wine and hard liquor of 0.076 of a cent per ounce of alcohol sold would be focused on wholesalers….
Several business-backed trade and advocacy groups already have come out against the fee, casting it as a jobs killer….
Countered Bruce Livingston, executive director of the
Marin Institute: “
5. “Viewpoints: Water woes aren’t over; save what we still have” (Sacramento Bee, June 26, 2010); op-ed citing research by DAVE METZ (MPP 1998); http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/26/2850248/water-woes-arent-over-save-what.html
By Timothy Quinn - Special to The Bee
Nine out of ten people believe that Californians need to conserve water, even with this year’s wet weather. This is according to a new survey conducted [by Dave Metz’s firm] on behalf of the state’s public water agencies [and the Department of Water Resources]. The study also reported that four out of five are willing to reduce their household water use by 20 percent. They just need to learn how….
But the survey also confirmed our suspicions that more needs to be done to educate Californians about actions they can take to save water. For example, nearly three-quarters of people surveyed believe that they use more water inside their homes than outside, when exactly the opposite is true….
6. “For Denied Claims, a Bit of Help in the Health Law” (New York Times June 21, 2010); story citing study led by KAREN POLLITZ (MPP 1982); http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/health/22land.html?th&emc=th
By Michelle Andrews
(David Plunkert)
Fighting with a health plan over a denied claim can leave people feeling they’ve been injured all over again.
The options for challenging an insurance company’s decision are limited. Appeals can be slow and cumbersome, if they are available at all, and most patients are barred from suing for damages resulting from denials and delayed treatments.
The new health law makes the system somewhat more consumer-friendly. Starting this fall, patients in all health plans can contest claim denials in an independent state-level review procedure — a recourse that has not generally been available to employees of companies that pay their employees’ health claims directly….
... The provision does not apply, however, to “grandfathered” plans — those in existence on March 23, when the health law was enacted.
Nor does the new law make it any easier for consumers to sue for punitive damages or for pain and suffering. Under ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, people covered by employer health plans can sue in federal court only for the cost of the benefit that was denied them. Some state courts provide stronger remedies, but only to people with individual health insurance policies.
So those who hoped for bigger, more powerful weapons to fight claim denials are likely to be disappointed, some experts said….
Under the current system, health plans must have an internal appeals process; usually the process has more than one level of appeals, but a study by researchers at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute [led by Karen Pollitz] found that the original denial is typically upheld….
7. “S.F. weighs fees to close budget gap” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 20, 2010); story citing GREG WAGNER (MPP 2004); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/20/BAAO1E1M7R.DTL
--Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer
Among the fees being considered is charging out-of-towners, such as
Leif Lange of
Pet owners in
Drivers at fault in an accident may for the first time face a charge from the Fire Department to clean up things like broken glass and spilled gasoline.
Faced with a staggering $483 million budget deficit heading into the new fiscal year, Mayor Gavin Newsom and his department administrators hope to plug part of the gap with fees - by imposing new ones and increasing those already on the books.
“Nobody wants to do this, but it’s one of the options we’re relying on more,” said Greg Wagner, the mayor’s budget director….
8. “Class Struggle Blog: New evidence that SAT hurts blacks” (Washington Post, June 17, 2010); column citing MARIA VERONICA SANTELICES (MPP 2001); http://voices.washingtonpost.com/class-struggle/2010/06/new_evidence_that_sat_hurts_bl.html
By Jay Mathews
Roy Freedle is 76 now, with a research psychologist’s innate patience. He knows that decades often pass before valid ideas take root. When the notion is as radical as his, that the SAT is racially biased, an even longer wait might be expected. But after 23 years the research he has done on the surprising reaction of black students to hard words versus easy words seems to be gaining new respectability.
Seven years ago, after being discouraged from investigating findings while working for the Educational Testing Service, Freedle published a paper in the Harvard Educational Review that won significant attention.
He was retired from ETS
by then. As he expected, his former supervisors dismissed his conclusions.
Researchers working for the College Board, which owns the SAT, said the test
was not biased. But the then president of the
Now, in the latest issue of the Harvard Educational Review, the two scholars who took on that project have published a paper saying Freedle was right about a flaw in the SAT, even in its current form. They say “the SAT, a high-stakes test with significant consequences for the educational opportunities available to young people in the United States, favors one ethnic group over another.”
“The confirmation of
unfair test results throws into question the validity of the test and,
consequently, all decisions based on its results,” said Maria Veronica Santelices, now
at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de
Saul Geiser was the director of research in Atkinson’s office originally given the assignment to look into Freedle’s theory. Eventually he arranged for Santelices, then a doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley, to do the research as her PhD thesis, working with Wilson, a UC Berkeley psychometrician who had also been asked to look at Freedle’s work....
Geiser said he thinks the two researchers did a good job….
[Maria Santelices is also cited in a report in Inside Higher Ed (June 21, 2010); http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/21/sat ]
9. “
By Julio Godoy
The accused are the
first Somali people to be prosecuted in Germany as part of Operation Atalanta,
the European Union’s military surveillance of the Indian Ocean officially
established “to help deter, prevent and repress acts of piracy and armed
robbery off the coast of
The EU claims that the operation’s objectives are “the protection of vessels of the World Food Program delivering food aid to displaced persons in Somalia, of vulnerable vessels cruising off the Somali coast, and the deterrence, prevention and repression of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast”….
However, critics of the operation suggest that its hidden mission is to protect European vessels accused by Somali seafarers and international organizations of another form of piracy: illegal fishing and the dumping of toxic waste, including radioactive material, in Somali waters.
One example of the EU’s protection of vessels fishing illegally in the waters of the Horn of Africa is the Spanish tuna fishing boat Alakrana. In Oct 2009, Somali pirates seized the boat, arguing that it was fishing illegally in Somali waters.
Almost two months later, the Somali pirates released the boat for a ransom of some four million dollars after several attempts by the Spanish army to free the Alakrana had failed.
The Somali allegations
that the Alakrana was illegally fishing in the
Thurston, founder and managing director of Fishsubsidy.org, a watchdog group that researches the EU’s subsidies for fisheries, told IPS that “the construction of Alakrana was part-funded by EU taxpayers to the tune of more than 4.2 million euro”.
Allegations that EU
companies have been fishing illegally and dumping toxic waste in Somali waters
have been frequent since a tsunami in Dec 2004 washed ashore containers full
with medical, radioactive and chemical waste on the coast of
10. “First All-Electric
Delivery Truck in New York City Unveiled in
Congressman Jose E.
Serrano and others see the truck’s debut as particularly timely as the
oil-produced disaster in the Gulf of Mexico continues to unfold and also as a
dramatic first step towards cleaning the notoriously bad air in the
“The time to move beyond our dependence on oil is now,” said Luke Tonachel, senior transportation analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Electric vehicles demonstrate that we have the technology today to transform the way we drive and be a world leader in plug-in electric vehicle manufacturing and use. We simply need to capitalize on the opportunity.” …
11. “Public employee unions on the defensive” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 13, 2010); op-ed citing DANIEL BORENSTEIN (MPP 1980/MJ 1985); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/13/INSD1DRDIC.DTL
--Peter Scheer
… Despite record high membership and dues, and years of unparalleled clout in state capitols, public-sector unions find themselves on the defensive, desperately trying to hold onto past gains in the face of a skeptical press and angry voters. So far has the zeitgeist shifted against them that on one recent weekend, government employees were the butt of a “Saturday Night Live” skit, and the next day, a New York Times Magazine cover article proclaimed “The Teachers’ Unions’ Last Stand.” …
The biggest blow to unions’ public support has come from revelations about jaw-dropping compensation and pension benefits. Police have received unwelcome attention for budget-busting overtime and the manipulation of eligibility rules for “disability pensions,” which provide higher benefits and tax advantages. Other government employees, particularly managers, have been called out for “pension spiking”: using vacation time, sick pay and the like to boost income in the last years of employment, which are the basis for calculating retirement benefits.
Such gaming of the
system boosts starting pensions to levels that can approach, and even exceed,
employees’ salaries. Some examples from the reporting of the Contra Costa
Times’ Daniel Borenstein: A retired
12. “Insurance premium hikes hit small business hard” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 12, 2010); story citing study coauthored by LAUREL TAN LUCIA (MPP 2005); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/12/BUGG1DONP4.DTL
John Gonzales, Center for Health Reporting
San Francisco Advertiser co-owner Brad Wing (left), discussing ad sales with associate Sean Hussey, said he was notified that the business’ health insurance premiums were going up 58 percent. (Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle)
But many said the tax credits granted under the legislation have run up against a new hurdle: a spate of rate increases by insurance companies, including 58 to 75 percent hikes levied recently by Blue Shield of California.
“That money is going right back to the insurance companies,” said Brad Wing, co-owner of the San Francisco Advertiser, who received notice of his 58.3 percent increase in April…..
Such moves are possible in California because no state body is charged with keeping track of proposed rate increases on health plans, let alone preventing them. But that might be changing.
The state Assembly passed a measure this month that would require insurance companies to obtain regulatory approval before raising rates. The proposal will go to a state Senate committee….
Companies with fewer than 50 employees account for 44 percent of the state’s total uninsured working population, according to a study [coauthored by Laurel Tan] released in March by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education….
