1852 - "William Brown Ide, the first and only 'President' of the California Republic ... died in Monroeville in 1852 of smallpox.... On June 14, 1846, the Bear Flag was raised and (William Brown) Ide was chosen to lead the new California Republic. After 24 days, the Bear Flaggers learned that the United States had declared war on Mexico. On July 9th, they raised the American flag and joined with the U.S. forces to capture the rest of California. The Bear Flag Revolt: The First Step in California's March to Statehood "  http://www.colusi.org/linked/html/bear_flag_revolt  

1852 - "After the war, (William Brown) Ide returned to his Rancho de la Barranca Colorada near present-day Red Bluff, California. He made a fortune in the Northern Mines in the lull between the discovery of gold in 1848 and the Gold Rush of 1849…. At the time of his death in Monroeville, California in 1852, he held several elective and appointive offices in the government of Colusa county in Northern California. Bear Flag Revolt: The First Step in California's March to Statehood "  http://www.colusi.org/linked/html/bear_flag_revolt  

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

Service to State Employees:

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

• Items in the State Library collection can be checked out to state officials and staff.

• Access to all materials listed will be provided by the State Information Reference Center, either by e-mail to cslsirc@library.ca.gov or by calling 654-0261.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE & LAW ENFORCEMENT

CHILDREN & YOUTH

In Danger of Falling Through the Cracks: Children of Arrested Parents. By Marcus Nieto, California Research Bureau, California State Library. CRB 02-009. (The Bureau, Sacramento, California) April 2002. 68 p.

Full Text at: www.library.ca.gov/crb/02/09/02-009.pdf

[[This study]... discusses California law; relative placement, reasonable efforts to prevent a child's removal from a parent.... [It] provides information on community-based organizations involved with children of arrested or incarcerated parents. Concludes that there needs to be written law enforcement protocols for responding to children after a parent is arrested." StateNet (May 23, 2002) 6.]

[Request #S5253]

Return to the Table of Contents

Rural Crime Prevention Program: Evaluation Shows Some Signs of Success. By the Office of the California Legislative Analyst. (The Office, Sacramento, California) May 21, 2002. 16 p.

Full Text at: www.lao.ca.gov/2002/rural_crime/rural_crime_052102.pdf

["A rural crime prevention program has led to hundreds of investigations and arrests in the valley, but it is unclear whether it has led to less crime.... No law enforcement agencies kept specific figures on agriculture-related crimes before the start of the state Rural Crime Prevention Program in the late 1990s. That means there is no way to judge whether the program has decreased crime.... The analyst suggests that counties come up with a uniform way to record data."]

[Request #S5254]

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

CULTURE AND SOCIETY

IMMIGRATION

We the People: Helping Newcomers Become Californians. By the Little Hoover Commission. (The Commission, Sacramento, California) June 2002. 92 p.

Full Text at: www.lhc.ca.gov/lhcdir/166/report166.pdf

["The Little Hoover Commission suggests lawmakers create a Golden State Residency Program that would give the state's immigrants access to education, job training programs, health care, state identification cards or driver's licenses, and welfare and social services. In return, participants in the program would agree to learn English, be employed or involved in a job training program, pay taxes and be involved in some sort of civic activity." San Francisco Chronicle (June 19, 2002) A13.]

[Request #S5260]

Return to the Table of Contents

Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc. v. Village of Stratton. Supreme Court of the United States. No. 00-1737. June 17, 2002. 35 p.

Full Text at: www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/01pdf/00-1737.pdf

["The court struck down a local law that leaders of a small Ohio town said was meant to protect elderly residents from being bothered at home.... In the doorstep-solicitation case... the court reasoned that the First Amendment right to free speech includes the entitlement to take a message directly to someone's door, and that the right cannot be limited by a requirement to register by name ahead of time. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Independent Baptist Churches of America, Gun Owners of America and the American Civil Liberties Union are among more than a dozen organizations that signed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting the church." Associated Press (June 17, 2002) [online].]