The Obama administration released guidelines on May 17 offering small businesses tax credits against their premium costs. The credits are one of a handful of immediate measures in the federal health care bill signed by the president in March, with others slated for 2014.
Qualifying firms must have the equivalent of fewer than 25 full-time workers, pay average salaries below $50,000 and shoulder at least 50 percent of the health plan costs themselves.
The credit is worth up
to 35 percent of a small business’ premium costs, and by 2014 the savings
increases to 50 percent, according to the federal guidelines. The
[“The President’s Health
Reform Proposal: Impact on Access and Affordability in
13. “Plan Would Divvy Up
a Town” (The Record (
By Michael Gartland, Staff Writer
State legislators are planning to propose a bill Monday that would divide Teterboro among four other boroughs, effectively dissolving it, state Sen. Robert Gordon said Thursday.
Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, said the move would split Teterboro’s tax base
among neighboring South Hackensack, Little Ferry, Moonachie and
“A town like
The plan comes at a time when Republican Governor Christie and the Democratic-controlled Legislature struggle to reduce costs.
[Assemblywoman Connie Wagner, D-Paramus], a South Hackensack native, said she and Gordon have been working on the Municipal Efficiency Bill for about five months, and that she considers it the first step of several to provide tax relief to Bergen County residents.
“Teterboro has a budget of $5.3 million,” she said. “There are 23 employees and 38 residents. ... Six employees, I believe, are making a salary of over $100,000.”
Both Wagner and Gordon said they are sensitive to the concerns of businesses in Teterboro and that the bill will include a 20-year tax abatement plan to ensure that new tax rates will not cripple them….
14. “Gavin Newsom: S.F. mayor, candidate or both?” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 10, 2010); analysis citing DAVID LATTERMAN (MPP 2002); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/10/MNCN1DSL9B.DTL
--John Coté, Chronicle Staff Writer
Mayor Gavin Newsom plays with a soccer ball at a pre-World Cup celebration
at
After the strains of African samba had faded away from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s victory party at Yoshi’s after the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, he basked late Tuesday night in the light of an iPad displaying results from local ballot measures. Almost all had gone his way.
“I would say this is a particularly great day for us,” Newsom said. “You can win a primary and win your local ballots the same day.”
But with Newsom now facing a tough battle in November against incumbent Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, a moderate Republican with crossover appeal, political figures warn that Newsom’s interests could diverge from what is best for the city he has overseen since 2004.
Skeptics are wary that Newsom will become disengaged, either through disinterest or campaign demands, and morph into the absentee mayor that critics railed about during his failed bid for governor last year.
That could complicate ongoing budget negotiations with the Board of Supervisors, endanger policy initiatives and present risks to major long-term projects like the proposed redevelopment of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and Candlestick Point, said political consultant David Latterman and others.
“It’s a very, very bad budget situation, and there’s an increasingly emboldened progressive board. It would be nice to have Newsom be here this summer,” said Latterman, a self-described political moderate and pollster who helps run city campaigns. “When Newsom was running for governor pretty much full-time, he wasn’t here. How engaged do we expect him to be? I don’t know.”
If Newsom wins in November and a board dominated by left-wing progressives names an interim mayor to complete Newsom’s term, some of the major infrastructure projects Newsom has championed, such as redeveloping the Hunters Point shipyard and Treasure Island, would be threatened, said Latterman.
“They will pretty much try to kill both projects,” Latterman said. “They’ll put so many poison pills in it that it collapses and fails.” …
15. “
By Lewis Beale
“Presumed Guilty” is a documentary about the retrial of Toño Zúñiga, framed for murder in the Mexican capital.
When Toño Zúñiga was
sentenced to 20 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, he seemed
destined to be just one more name in the long list of people framed by the
But his case caught the attention of two young Mexican lawyers, who managed to get not only a retrial for Zúñiga but permission to film it.
The result, “Presumed Guilty,” a searing look at a corrupt justice system, will be shown on June 24 as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival—which starts June 10—and broadcast on PBS on July 27.
Roberto Hernández, one of the lawyers [with Layda Negrete] and a co-director of the film, says the filmmakers were allowed to shoot the procedure because they looked “very incompetent.” …
“Presumed Guilty” shows a parade of inept lawyers, indifferent judges and corrupt policemen in a system in which more than 90% of convictions are based solely on eyewitness testimony, which is notoriously unreliable.
“If you look at the trial, there is no accountability,” says Hernández. “That, combined with low wages and a management system that rewards arrests, is a toxic combination.” …
Hernández, who is getting a Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, says it’s not a problem of money but of unchecked power.
“The police need to be better paid, but right now, the budget for public safety has grown and grown” because of the war on drugs, he says. “Having more cops and no accountability doesn’t make sense.” …
16. “Bernanke begs for a double dip recession” (Salon.com, June 9, 2010); analysis citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976); http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2010/06/09/double_dip_recession/index.html
By Andrew Leonard
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on June 7.
(Reuters/Jim Young)
Since the expiration of the federal homebuyer
tax credit at the end of April, applications for new mortgages have
cratered—down 35 percent in the last four weeks—to the lowest point since 1997.
As Calculated Risk assiduously reminds us, the inevitable outcome is that the
In a unfortunate display
of bad timing, Stan Collender tells
us at Capital Gains and Games that
about three weeks from now 46 states will kick off their new fiscal year—and it
won’t be pretty. “According to an analysis by the National Conference of State
Legislatures,” reports Collender, “in
2011 all 50 states and
[Stan Collender’s
column, “Starting in 3 Weeks, States Are Going to Make the U.S. Budget Debate
Much Worse,” can be read at: http://capitalgainsandgames.com/blog/stan-collender/1780/starting-3-weeks-states-are-going-make-us-budget-debate-much-worse
17. “Should Teachers’ Raises Depend on Kids’ Test Scores? Some states are getting serious about the idea” (Mother Jones, June 9, 2010); story citing JESSE ROTHSTEIN (MPP/PhD 2003); http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/05/should-teachers-raises-depend-kids-test-scores
By Jessica Calefati
(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
In late March, when Florida first-grade teacher Julie
Mark first heard about a new bill that would make teachers’ raises dependent on
students’ test scores in her state, she thought the bill’s proposal sounded so
outrageous that it didn’t stand a chance at becoming law. “When I have a
struggling student, my first thought is, ‘What can I do to help this little boy
or girl?’” says Mark, “not: ‘What can I do to make sure this student is not the
one who costs me my salary or my job?’” …
Why the sudden flurry of
interest in changing state education policies? These four states are among a
pool of nearly 40 vying for a slice of the $3.4 billion President Obama and
Education Secretary Arne Duncan will distribute in September to the
second-round winners of Race to the Top, a competition designed to encourage
and reward ambitious education reform at the state and local level…. To get
some of the money—which states need desperately to fill gaping holes in their
education budgets and save hundreds of thousands of teachers from scheduled
layoffs—applicants must play by
There is, however, a
mountain of research showing that they don’t work. A 2003 study by the RAND
Corporation found that evaluating teachers based on students’ year-to-year
test-score improvements yields unreliable results. A 2009 study (PDF) by UC-Berkeley public policy professor Jesse Rothstein
found a correlation between
18. “Court Innovators Take Readers on Nuanced Exploration of Criminal Justice Reform” (Ascribe Newswire, June 9, 2010); newswire citing AUBREY FOX (MPP 1998).
WASHINGTON -- With the criminal justice field
dominated by heated debates about “best practices,” “evidence-based programs,”
and “what works,” the new book, “Trial and Error in Criminal Justice Reform:
Learning from Failure” argues that the public policy world cannot be divided
neatly into successes and failures. The reality, say authors Greg Burman and Aubrey Fox, is that some ideas work in
some places some of the time. Good results are hard to sustain and even harder
to replicate.
“Trial and Error in Criminal Justice Reform,” published by the Urban Institute Press, reviews high-profile experiments that have struggled to succeed. Berman and Fox, executives with the Center for Court Innovation, seek lessons that can be applied to future programs. Among the promising initiatives that went wrong—
. Pioneering drug courts
in
. Operation Ceasefire,
which dramatically reduced teen homicides in
. Consent to Search, an initiative of the St. Louis Police Department that succeeded in taking hundreds of guns off the streets but came undone due to local politics and ill-fated implementation decisions.
In detailing the stories of notable criminal justice innovations, “Trial and Error in Criminal Justice Reform” does not finger point, pass out grades, or look back with 20-20 hindsight. Rather, it aims to help reformers learn from their predecessors’ mistakes. Berman and Fox present crucial lessons for would-be innovators, including the importance of understanding local context, winning over street-level bureaucrats, and engaging in self-reflection….
“This provocative book
charts a promising path for criminal justice reform in this country. I can
think of no other book like it, and I urge front-line practitioners,
policymakers, and scholars to read it,” commented Joan Petersilia, the Adelbert
H. Sweet Professor of Law at
Greg Berman is the director of the Center for Court Innovation, a public-private partnership that seeks to reduce crime, aid victims, and improve public trust in justice. Aubrey Fox is the center’s director of special projects….
19. “Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families Hearing; The State of the American Child” (Congressional Documents and Publications, June 8, 2010); congressional testimony citing JULIA BIXLER ISAACS (MPP 1985) and MICHAEL LINDEN (MPP 2007).
Testimony by Harry
Holzer, Ph.D, Economist,
…. This recession is expected to be not only severe but persistent. The President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) projects annual unemployment rates of 9.2, 8.2, 7.3, 6.5 and 5.9 percent over the period 2011-15…. Accordingly, child poverty rates will likely remain very high as well—perhaps in the range of 22-23 percent through 2015 and declining fairly mildly thereafter. nxii….
It is therefore likely that this recession will damage educational attainment and earnings as adults for the children who grew up in families with high poverty or unemployment. nxiv Given that so many young people will themselves suffer periods of unemployment, their future rates of employment and earnings will also be reduced, as the lost periods of work experience during their formative years of career-building are lost and not replaced. nxv….
But children need direct assistance too. Programs that provide important services, such as preschool and aftercare programs, should receive extra funding during this of high unemployment. Given the terrible long-term effects of homelessness on children, direct efforts to prevent homelessness among families with children need attention as well. nxviii ….
nxii … See Julia Isaacs, “Families of the Recession: Unemployed Parents and their Children.” Brookings Institution, 2010. She reports that 10.5 million children, or 14 percent of the total, are now living with unemployed parents at any moment in time. This implies that much larger fractions will experience some time with an unemployed parent over the next five years, and some of these spells will be quite lengthy.
nxiv ... Some strong suggestive evidence on how children may suffer permanent education and earnings losses when their families are pushed into poverty during a serious recession also appears in Michael Linden, “Turning Point: The Long-Term Effects of Recession-Induced Poverty,” First Focus, 2008.
nxv … See Julia Isaacs, op. cit….
nxviii See Julia Isaacs, op. cit.
20. “City Panel OKs ArtYard Lease Surrender - Full Council Will Likely OK Move” (Albuquerque Journal, June 8, 2010); story citing CHRIS CALVERT (MPP 1979).
By Kiera Hay, Journal Staff Writer
The Santa Fe Public Works Committee on Monday agreed to a proposal allowing the troubled ArtYard development to surrender its lease on two undeveloped parcels in exchange for a city waiver of the project’s affordable housing requirement.
The resolution received near-unanimous approval…. The fast-tracked proposal was introduced May 26 and goes before the City Council for final approval Wednesday. It appears to be a done deal, and a major focus of Monday’s conversation was how the city should proceed when a new tenant comes forward for the land, located near the existing ArtYard lofts and Warehouse 21.
Richard Czoski, the head of the Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation, which runs the Railyard, has told local media that Los Angeles-based Masque Entertainment Group wants to build a postproduction film facility on the property….
“I think we need to have that public airing on whatever comes forward, especially if it’s that one thing I’ve heard,” Councilor Chris Calvert said.
Calvert pushed for public hearings on future uses for the ArtYard parcels “because this could be a change to the master plan.” …
21. “A Happy Homecoming for Long-Lost Silent Films” (All Things Considered, National Public Radio, June 7, 2010); interview with ANNETTE MELVILLE (MPP 1992); Listen to this story
Victor McLaglen starred as a brave baggage handler who manages to
hinder a holdup in Strong Boy, a lost
feature by director John Ford. The film’s promotional trailer was found in a
… HOWIE MOVSHOVITZ (Colorado Public Radio): In the first three decades of the last centuries, movies were an even bigger deal than they are now. In the 1910s, people might go to a movie a day. By the 1920s, actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin was the most famous person in the world. Yet, little evidence of that remains today, says Annette Melville, director of the nonprofit National Film Preservation Foundation.
Ms. ANNETTE MELVILLE (Director, National Film Preservation Foundation): Only about 20 percent of the films produced in America during the silent era, that is the era of motion pictures before 1929, survive today in the United States in complete form….
Ms. MELVILLE: One of the most remarkable finds, and it’s probably going to be the film everyone talks about is a lost feature by American director John Ford called Upstream, and it dates from 1927, a year in which no other Ford films survive. Only about 15 percent of John Ford’s films from the silent era survive today.
MOVSHOVITZ: Melville says that besides Upstream, the rediscovered movies include the first film ever directed by Mabel Normand, a comic sensation of the 1910s, and a lost film called Maytime, starring the original it-girl, Clara Bow. There are also instructional films on how to make a Stetson hat or a Fordson tractor….
22. “Lost John Ford
movie unearthed in
By Ed Pilkington,
“The Girl Stage Driver” (1914), with Edna Payne, and other films in
the
An extraordinary
collection of 75 early American films, including several that had been
considered lost to history, have been discovered in
The collection had been
stored at the New Zealand Film Archive but their significance was not fully
recognised until last year when they were dug out by a Los Angeles-based film
preservationist. A deal has since been struck with the National Film Preservation Foundation based in
The collection comes
from a period when the American film industry was just taking off and,
propelled by the success of westerns, had begun to triumph around the world.
About nine out of every 10 films shown in cinemas globally in the 1910s were
made in the
“This is a wonderful group of movies,” said Annette Melville, the NFPF’s director. “About 70% of them are complete, which is extraordinary in itself, and many have their original colour tints.” …
Melville said that film historians would be fascinated by the relative prevalence of female actors among the cast lineups, particularly in those films made in the 1910s when women enjoyed almost equal billing to their male colleagues.
They include the silent comedian Mabel Normand of Keystone Studios, Clara Bow, and Mary Fuller, who features in a 1914 serial in which she plays an ace newspaper reporter who always gets the scoop.
“Fuller’s films were tremendously popular, as women had just started to enter the workplace and would go to the movies on their way home from work,” said Melville. “They wanted to see strong, adventurous women on the screen.” …
[Annette Melville was also cited in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, The Globe & Mail, etc.]
23. “1,900 cyclists embark on AIDS ride” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 7, 2010); story citing organization headed by MARK CLOUTIER (MPP/MPH 1993); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/07/BAA61DQU91.DTL
--Victoria Colliver, Chronicle Staff Writer
Barbara Hansen of
(06-06) 18:36 PDT San Francisco -- More than 1,900 bicyclists began the 545-mile, seven-day trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles as part of the ninth annual AIDS/Lifecycle ride to raise money and awareness to treat and prevent the disease.
This year’s event, which supports HIV/AIDS services provided by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation [headed by Mark Cloutier], attracted fewer riders than last year, when about 2,200 cyclists raised $11 million. But organizers say the riders, on track to raise more than $10 million, raised more money per rider than the previous year.
“There are also more new riders this year,” said Debra Holtz, the AIDS Foundation spokeswoman. “There’s acknowledgement that getting the awareness out there is as important as raising funds.”
24. “Volunteers cut back on car use for a week” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 7, 2010); story citing organization headed by STUART COHEN (MPP 1997); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/07/BA5K1DQ1S1.DTL&type=newsbayarea
--Will Kane, Chronicle Staff Writer
Simon Troll (center) sets out for
Amber Evans, a
self-described soccer mom from
But Evans and her husband, Simon Troll, had a vastly more difficult challenge: They’d vowed not to drive their Toyota Prius.
Evans and her husband pledged to go carless from June 1 to today as part of the Car Free Challenge sponsored by TransForm, an Oakland-based transit advocacy group [headed by Stuart Cohen].
About 150 participants in the challenge set a low mileage goal for the week and tracked their progress online. This is the second year TransForm has challenged Bay Area residents in what they hope can be an annual—and eventually permanent—event.
The duration of the campaign was shortened from a month in 2009 to a week this year to encourage participation and make the challenge more realistic, said Marta Lindsey, the communications and development director for TransForm.
The pledge is intended to help people realize both the importance of public transportation and the extent to which they depend on their cars, she said.
“So many people are making those little trips on errands” with their car, Lindsey said. “They don’t realize how they can add up.” …
25. “NY passes students who get wrong answers on tests” (New York Post, June 6, 2010); story citing RAY DOMANICO (MPP 1979); http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/how_do_you_pass_ny_school_tests_tCqFKo40FhcwkO5SoPYWRI
By Carl Campanile and Susan Edelman
When does 2 + 2 = 5?
When you’re taking the state math test.
Despite promises that the exams—which determine whether students advance to the next grade—would not be dumbed down this year, students got “partial credit” for wrong answers after failing to correctly add, subtract, multiply and divide. Some got credit for no answer at all.
“They were giving credit
for blatantly wrong things,” said an outraged
Examples in the fourth-grade scoring guide include:
* A kid who answers that a 2-foot-long skateboard is 48 inches long gets half-credit for adding 24 and 24 instead of the correct 12 plus 12.
* A miscalculation that 28 divided by 14 equals 4 instead of 2 is “partially correct” if the student uses the right method to verify the wrong answer.
* Setting up a division problem to find one-fifth of $400, but not solving the problem—and leaving the answer blank—gets half-credit….
Some testing experts are also troubled.
Ray Domanico, a former head of data analysis for city schools, said kids deserve a little credit for partial knowledge but agreed the scoring system “raises some questions about whether it’s too generous.” …
26. “ACLU and Civil Rights Groups Ask Court to Block Implementation of Arizona’s Racial Profiling Law during Legal Battle” (Targeted News Service, June 5, 2010); newswire citing KAREN TUMLIN (MPP 2003/JD 2004).