[Request #S5261]

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

ECONOMY

CALIFORNIA

The UCLA Anderson Forecast for the Nation and California. By the UCLA Anderson Forecasting Project, Anderson Graduate School of Management. And Quarterly Business Forecast Seminar: Packet. By Tom Lieser, Anderson Graduate School of Management, and others. (The School, Los Angeles, California) June 2002. Various pagings.

[Includes: “California at Midyear: Recession Ending in North, Expansion Proceeding in South." By Tom Lieser, UCLA Anderson Forecast; "Outlook for Southern California Region and Orange County." By Lisa Grobar, California State University, Long Beach; "Inland Empire Economy." By John Husing, Economics and Politics, Inc.; "Ventura County Economic Update: 2002." By Mark Schniepp, California Economic Forecast; and "San Diego Regional Economic Outlook." By Kelly Cunningham, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.]

[Request #S5251]

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Motion Picture Production in California. By Martha Jones, California Research Bureau, California State Library. (CRB, Sacramento, California) No.01 March 2002. 128 p.

Full Text at: www.library.ca.gov/crb/02/01/02-001.pdf

["(The study) ... analyzes the major economic work in this area of interest; examines the shortcomings of current research in this field, provides a guide for evaluating the ongoing health of the industry." State Net (June 1, 2002) 3.]

[Request #S5265]

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Surge in Costly Water Claims Fueling Homeowner's Insurance Crunch: Press Release. By the Insurance Information Network of California. (The Network, Los Angeles, California) June 5, 2002) 2 p.

Full Text at: www.iinc.org/news/home/waterdamage.html

["Insurance payments to homeowners for water damage have doubled in California since 1997, according to an industry survey that's sure to intensify the debate over rising premiums and insurers' increasing reluctance to pay claims related to mold." Los Angeles Times (June 5, 2002. C1.]

[Request #S5268]

Return to the Table of Contents

California's Wireless Wonders: A Study of California's Wireless Industry. By the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance and O'Melveny Consulting LLC. ( The Alliance, San Diego, California) 104 p.

Full Text at: www.sdrta.org/downloads/final_ca_wireless_report.pdf

["San Diego .... has California's highest concentration of wireless employees.... California also has the most wireless companies and the largest wireless payroll of any state ... representing a total payroll of $3.5 billion." San Diego Tribune (June 13, 2002) [online.]

[Request #S5270]

Return to the Table of Contents

EDUCATION

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Crucial Choices: How Students' Financial Decisions Affect Their Academic Success. By Jacqueline E. King. American Council on Education Center for Policy Analysis. (The Center, Washington, DC) 2002. 31 p.

Full Text at: www.acenet.edu/bookstore/pdf/2002_crucial_choices.pdf

[“College students who work long hours and study part time – a strategy used by many to manage the costs of their educations – are far more likely than their classmates to drop out of school…. The study… found that 52.3 % of the freshmen it tracked who worked 15 or more hours a week and studied part time quit school within three years.” Los Angeles Times (June 6, 2002) 1.]

[Request #S5271]

Return to the Table of Contents

Performance Indicators of California Higher Education, 2001. By The California Postsecondary Education Commission. (The Commission. Sacramento, California) 2002. 113 p.

Full Text at: www.cpec.ca.gov/completereports/2002reports/02-07.pdf

["The rate of growth in instructionally related spending for the State University and University of California were both in excess of 6%, while the rate of growth for the California Community Colleges was only 1.3%.... In 2000-2001, annual nonresident tuition increased by 4.5% at the University of California and by 4% at the community colleges. Systemwide resident student fee charges remained level at all three public systems."]

[Request #S5272]

Return to the Table of Contents

Leveraging Colleges and Universities for Urban Economic Revitalization: An Action Agenda by CEOs for Cities and Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. (The Partnership, Boston, Massachusetts) Spring 2002. 68 p.

Full Text at: www.ceosforcities.org/research/2002/leveraging_colleges/index.html

["1,900 universities and colleges -- more than half the national total -- are located in the urban core.... They spend $136 billion.... Universities have undertaken model partnerships with their surrounding communities. Among them are the University of Pennsylvania in West Philadelphia, Columbia in Upper Manhattan, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles" Washington Post (May 26, 2002) [online].]