“
27. “Many workers are jobless far longer than usual” (McClatchy-Tribune News Service, June 4, 2010); newswire citing JESSE ROTHSTEIN (MPP/PhD 2003).
By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers
As bad as 2009 was, better data skewed the 31.5 percent number early in the year. By December, the long-term unemployed were 39.8 percent of the jobless. That share crept up month by month to 46 percent in May, meaning that almost one in two Americans who’ve lost jobs have now been unemployed for longer than 26 weeks.
... Averaged over the first four months of this year, 43 percent of unemployed Americans have been jobless for 27 weeks or more. That’s more than double the 1992 average, almost twice the 1983 average and approaches one out of every two unemployed workers.
“The way you think of
long-term unemployment is it is a sign of severe deep recession. States that
get hit particularly hard are going to get particularly high unemployment,”
said Jesse Rothstein, the chief
economist for the
State long-term unemployment rates closely track the states’ jobless rates, he said….
The steep rise in
long-term unemployment has led to speculation about possible structural changes
in
“I think it calls into question the idea that the long-term unemployment we’re seeing now is resulting from major structural shifts. ... It suggests that the primary driver of the long-term unemployment is a long, deep recession,” Rothstein said. “As we start to see robust, sustained job creation, we should see long-term numbers come down quickly.” …
28. “Science education
will soon be required in
By Katy Murphy
Under the tutelage of Del Monte Foods engineer Jamie Valenti-Jordan, center, Oakland Unified School District students Jennifer Mendoza, 10, from left, Natalia Torres, 10, Cesia Paredes, 10, and Joel Buenrostro, 9, get their hands dirty participating in a an experiment with corn starch, water and food coloring during the school district’s “Dinner with a Scientist” event, Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at the Oakland Zoo in Oakland, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron / Staff)
In 2007, the
But in a 2009 survey, Cheung found the average Oakland elementary school teacher still spent less than 30 minutes a week on the subject, and some skipped the subject altogether. The biggest obstacle teachers cited? A lack of time.
The results mirrored a 2007 study of Bay Area schools conducted by
the Lawrence Hall of Science [coauthored
by David Goldstein], UC
29. “Panel: Significant Fuel Savings are Possible for Cars” (The Associated Press, June 4, 2010); story citing ROLAND HWANG (MPP 1992).
By Joan Lowy - The Associated Press
A prestigious
With some technologies, the fuel consumption of passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, minivans and light trucks can be reduced by nearly half, but at a price—anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per vehicle, the National Research Council said in a report released Thursday.
Critics of offshore
drilling pounced on the findings as further evidence that there are a host of
options beyond drilling for solving
The report, which looked at three types of automotive engines, found:
The full combination of improved technologies could reduce fuel consumption by 29 percent in medium and large cars and pickup trucks with conventional engines at an added cost to consumers of about $2,200….
Smaller reductions in fuel savings can be achieved for considerably less money, the report noted….
“Fuel efficiency is a cleaner, cheaper, faster way to go to meet our energy demands than drilling in increasingly risky places—we don’t need to be drilling for more oil in the Gulf,” said Roland Hwang , the Natural Resources Defense Council’s transportation program director….
30. “More options for supplement plans - ‘Medigap’ changes not always cheaper” (Orlando Sentinel, June 4, 2010); analysis citing JULIETTE CUBANSKI (MPP 1998/MPH 1999).
By Bob Lamendola, (
Florida’s seniors have some new options for lowering the monthly premiums on their “Medigap” health-insurance policies. The catch: The lower-priced plans come with higher out-of-pocket costs….
Experts said there’s no hurry for anyone to act on the new plans. They suggested seniors think carefully about changing because most of those who already have Medigap policies probably should not switch….
Still, the changes modernize the Medigap plans, which pay all or most of the co-pays, deductibles and extras that regular Medicare does not cover. The supplemental policies are popular with people who don’t want out-of-pocket expenses or unexpected medical bills….
Coverage for home-health and preventive care such as screening tests has been dropped from Medigap because regular Medicare now covers that. The change made plans E, H, I and J duplicative, so those will no longer be sold, though people with them can keep them.
The new law also creates new M and N plans. They typically cost less than $200 a month, but in M plans, the senior pays half of the $1,068-a-year hospital deductible, and under N plans, the senior pays a $20 co-pay for each doctor visit….
Congress ordered the changes after a federal study found that seniors with full-coverage Medigap policies had little financial stake in their medical care and tended to spend wastefully, said Juliette Cubanski , a Medicare expert with the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit health-policy group….
31. “Californians willing to save water, poll finds” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 3, 2010); story citing DAVE METZ (MPP 1998); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/03/BAKN1DOMA5.DTL&type=newsbayarea
--Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer
The incessant rain all
winter and spring did not convince
Most Californians are, in fact, willing to alter their daily habits and drastically cut consumption in an effort to ward off what they expect to be severe, long-term water shortages.
The findings were part
of an effort by the state and a group of water agencies to gauge the public’s
attitudes on conservation as
“The notion that we need to conserve isn’t something that comes and goes with time. ... It’s something Californians believe to be an article of faith and that they’re strongly committed to doing something about,” said Dave Metz, whose firm conducted the survey on behalf of the state Department of Water Resources and the Association of California Water Agencies.
Eighty one percent of
the 1,200
In response to the
findings, the Department of Water Resources will relaunch its “Save our Water”
ad campaign, which shows average citizens taking action to cut back on water
use. The efforts have shown some success in the Bay Area,
32. “Council on Foreign Relations Meeting Subject: World Economic Update” (Federal News Service, June 3, 2010); event featuring MICKEY LEVY (MPP 1974).
Speakers: Joyce Chang,
Managing Director, Global Head of Emerging Markets and Credit Research,
JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Mickey Levy,
Chief Economist, Bank of
Presider: Sebastian
Mallaby, Director,
MR. MALLABY: Mickey, do you agree with Joyce’s perspective? And particularly you’ve got some thoughts on the credibility of European policy institutions.
MICKEY LEVY: Well, I agree with virtually everything that Joyce
said. But I’d like to take a broader structural view on this, and it’s the
following. European peripheral nations, particularly
So the large bailout
package that was put together by the EC, EU, IMF, and then toss in the ECB and
the ECB’s agreement to purchase sovereign debt, particularly the peripheral
countries, that’s a financial backstop. It doesn’t resolve the problem. It only
buys time. It’s allowed
Let me tell you, for
example, what
So we face these
enormous problems. And one of the crucial points is how do you enforce a fiscal
austerity package? And it’s even more complex than that. When you consider, in
the
Now consider
In the last six weeks, I
was in
33. “California Is Set to Ease Path for Transfer Students” (Chronicle of Higher Education (*requires registration), June 2, 2010); story citing research coauthored by NANCY BOROW SHULOCK (MPP 1978); http://chronicle.com/article/California-Is-Set-to-Ease-Path/65763/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Josh Keller
Under the proposal,
community colleges would offer a redesigned associate degree, starting in the
fall of 2011. Students who earn the degree would be promised admission to a
The
In
[Read the CSUS study, “Crafting a Student-Centered Transfer Process in California: Lessons from other States“]
34. “Newsom’s budget foresees layoffs, program cuts” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 2, 2010); story citing GREG WAGNER (MPP 2004); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/02/BAL11DO3EF.DTL
--John Coté, Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writers
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom discusses his proposed $6.4 billion
budget at the
Newsom uses “unprecedented” labor concessions from city workers, up to 350 staff layoffs and belt-tightening measures across departments to overcome a historic $483 million deficit.
Taxes won’t increase, but a host of city fees, for things like caterers’ permits, being picked up by an ambulance or getting a street-artist certificate, all would….
“We were able to avoid the kind of cataclysmic expectation of devastation that some had believed ... was inevitable,” Newsom told an audience of city leaders packed into an edgy art gallery in the city’s mid-Market district Tuesday.
The mayor has also included the lightning-rod proposal of allowing owners of tenancies in common to pay a one-time fee to skip the city’s lottery and convert the homes into condos.
Currently, about 1,800 tenancies in common, where a group of people own a building together rather than their individual units, have applied for the city’s 200 slots a year for condo conversion, said Greg Wagner, Newsom’s budget director.
Charging homeowners $4,000 to $20,000 to forgo the lottery would raise a projected $8 million that would be spent on affordable housing, Wagner said….
35. “Health insurance watchdogs on duty; Four guide market revamp. Appointments suggest increased scrutiny” (The Washington Post [*requires registration], June 1, 2010); story citing KAREN POLLITZ (MPP 1982).
By Julie Appleby; Kaiser Health News
Pounded by the Obama administration for raising premiums, health insurers now must reckon with a foursome of longtime industry watchdogs who are helping steer the federal government’s effort to overhaul the private insurance market.
The four have top spots in the newly minted Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, whose work will be key to the success—or failure—of the new health-care law, which vastly expands federal authority over health insurance, traditionally a state-regulated industry.
On this year’s to-do list: writing rules to define when premium increases are “unreasonable,” creating coverage for people who cannot get it because of health conditions and making sure insurers comply with consumer protections.
The new director of the
office is Jay Angoff, a former
Joining him are former Maryland insurance commissioner Steve Larsen, who in 2003 rejected the sale of nonprofit insurer CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield; former Georgetown University professor Karen Pollitz, a longtime critic of the individual insurance market; and Richard Popper, who runs Maryland’s insurance program for people who cannot get coverage because they have health problems.
Their appointments suggest that insurers will continue to face tough scrutiny as the administration and Democrats … play up the benefits of the new law, while Republicans denounce it as a costly government intrusion….
In putting the law into effect, [Angoff’s] office will have to work closely with states.
That’s “one of the most
delicate dances of federalism” ever, said law professor Sara Rosenbaum,
chairman of the department of health policy at
-- Karen Pollitz. Pollitz, who led research efforts at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute, will head the office’s consumer support division, which is responsible for creating a Web site listing insurance options and prices and other consumer tools.
Her research often focused on how state and federal regulations played out in the market—and on the difficulties faced by small businesses and consumers who purchase insurance themselves. Her 2001 study found that people in less-than-perfect health are commonly rejected for individual insurance coverage or charged rates that far exceed standard premiums, practices that will be barred beginning in 2014….
36. “US Congress Watch: Little Interest Tackling Basic Fiscal Chores” (The Main Wire, Market News International, June 1, 2010); newswire citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976).
By John Shaw
Specifically, neither the House nor Senate has passed its annual budget resolution which sets five-year spending and revenue goals and makes deficit estimates….
In addition to setting broad fiscal goals, a budget resolution sets a ceiling on discretionary spending for the coming year which then triggers work on the 12 annual spending bills that fund discretionary programs….
In a recent briefing, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signalled clearly that House Democrats will not try to pass a five-year fiscal blueprint this year. She said there are “several other ways to meet our responsibility” regarding the budget….
But her evasions confirmed that she is looking for a different process to allow Congress to eventually pass the 12 annual spending bills that fund the discretionary portion of the federal budget.
Stan Collender, a budget expert at Qorvis Communications, said the Democratic decision to avoid work this year on a budget resolution and annual spending bills is unfortunate but understandable.
“The budget has become such a toxic issue and so politically explosive that no one wants to take it on. And the fact is that as long as the government continues to operate and people can get their visas processed and go to national parks they don’t really care if the regular budget process is followed,” he said.
37. “Alexion Announces the Appointment of Ann M. Veneman to Its Board of Directors; Former Executive Director of UNICEF and Secretary of U.S. Department of Agriculture” (Business Wire, June 1, 2010); newswire citing ANN VENEMAN (MPP 1971).
Ann Veneman served as Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) from May 2005 to April 2010, leading a renowned global organization which supports multiple aspects of child health, nutrition, safety and education in over 150 countries and territories. Her responsibilities included oversight of the annual delivery of millions of doses of life-saving therapies, largely through UNICEF’s extensive global partnerships with governments and non-governmental organizations at all levels. Under Ms. Veneman’s leadership, UNICEF launched initiatives to improve business practices, transparency and collaboration in order to ensure that the agency’s programs reached those most vulnerable and that its resources were utilized efficiently to protect, save and improve the lives of children around the world.
Prior to joining UNICEF,
Ms. Veneman served as Secretary of the
An attorney by training,
Ms. Veneman has practiced law in
“Ann’s remarkable track record in public service and natural concern for the well-being of people around the globe aligns closely with Alexion’s mission as we work to bring the hope of Soliris to patients on an increasingly global basis,” said Leonard Bell, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Alexion Pharmaceuticals.
“I am honored to serve on Alexion’s Board of Directors and to contribute to its unique efforts in developing and delivering critical therapies for those patients who are most in need of treatments for severe and life-threatening illnesses,” said Ms. Veneman….
38. “UW-Madison to host series of talks on core poverty issues” (States News Service, June 1, 2010); event featuring JULIA BIXLER ISAACS (MPP 1985).
Monday, June 7, 12:05 -
1:15 p.m., “The
- Julia Isaacs, Brookings
Institution and Institute for Research
on Poverty Visiting Scholar ….
39. “Prop. B would retrofit fire, police stations” (San Francisco Chronicle, May 28, 2010); story citing MICHAEL THOMPSON (MPP 2003); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/28/BA711DI5K9.DTL
--John Wildermuth, Chronicle Staff Writer
Fire trucks lined up
along
It was billed as a
training exercise, but for the Fire Department brass who showed up to watch the
work at
The proposition, dubbed
the “Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond,” also provides money for
making seismic repairs and upgrades at neighborhood fire stations and building
a new police command center and fire station at
The auxiliary system
consists of
It also includes 172 underground cisterns, each holding between 55,000 and 200,000 gallons of water. Typically marked by a circle of bricks in the street, the cisterns have no outside connections, so the water is always there, even if a quake or other disaster destroys water lines across the city.
“When we get to the cisterns, it’s the last line of defense,” said Assistant Deputy [Fire] Chief Michael Thompson. “But neighborhoods like them because they are always there and can’t be moved anywhere else in an emergency.”
But when the system was built in the early 1900s, much of the west side of the city was little more than sand dunes. That’s why the cisterns are concentrated in the Financial District, then the city’s center, with few in the Richmond District and almost none in the Sunset District, Thompson said.
If the bond measure passes, as many as 32 new cisterns, most holding 75,000 to 100,000 gallons, will be built in the city’s western neighborhoods….
[Prop B. passed by 79.19% of the vote on June 8, 2010.]
40. “Children’s Health Care: One Mother’s Story” (L.A. Watts Times, May 27, 2010); story citing KELLY ABBETT HARDY (MPP/MPH 2004).
By Darlene Donloe, Contributing Writer
Aurtisha Jackson is a 30-year old, occasionally homeless, unemployed single mother of three—with two of her kids currently under a doctor’s care.
Twice a week, her son,
11-yearold JoDariyen, walks into the doctor’s office at
Prior to his diagnosis, JD, as he’s called, was often in and out of the emergency room every three or four months with red eyes, a swollen throat and labored breathing. Turns out he also has asthma.
His 2-year-old sister, Maliya, is on a daily antibiotic and awaiting an operation to correct an abnormality involving her kidneys….
But [Aurtisha] doesn’t
complain.
On May 14, in an effort
to close a $19 billion budget deficit, Schwarzenegger released a revised state
budget proposal that would eliminate
… When asked if she was
surprised the governor’s proposed budget cuts were topheavy with programs
affecting the poor, Kelly Hardy,
director of health policy with Children Now, said, “I’m not at all
surprised.” “That’s often where the cuts fall,”.she said. “Poor people and
children don’t have as much (of) a lobbying presence in
41. “Governor Delivers Remarks at Green Products Innovation Institute Announcement” (States News Service, May 20, 2010); newswire citing JIM MARVER (MPP 1974/PhD 1978).
Governor Schwarzenegger: … I want to specifically acknowledge two pioneers in the field, in green chemistry, which are Bill McDonough and Dr. Michael Baumgart…. They have spent three decades analyzing chemicals and their impact, and we are so fortunate they are giving this over as a gift, all their findings, to this institute here. We would not be standing here today if it weren’t for those two men, so they have done extraordinary work….
Bill McDonough: Wouldn’t
it be wonderful if we could design a world for the living, and design all our
systems around the idea of growth and jobs for 9 billion human souls? And that
we don’t look at a child being born in
I’d also like to honor another enterprise I work with, which is Vantage Point Venture Partners here in the valley, where we are looking very closely at all forms of clean tech through Cradle to Cradle lenses. I see Alan Salzman, our leader, here, and I see Mark Platshon, I see Jim Marver … from Vantage Point, … welcome….
42. “EDITORIAL: An
unrealistic doomsday prediction” (The Journal Gazette, (
Projections that the
federal health care bill will cost
Surely, advocates of the Democrats’ health care bill are painting an over-rosy picture of a program bound to cost more than they expect. So, naturally, opponents such as Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels work the numbers to make the picture as ugly as possible.
One factor of last week’s report Hoosiers must consider: The actuarial report was commissioned to project a worst-case scenario, one in which every eligible Hoosier, even those who have private insurance, will sign up for Medicaid.
That simply won’t happen. For example, January Angeles , an analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (admittedly a liberal group), argues that an earlier Indiana study showed Medicaid enrollment would jump by nearly 500,000—almost twice the number of eligible Hoosiers without insurance. Besides, supporters of the health care bill argued last week’s report mistakenly shifted some costs to the state that the federal government is obligated to pick up….
43. “Piedmont City Briefs: Foster care topic of league talk” (Oakland Tribune, April 8, 2010); event featuring AMY LEMLEY (MPP 1998).
Amy Lemley, policy director of the John Burton Foundation, will discuss “Why Should We Care about Foster Care?” at the League of Women Voters of Piedmont meeting on April 21….
… Before joining the
foundation, Lemley was co-founder and executive director of
The
44. “The Price is right
for preserving black history at
By Barry Carter, Star-Ledger Staff
Rutgers-Newark professor Clement Price, who begins his 30th year doing the Marion Wright Lecture series. (John Munson/The Star-Ledger)
It’s not every day that a college history professor gives $100,000 of his own money to preserve something that has been close to his heart for nearly half his life. But if you know anything about Clement A. Price, you understand why this modest man has left such a benevolent gift to Rutgers-Newark.
Price, 64, has devoted his life to scholarship and to taking academia beyond the classroom. He has shared it with others—people from all walks of life—so that we may understand one another through serious, thoughtful discussion.