[Request #S5273]

Return to the Table of Contents

Benefits of a Statewide Student Identifier System for California. By Laura Hamilton. (RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California) May 2002. 6 p.

Full Text at: www.rand.org/publications/CT/CT197/CT197.pdf

["A unique student identifier linked to students' STAR test scores and demographic data would offer the opportunity to improve the quality of information California uses to evaluate both schools and programs and would facilitate better service provision to students."]

[Request #S5274]

Return to the Table of Contents

Strengthening California’s Teacher Information System. By Camille Esch, Patrick Shields and Viki Young. (The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, Santa Cruz, California) 2002. 20 p.

Full Text at: www.cftl.org/documents/CFTLdatabasepdf.pdf

["By knitting together the thousands of data elements now collected by districts and states into a centralized computer bank, educators can look for patterns that could help improve both the management and productivity of schools.... Businesses have been using data warehousing and data-based decision making for more than a decade to enhance their bottom lines. But the practice is just now taking hold in education." Education Week, (June12, 2002)[online],]

[Request #S5275]

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge: The Secretary's Annual Report on Teacher Quality. By the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. (The Department, Washington, DC) June 2002. 77 p.

Full Text at: www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/News/teacherprep/AnnualReport.pdf

["Facing a federal deadline for getting a 'highly qualified' teacher in every high poverty classroom by September, many states have begun hiding unflattering data about teacher qualifications and defining quality downward, so that even poorly prepared teachers win top ratings, the Education Department said in a report presented to Congress.... A handful of states, including New York, Texas and North Carolina, had begun raising their requirements for qualifying teachers. But it criticized the majority of states for lax standards and noted that one test California demands that all teachers pass, the California Basic Educational Skills Test, is set at the 10th-grade level." New York Times (June 13, 2002) [online].]

[Request #S5277]

Return to the Table of Contents

Qualifications of the Public School Workforce: Prevalence of Out-of-Field Teaching 1987-88 to 1999-00. By the National Center for Education Statistics. (The Center, Washington D.C.) 2002. 101 p.

Full Text at: nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002603.pdf

["More than half the nation's middle school students and a quarter of its high school students are learning core academic subjects from teachers who lack certification in those subjects and did not major in them in college, a new federal survey shows....The new figures arrive amid mounting concern that lagging teacher quality could be hindering student achievement. That worry has fueled debate about how to ensure that all classrooms are staffed with capable teachers. The concern is reflected in the requirement in the federal 'No Child Left Behind' Act of 2001 that every classroom be staffed by a "highly qualified" teacher by the end of the 2005-06 school year." Education Week (June 12, 2002) [online].]

[Request #S5278]

Return to the Table of Contents

EMPLOYMENT

WAGES

Growth and Employment. Moving Up? Earnings Mobility in California." By Michael Dardia and others. IN: California Policy Review, vol. 1, no. 4 (April 2002) pp. 1-12.

Full Text at: www.sphereinstitute.org/pdf/CPR_v1n4.pdf

["Income inequality is growing faster in California than in the nation as a whole. But... the long-term progress of individual California workers shows that even those on the bottom of the economic ladder are moving up over time. Examining the earnings of more than 180,000 Californians... found that the median annual earnings of the sample group rose 24% after adjusting for inflation. Gains were greatest for the lowest-paid workers who saw their median annual earnings more than double over the 12 year period." Los Angeles Times (June 10, 2002) 1.]

[Request #S5279]

Return to the Table of Contents

ENERGY

Duke Energy v. Gray Davis and California Power Exchange. U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit. 01-55770. September 20, 2001. Various pagings

["Governor Gray Davis overstepped his authority last year when he seized an estimated $ 200 million worth of energy contracts to keep electricity flowing to the state at the height of the power crisis, the U.S. Supreme Court decided. The court let stand an appellate court ruling that the governor's emergency powers did not grant him the authority to take over the Duke Energy contracts, a decision that means the state would be forced to rely on federal regulators for help if a similar situation occurred." San Jose Mercury News (June 4, 2002) 1.]