He has done this for 30 years with the Marion Thompson Wright Lecture Series, an annual two-day conference on black history that, with his down payment, now may be on its way to having a permanent future at the university.
“The best way to preserve something for perpetuity that is dear to me is to create an endowment,” Price said. “I figured if I step forward with an endowment, people might contribute so that in a few years there might be enough money that it would be funded in perpetuity.” …
“It doesn’t surprise me
that someone like Clem is saying we don’t need to spend this right away,” says Hans Dekker, president of the Community
Foundation of
1. “Making the most of a trip” – Commentary by ROBERT REICH (Marketplace [NPR], June 30, 2010); Listen to this commentary
ROBERT REICH: Most of our summer vacation will be short weekend trips near home. We’re economizing, and we tell ourselves by not using all that fuel for travel we’re helping the environment.
One trip will require air travel though, and apparently, the airline is charging extra for carry-on bags. And considering additional charges for especially heavy checked baggage. It says the fees are necessary because the extra weight requires additional fuel. Economists would approve. Heavy bags and suitcases add to the cost of carrying us from one place to another. So it’s appropriate that overloaded passengers pay extra. It gives us all incentive to lighten up.
But even with an extra luggage fee, the price we
pay for flying still doesn’t come close to the real cost of using all of that
fuel. And it’s not just climate change. Think of what’s happening now in the
Gulf of Mexico and the
Ryssdal: Robert
Reich is a professor of public policy at the
2. “Want to see Big Papi? Manny? You’ll pay for it” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 25, 2010); column citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/25/BUPD1E4CFB.DTL
--Andrew S. Ross
… Deficit dove: Laura Tyson as Obama’s next budget czar?
Should the Haas School of Business economics professor be nominated to replace outgoing Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag … it would make for a most interesting confirmation hearing.
Senators might ask Tyson, one of President Obama’s outside economic advisers, if she still believes in the need for a second stimulus package, as she stated a year ago. They also might bring up a more recent opinion that “it would be premature to begin slashing the deficit now.” …
Red alerts: Flying in the face of seemingly overpowering political headwinds, Tyson’s views are similar to those of economists such as Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Krugman, and Tyson’s UC Berkeley colleague Robert Reich, who warn of a double-dip recession. In addition to a general sense of unease (or is it just me?) about the “robustness” of the “recovery,” an increasing number of indicators—unemployment, consumption, housing starts—seem to be flashing red….
3. “
By Prof. John Dernbach
…. States can also reduce the cost of a cap-and-trade or carbon tax program because the higher level of detail in policy analysis available at the state level enables them to identify and implement specific policies that would likely be missed by Congress, or difficult to develop at a federal level. Congress, and even EPA, tend to look for the largest sources, while states can address a variety of climate change sources that may each be small but that would be significant cumulatively in reducing GHG emissions and that would have a low or even negative cost (that is, their economic benefits outweigh their costs). State climate change planning processes also have the ability to examine all sectors for a particular state—transportation and land use; agriculture, forestry, and waste; residential, commercial, and industrial; and heat and power[34]—in light of the particular circumstances of that state. This broad scope of review is virtually impossible at the national level. Because of their greater sensitivity to local behavior and customs, moreover, state governments can engage their citizens to reduce their own GHG emissions in ways that would be more difficult for the federal government alone.[35] ….
[35] See Holly Doremus & W. Michael Hanemann, Of Babies and Bathwater: Why the Clean Air Act’s
Cooperative Federalism Framework Is Useful for Addressing Global Warming, 50
4. “Climate change / Berkeley scientists to help author IPCC report” (UC Berkeley NewsCenter, June 23, 2010); IPCC press release citing MICHAEL HANEMANN and SEBASTIAN VICUÑA-DIAZ (MPP 2004/MA ENGR 2004); More info
Six
Berkeley faculty members — Max Auffhammer, Bob Cervero, Bill Collins, Michael Hanemann, Richard Norgaard, and
Kirk Smith — are among 800-plus experts selected by the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) to write its fifth comprehensive climate-change
report.
[Michael
Hanemann will be contributor in Working Group III: “Climate Change 2014:
Mitigation of Climate Change”—Social, Eonomic and Ethical Concepts and Methods.
Sebastian Vicuña will be in Working
Group II: “Climate Change 2013: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability”—Ch. 27
Central and
5. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Why
By Robert Reich
A Chinese roadside seller
holds tens of Yuan while dealing with a customer in
… Over time – and I’m talking about months if not
years –
Even then, a stronger yuan won’t generate lots of
new jobs in the
That’s because most of the gains of
Why are Chinese consumers so reluctant to spend? First, social safety nets are still inadequate there….
But most fundamentally,
Don’t be fooled into thinking that US companies
will continue to make big profits from sales in
Even if some of this enhances the profits of
American-based companies, it doesn’t translate into more jobs in the
Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton….
6. “Oil spill pushes carbon tax back into spotlight” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 22, 2010); story citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/22/MNBL1E0PCQ.DTL
--Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle
Sen. Maria Cantwell has a bill with Sen. Susan Collins that is seen as the most direct proposal. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)
(06-22) 04:00 PDT Washington -- Ever since 1993, when President Bill Clinton’s plan to tax fuels was demolished by energy industry lobbyists, farmers, aluminum makers, anti-tax groups, conservative Senate Democrats and Republicans, energy taxes have been Washington’s shortcut to political suicide.
The Senate is about to test that dictum again
this summer, deciding the fate of climate-change legislation that would put a
price on carbon, the foundation of all fossil fuels, and remind drivers that
the true cost of gassing up includes millions of gallons of crude drenching the
… Economists of all stripes have long argued for such a tax as a way to get people to use less fossil fuel and more solar, wind or whatever energy sources the market decides are better alternatives, and give investors a reason to finance them.
“There may be more receptivity today to putting a
price on carbon, given the price we’re paying in the gulf,” said UC Berkeley Professor Robert Reich, who
was
7. “The Obama plot for a carbon tax. Some speculate that President Obama is planning to push cap and trade legislation and a carbon tax behind closed doors. Is this the best strategy?” (Christian Science Monitor Online, June 18, 2010); http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0618/The-Obama-plot-for-a-carbon-tax
By Robert Reich
President Barack Obama makes a statement in the White House on Wednesday June 16, after meeting with BP executives. Obama ordered that BP set up a $20 billion escrow fund on Wednesday to fund the oil spill clean up effort. (Charles Dharapak/AP Photo)
Teachable moments are rare in
Tuesday night, President Obama did not call for a tax on carbon. He didn’t even ask the Senate to pass the cap-and-trade legislation that emerged from the House. Instead, he said there were lots of good ideas out there and he’s willing to consider any of them — which seemed more like a way of declaring cap-and-trade dead.
But maybe the President has a more subtle strategy in mind….
[Hard-boiled
Remember the back-room deal that bailed out Wall Street? We still don’t have all the details but it’s clear the public was taken to the cleaners, and the titans of Wall Street are beaming through their bonuses.
Call me old fashioned but I still think democracy is better than corporatist negotiation….
Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton….
8. “
By Wendell Cox
WASHINGTON -- … Shortly after Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, at a May 2009 Washington press conference, made known his agenda to coerce people out of their cars, he posted an article on his Department of Transportation (DOT) blog touting the purported benefits of urban rail systems (subways, light rail, and commuter rail)….
APTA [American Public Transportation Association] ignores the association between longer travel times, unemployment, and poverty. The loss of productivity from relying on transit can be even greater than longer travel times for the employed. Unlike commuting by cars, it may be impossible to commute in a metropolitan area by transit….University of California research [by Steven Raphael and Michael Stoll] indicates far smaller unemployment rates among African-American households where there is an automobile available.[48] This is because cars shorten commute times and broaden access to jobs throughout the metropolitan area, not just to the limited areas with adequate transit service….
[48] Steven Raphael and Michael Stoll, “Can Boosting Minority Car-Ownership Rates Narrow Inter-Racial Employment Gaps?” National Science Foundation, June 2000, at http://www.russellsage.org/publications/workingpapers/Can%20Boosting%20Minority%20Car-Ownership%20Rates%20Narrow%20Inter-Racial%20Employment%20Gaps/document (May 6, 2010).
9. “Renewing Energy Policy, Post-Spill” (Forum, KQED public radio, June 16, 2010); features commentary by DAN KAMMEN; Listen to this program
In his Oval Office speech on the BP disaster
Tuesday night, President Obama called for action on legislation to move the
nation away from fossil fuel dependence. But how close are we to having viable,
cleaner alternatives? In
Guests:
- Dan
Kammen, professor of energy at UC
- Ted Norhaus, chairman of the Breakthrough Institute
- Craig Miller, senior editor of KQED’s Climate Watch …
Dave Iverson: Dan Kammen,...how realistic is
DAN KAMMEN:
10. “Bay Area expresses concern over Gulf oil disaster” (KGO TV, June 16, 2010); features commentary by DAN KAMMEN; http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7502779
--Laura Anthony
Oakland, CA (KGO) -- In the Bay Area, demonstrators created a pretend spill at an Oakland gas station to voice their concerns about the disaster in the Gulf and push for less reliance on fossil fuels in the future....
A few miles away, at the Energy Biosciences Institute at UC Berkeley, scientists are working on developing a sustainable replacement for gasoline. There, researchers try to identify plants that can be used to make fuel. The institute is funded with a $500 million grant from BP.
UC Professor Dan Kammen is an energy expert who serves as an advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Kammen says biofuels are just part of the solution.
“I suspect there will be a mix; we’ll certainly have some remaining regular petroleum in the mix and we’ll certainly have a large fleet of vehicles that use biofuels,” he said. “The real challenge will be to have green biofuels. That is, not just from plants, but biofuels that don’t come at the expense of the forests or people’s livelihoods.”...
11. “Why the
By Robert Reich, Guest blogger
Smoke billows from a
controlled burn of spilled oil off the
Here’s what Coast Guard Rear Adm. James A. Watson wrote to BP’s chief operating officer on Friday:
“Recognizing the complexity of this challenge, every effort must be expended to speed up the process.” BP’s plans don’t “go far enough to mobilize redundant resources” in the event of an equipment failure or another problem. “BP must identify in the next 48 hours additional leak containment capacity that could be operationalized and expedited to avoid the continued discharge of oil.”
Translated: You’re dragging your heels and aren’t even using all the equipment you have, damn it. You better, or I’ll … I’ll … .
BP spokesman Jon Pack said the company received Watson’s letter and would respond to it as soon as possible.
Translated: Too bad. Have a nice weekend.
The Administration has not used legal authority to order BP to do a thing, because it hasn’t asserted any legal authority….
Meanwhile, the White House backed off its suggestion earlier in the week that it could stop BP from paying a giant dividend to its shareholders….
You see where all this is heading. At some point
there’s likely to be a direct conflict. Like any big corporation, BP has legal
duties to repay its creditors and to maximize the share prices of its
stockholders. Its duties to the
Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton….
12. Robert Reich’s Blog: “BP clean up: A contest between citizenship interests and shareholders” (Christian Science Monitor Online, June 15, 2010); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0615/BP-clean-up-A-contest-between-citizenship-interests-and-shareholders
By Robert Reich, Guest blogger
President Barack Obama and
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist walk along
… As citizens, we want the hole in the Gulf plugged up as fast as possible, we want the spill contained, and we want everything cleaned up and damages paid — no matter how much it costs BP’s shareholders. But if we’re BP shareholders, we want to minimize all such expenditures — including our long-term liabilities.
… There’s no conflict between
And unless or until citizenship interests predominate in the Gulf — unless or until BP’s shareholders are forced by law to part with their assets to ensure the safety of the American public — shareholder interests will come first….
13. “This time, will we end the water war?” (San Francisco Chronicle, June 13, 2010); commentary citing MICHAEL HANEMANN; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/13/INV31DRTR9.DTL
--Matt Jenkins
Pumps like this one on the Sacramento
River in Red Bluff in
In the grand Western tradition of fistfights down
at the water hole, no fight has quite rivaled the one over the
Today, though, after 150 years of spirited
remodeling, the delta hardly looks like a tide-flooded estuary. It has been
transformed into a tangle of waterways and of farms and towns that stand on
levee-protected islands like walled fortresses. And today, the delta
serves—above all else—as a supersize water hole for millions of farmers and
urbanites who live as far south as
Regulating flows and pumping has always been a politically charged issue, and it has brought unwelcome heat to the [Water Resources Control Board] before. In 1988, the board … took up the issue of what flows the delta needed. Finding that “biological resources have declined and are not experiencing the same degree of protection as other beneficial uses”—such as water exports for farms and cities—the board took a dramatic stand. It proposed actually capping exports at 1985 levels and allowing an additional 1.56 million acre-feet of water to flow through the delta each year. That would, in effect, “straighten out” and reorient the flows in the delta to something more closely approximating their course before the pumps were installed.
But it’s also a lot of water—enough for roughly 12.5 million people for a year—and the political blowback from agricultural and urban water agencies, along with Gov. George Deukmejian’s office, came quickly. The proposal was deep-sixed, and the state board, whose members are appointed by the governor, subsequently took a much softer approach on the issue.
“The withdrawal was tremendous,” says Michael Hanemann, a UC Berkeley professor who worked as an economist for the board at the time. “Staff were told, ‘Stop being active; don’t say anything.’ “ …
14. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Why the
By Robert Reich, Guest blogger
Hundreds of job seekers gather at the Los Angeles Mission for the ninth annual Skid Row Career Fair on June 3. (Adam Lau/AP Photo)
Today’s most important economic news: U.S. household debt fell for the seventh straight quarter in the first three months of 2010 as Americans continued to respond to the recession’s fallout.
But like all economic news, its significance depends on where you’re standing — whether you’re a typical American or someone at the top.
The common wisdom is that excessive debt-financed spending was one of the causes of the recent recession, so the news that household debt is dropping is being celebrated by business cheerleaders as reason to believe we’re on the mend.
Baloney. The reason so many Americans went into such deep debt was because their wages didn’t keep up…. So the only way typical Americans could keep spending at the rate necessary to keep themselves — and the economy — going was to borrow, especially against the value of their homes. But that borrowing ended when the housing bubble burst.
... The problem wasn’t that consumers lived beyond their means. It was that their means didn’t keep up with what the growing economy was capable of producing at or near full-employment. A larger and larger share of total income went to people at the top….
Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton….
15. “House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Hearing; Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Barriers to Reentry for the Formerly Incarcerated” (Congressional Documents and Publications, June 9, 2010); congressional testimony citing STEVEN RAPHAEL.
Testimony by Maurice Emsellem, Policy Co-Director,
National Employment Law Project,
Chairman Scott and members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to testify in support of H.R. 5300, the Fairness and Accuracy in Employment Background Checks Act, and the need for federal reform to ensure more fair and accurate criminal background checks for employment….
At this crucial juncture in the evolution of criminal background checks for employment, it is especially important that Congress properly evaluate the impact and effectiveness of current federal policy and reform outdated laws and practices….
Criminal background checks for employment have increased exponentially, especially since the September 11th attacks….
The vast expansion of background checks for employment has cast a wide net that is catching millions of workers, limiting their employment opportunities….
*Large numbers of arrests and convictions are for
especially minor crimes, primarily including drunkenness and disorderly conduct
(which account for almost 10% of all arrests in the
n10 U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Crime in the
16. “Fears of Double-Dip Recession” (CNN Newsroom, June 8, 2010); interview with ROBERT REICH.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: … Robert Reich is a name you are all very familiar with. He’s a professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Did you mean that, when you said you’re really worried that we might get into a double-dip recession because of the jobs picture?
ROBERT REICH, FMR. LABOR SECRETARY: Ali, look, I hope we are not heading that way, obviously. You don’t want to be a doomer-and-gloomer. But none of the indicators is powerful enough, positively, to get us out of the gravitational pull of this huge great recession. And that 41,000 private sector jobs we saw Friday, reported for May, just is so disappointing relative to what we expected, what we hoped for, you’ve got to wonder whether there’s just enough energy, enough oomph in the economy to get us out.
VELSHI: OK. Let me ask you this -- you were the
labor secretary of the
REICH: Well, the federal government can do two things.
Number one, the Fed can keep interest rates near zero, and I think Ben Bernanke is going to do that, although some of the members of the open market committee have expressed some doubts and some worries about inflation. But let’s hope he does that.
Secondly, the government can make up for the lack of consumer buying power by, in the short term—now, I’m not talking about the long term, I’m talking about in the very short term—spending more money….
So, what the federal government could do right now, and I think it needs to do it, is to extend zero-interest loans to the state so they don’t have to raise taxes and cut back on services until their revenues start going back and until the economy’s out of the gravitational pull of this great recession….
But, look, if we get through the short term, if we just get out of the gravitational pull of this great recession, we will be in economic growth territory. And once we’re in economic growth territory, then we can handle a lot of the other problems…
My only point, Ali, is that the depth of this great recession is so much deeper than the other recessions we’ve had, that the economic kind of—the gravitational pull is so much larger, that you need much greater, if you excuse my analogy, booster rockets to get us out….
17. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Amidst chaos, Obama must take charge” (Christian Science Monitor, June 8, 2010); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0608/Amidst-chaos-Obama-must-take-charge
By Robert Reich, Guest blogger
President Barack Obama meets with members of his Cabinet to discuss the response to BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, on June 7 in the Cabinet Room of the White House. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)
As voters head to the polls today for primaries in 12 states, their anger is showing.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll released today shows that fewer than three in 10 voters say they will support their representative in the House in the mid-term election four months from now. That’s a lower percentage than in 1994 — when Republicans recaptured the House and Senate.
Their anger is rooted in the continuing awfulness of the economy....
The White House should present a plan to Congress to give states interest-free loans, which they can repay when the economy turns up and their revenues return.
Meanwhile, the gusher in the Gulf continues – a symbol of the government’s impotence. President Obama said this morning he’d fire BP’s Tony Hayward if he were his boss. Obama said he’s looking for an “ass to kick.”
But he has no ass to kick until he’s in charge. Obama should take over BP’s rescue operation. That’s the only way the public can be sure all necessary resources are being put to the job, that public risks are being properly weighed, and it’s getting the truth.