[Request #S5280]

Return to the Table of Contents

"Abuse of Power: How Manipulative Trading Undermined Energy Deregulation." By the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. IN: K@W Newsletter June 5-18, 2002 [online].

Full Text at: knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/articles.cfm?catid=9&articleid=570

["Federal regulators' release of memos last month outlining how Enron's traders profiteered from loopholes in California's energy market, along with disclosures by six energy trading companies that they had inflated trading volumes with fictitious trades, have set off a new round of recriminations and Congressional hearings. Experts at Wharton believe that these revelations, coupled with the evaporation of promised savings for retail consumers in other parts of the U.S., undermine the case for replacing traditional utility regulation."]

[Request #S5281]

Return to the Table of Contents

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES

BEACHES

Heal the Bay's 12th Annual Beach Report Card. By Heal the Bay. (Heal the Bay, Santa Monica, California) 2002. 36 p.

Full Text at: www.healthebay.org/brc/2002annual/pdfdocs/2002annualreport.pdf

["On dry, sunny days, the vast majority of California's 1,100-mile coast received top marks during the past year. However, according to a new study, popular spots such as Surfrider Beach in Malibu, Rincon Beach in Ventura County and Doheny State Beach in Dana Point remain hotspots for illness-causing bacteria. And on rainy days, as torrents of toxic urban runoff flow into the ocean, swimmers should stay out of the water regardless of where they live." Los Angeles Times (May 24, 2002) B7.]

[Request #S5283]

Return to the Table of Contents

State of the Beach 2002. By Surfrider Foundation. (The Foundation, San Clemente, California) May 21, 2002.

Full Text at: beach.com/stateofthebeach/contents.asp

["Artificial barriers built to protect oceanfront property against erosion are self-defeating and represent a major threat to the state's shoreline, a new environmental report warned. If the use of sea walls, jetties and revetments continues unchecked in California, many popular beaches will eventually be stripped of their sand." Los Angeles Times (May 22, 2002) B7.]

[Request #S5286]

Return to the Table of Contents

Status Review of California Coho Salmon North of San Francisco: Report to The California Fish and Game Commission. By the California Department of Fish and Game. (The Department, Sacramento, California) April 2002.

Full Text at: www.dfg.ca.gov/nafwb/pubs/2002/2002_04_coho_status.pdf

["State biologists recommended that coho salmon from San Francisco north to the Oregon border should be protected under the state Endangered Species Act, concluding that the once-plentiful fish could vanish from the area. The Department of Fish and Game report contains one of the most comprehensive reviews to date of the increasing scarcity of coho salmon in the region's coastal rivers and streams." Los Angeles Times (May 30, 2002) B8.]

[Request #S5284]

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

U.S. Climate Action Report - 2002: Third National Communication of the United States of America Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. By the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (The Agency, Washington, DC) May 2002. 263 p.

Full Text at: www.epa.gov/globalwarming/publications/car/uscar.pdf

["A report quietly released last week by the Environmental Protection Agency gave a surprising endorsement to what many scientists have long argued -- that oil refining, power plants and auto emissions are important causes of global warming. Gradually increasing temperatures are likely to threaten coastal barrier islands and mountain meadows, the report said." Reuters (June 4, 2002) 1.]

[Request #S5287]

Return to the Table of Contents

Dentist the Menace? The Uncontrolled Release of Dental Mercury. By Michael T. Bender, Mercury Policy Project. (The Project, Montpelier, Vermont) June 2002. 18 p.

Full Text at: www.mercurypolicy.org/new/documents/DentistTheMenace.pdf

["The new report states that the dental industry is the single largest contributor of the toxic metal into the nation's wastewater. It also criticizes the industry's leaders for failing to encourage mercury recycling programs in dental offices.... While the report analyzed nationwide trends, the findings rang true for the Bay Area, water officials attested." Oakland Tribune (June 5, 2002) 1.]