The President says the company will pay for its mistake. He should act now to make sure. He should also order BP to set aside at least $5 billion for the cleanup, and create a new Civilian Conservation Corps to do it.
The public is angry because everything seems out of control. The President can’t control the economy or the gusher. But he can at least take charge.
Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. ...
[Professor Reich also discussed Obama’s national address on the BP oil spill on MSNBC’s <a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#37743775”>Countdown with Keith Olbermann</a>--link to video]
18. “Big Spenders Head to Polls. Meg, Poizner and other moneyed candidates gear up for primaries” (Bay Citizen, June 7, 2010); analysis citing JOHN ELLWOOD; http://www.baycitizen.org/june-8-election/story/big-spenders/
By Richard Parks
As voters head to the polls Tuesday – or, for the most part, stay away – the lasting message of this desultory primary season seems to be this: A shot at the governor’s mansion costs roughly $100 million. The price of securing an energy monopoly is $46 million. And a chance to win a Senate seat comes relatively cheap: $5.5 million….
By the time the first vote is cast Tuesday, the candidates and interest groups will have spent more than $225 million. The sad irony – candidates spending millions while, at the same time, calling for fiscal responsibility – has subjected the state to a carpet-bombing of negative advertising while offering little insight into how we will get out of this mess.
“Has any of these candidates told the
“Nobody’s out there saying, ‘Let me tell you about the school teachers we’re going to fire,’ or, ‘Let me tell you about the taxes we’re going to raise,’” Ellwood said. “If they told you the truth, you’re not going to vote for them.” …
19. Robert Reich’s Blog: “US is falling into a double-dip recession” (Christian Science Monitor Online, June 5, 2010); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0605/US-is-falling-Into-a-double-dip-recession
By Robert Reich, Guest blogger
Job seekers fill out
employment applications at the ninth annual Skid Row Career Fair, held at the
Los Angeles Mission in
We’re falling into a double-dip recession.
The Labor Department reports this morning that the private sector added a measly 41,000 net new jobs in May. (The vast bulk of new jobs in May were temporary government Census workers.) But at least 100,000 new jobs are needed every month just to keep up with population growth….
The only reason the economy isn’t in a double-dip recession already is because of three temporary boosts: the federal stimulus (of which 75 percent has been spent), near-zero interest rates (which can’t continue much longer without igniting speculative bubbles), and replacements (consumers have had to replace worn-out cars and appliances, and businesses had to replace worn-down inventories). Oh, and, yes, all those Census workers (who will be out on their ears in a month or so)….
We have to get to the core problem: a middle class that doesn’t have the dough to buy the goods and services the economy is capable of producing. Where to start? Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and extend it up through the middle class. Finance that extension through higher marginal income taxes on the wealthy, who have never had it so good.
Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton….
20. “Gulf Catastrophe Update” (Forum, KQED public radio, June 4, 2010); program features commentary by DAN KAMMEN; Listen to the program
As President Obama visits the Gulf, we discuss
the ongoing efforts to address what’s being called the worst environmental
disaster in
Guests:
- Aaron Viles, campaign director for the Gulf Restoration Network, a New Orleans-based environmental group
- Dan Kammen, professor of energy at UC Berkeley and co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment
- Terry Hazen, head of the Ecology Department and Department of Energy distinguished scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
DAN KAMMEN:
…. This [deepwater oil] well is really technologically complex (we’re going a
mile underwater and from there drilling deeply in the sea floor)…. This is a
type of drilling that was only envisaged as maybe possible someday [at the time
of the
Ultimately, it won’t be about the cost of requiring relief wells, but what’s the price of carbon—that’s the shift we’ll need in the long term to shift away from fossil fuels….
21. “Tom Campbell runs into a campaign cash crisis” (KGO TV, June 2, 2010); story citing HENRY BRADY; http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/politics&id=7475700
By Mark Matthews
There is a dramatic change in strategy in the Republican race for Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer’s seat. The long-time front runner is pulling his campaign advertising with the election just six days away.
Tom Campbell cancelled his television ads on Wednesday and his Republican opponents are spinning it as a collapse….
“Indeed, I’m a fiscal conservative in my own
campaign as well as in public service,” says
He’s smiling about it, but political analysts,
such as Henry Brady, Ph.D., the dean of
UC Berkeley’s
“When you stop putting money into advertising a week before the election, clearly either “A” you’ve run out of money or “B” you don’t think you’re going to win and maybe a combination of the two,” says Brady….
As of Tuesday, 1.4 million Republican ballots have been turned in statewide, but another 3.7 million are expected between now and Election Day, and the polls do show a large number of voters still undecided.
“It’s conceivable that in the last week people might learn some bits of information that might change their minds, but that’s going to be very hard if Campbell doesn’t have any TV advertising out there and if he’s just getting battered by Fiorina advertising,” says Brady…
22. “Entrepreneur or Unemployed?” (New York Times, June 2, 2010); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/opinion/02reich.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th
By ROBERT B. REICH
Gracia
Lam
Another surprise is the age of these new entrepreneurs. According to the report, most of the growth in startups was propelled by 35- to 44-year-olds, followed by people 55 to 64. Forget Internet whiz kids in their 20’s. It’s the gray-heads who are taking the reins of the new startup economy. And if you thought minorities had been hit particularly hard by this awful recession, think again. According to the report, entrepreneurship increased more among African-Americans than among whites.
At first glance, all this seems a bit odd. Usually new businesses take off in good times when consumers are flush and banks are eager to lend. So why all this entrepreneurship last year?
In a word, unemployment. Booted off company payrolls, millions of Americans had no choice but to try selling themselves. Another term for “entrepreneur” is “self-employed.” …
Technically, George is his own boss. But he’s doing exactly what he did before for less money, and he gets no benefits — no health care, no 401(k) match, no sick leave, no paid vacation. Worse still, his income and hours are unpredictable even though his monthly bills still arrive with frightening regularity….
New businesses are vital to job growth, and
entrepreneurship does fuel the economy. And surely some of
Robert B. Reich, a former secretary of labor, is
a professor of public policy at the
23. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Five reasons Obama should put BP under receivership” (Christian Science Monitor Online, June 1, 2010); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0601/Five-reasons-Obama-should-put-BP-under-receivership
By Robert Reich, Guest blogger
BP CEO Tony Hayward travels
aboard the Discover Enterprise drill ship May 28 during recovery operations of
the Gulf spill south of
It’s time for the federal government to put BP
under temporary receivership, which gives the government authority to take over
BP’s operations in the
If the government can take over giant global insurer AIG and the auto giant General Motors and replace their CEOs, in order to keep them financially solvent, it should be able to put BP’s north American operations into temporary receivership in order to stop one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history….
... As it is now, BP continues to be responsible primarily to its shareholders, not to the American public. As a result, the public continues to worry that a private for-profit corporation is responsible for stopping a public tragedy….
Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton….
[Prof.
Robert Reich also discussed why the
24. “Gulf of Mexico oil spill: BP shares slide
further as US opens criminal investigation” (Telegraph [
By Rowena Mason and Toby Harnden in
BP latest effort to stop oil from leaking out of the well involves cutting through a pipe near the source. (Photo: AP)
BP shares fell further in early trading on
Wednesday after President Obama called for the
The shares were down more 2.5pc ny noon in
After visiting the region to survey the damage
and meet prosecutors from
Elsewhere, Robert
Reich, a former
25. “BP investors struggle to factor in the unfathomable” (Washington Post, June 6, 2010); story citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/05/AR2010060500727_pf.html
By Steven Mufson and Tomoeh
Former
Labor secretary Robert Reich wants to place BP’s
Obama’s options
One example of the growing chorus of critics is Reich, now a professor at the
“If this thing continues to worsen, it becomes untenable for a for-profit corporation to be in control,” Reich said. “BP’s primary responsibility is to its shareholders; only the government, through the President, has a specific responsibility and accountability to the public. Call it temporary receivership, special-purpose nationalization or liverwurst—it won’t matter. The government will have to take over. But only temporarily, until the spill is stopped.” …
26. Robert Reich’s Blog: “Is BP protecting the Gulf or its bottom line in the oil spill?” (Christian Science Monitor Online, June 4, 2010); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Robert-Reich-s-Blog/2010/0604/Is-BP-protecting-the-Gulf-or-its-bottom-line-in-the-oil-spill
By Robert Reich, Guest blogger
BP CEO Tony Hayward talks to
Jose Rivera, of
A petroleum engineer who’s worked in the oil industry tells me BP is doing the minimum to clean up the oil and everything it can to protect its bottom line. According to the engineer, here’s what BP should be doing right now to mitigate the damage. If the President were to put BP into temporary receivership, he’d have the power to get BP to:
1) Stop releasing dispersants….
2) Mobilize every possible tanker to siphon up crude from as close to the leak points as possible….
3) Restart work on the second pressure relief
well. BP did start work on two relief wells as the government requested, but
the second has been shut down to cannabalize parts from it for the primary well
kill effort. The President must order BP to spend whatever money it takes to
get another blow out preventer on site, to re-start work on the second pressure
relief well. A recent blow-out off the coast of
Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. He has written twelve books, including The Work of Nations, Locked in the Cabinet, and his most recent book, Supercapitalism. His “Marketplace” commentaries can be found on publicradio.com and iTunes.
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