[Request #S5288]

Return to the Table of Contents

Remedial Action at the Moab Site: Now and for the Long Term: Letter Report. By the Board on Radioactive Waste Management, National Research Council. (National Academy Press, Washington, DC) June 2002. 40 p.

Full Text at: books.nap.edu/html/moab/letter_report.pdf

["A blue-ribbon science committee warned that it is a "near certainty" that the Colorado River will someday run directly through a massive heap of uranium slag, raising the specter of massive radioactive contamination of the water source for 25 million people in California and the Southwest.... Although the committee did not pick between the two leading alternatives -- cover the heap or move the entire mess farther from the river -- it called for more study and warned of the grave dangers of doing nothing." Los Angeles Times (June 14, 2002) B8.]

[Request #S5289]

Return to the Table of Contents

GENERAL GOVERNMENT

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

Barnes v. Gorman. Supreme Court of the United States. No. 01-682. June 17, 2002. 15 p.

Full Text at: www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/01pdf/01-682.pdf

["Public entities and other organizations that receive federal funds... have argued that punitive damages are unfair because they can exceed the amount of public money that such institutions receive. The justices agreed, saying in their written opinion that punitive damages may assume an 'indeterminate magnitude ... untethered to compensable harm, and thus would pose a concern that recipients of federal funding could not reasonably have anticipated.' Chronicle of Higher Education (June 18, 2002) [online.]

[Request #S5290]

Return to the Table of Contents

Review of Studies of the Economic Impact of the September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center. By Nancy R. Kingsbury. U.S. General Accounting Office. (The Office, Washington, DC) June 2002. 40 p.

Full Text at: www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-02-700R

["Eight studies from seven different organizations were identified as being the most comprehensive studies available on the economic impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks.... In general, the eight studies we reviewed varied in the extent to which they met standard economic criteria for analyzing economic impacts.... We found that the study by the New York City Partnership provided the most comprehensive estimates."]

[Request #S5291]

Return to the Table of Contents

Responding to Bioterrorism: Assessing California's Preparedness. By Raymond A. Zilinskas and Jason Pate, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies. Prepared for the California Research Bureau, California State Library. CRB 02-004. (The Bureau, Sacramento, California) March 2002. 61 p.

Full Text at: www.library.ca.gov/crb/02/04/02-004.pdf

["[The study] ... provides an overview of California's terrorism response planning; responsibilities of agencies and organizations in California bioterrorism response and role sequencing over time. [The study] recommends that to improve California's bioterrorism preparedness, the state must develop bioterrorism response planning and conduct a long-term study of bioterrorism." State Net (June 1, 2002) 3.]

[Request #S5292]

Return to the Table of Contents

"Superwaiver" Would Grant Executive Branch and Governors Sweeping Authority To Override Federal Laws: Executive Summary. By Robert Greenstein and others. (Center on Policy and Budget Priorities) May 17, 2002. 9 p.

Full Text at: www.cbpp.org/5-13-02tanf.pdf

["This analysis examines the superwaiver proposal, with emphasis on the superwaiver provisions in the bill passed by the House.... Few restrictions [would be]placed on Executive Branch Authority to waive federal law or authorize alternative uses of funds.... In short, the superwaiver proposal has profound implications and poses serious risks. This radical a change is not necessary."]

[Request #S5293]

Return to the Table of Contents

The Fourth Branch. By John Dunbar and Meleah Rush, Center for Public Integrity. (The Center, Washington, DC) May 1, 2002. 4 p.

Full Text at: www.publicintegrity.org/dtaweb/index.asp?L1=20&L2=10&L3=30&L4=0&L5=0&Print=Yes

["The Buzz: Guess Which State Leads U.S. in Lobbyists: Besides having the most special-interest groups, California topped the list in lobbyist spending at $180 million, nearly three times what was spent in New York, the second-place state.... Of particular interest is the number of lobbyists representing Native American interests.... More tribal organizations are registered in that state than any other." Sacramento Bee (May 6, 2002) 1.]

[Request #S5294]

Return to the Table of Contents

Special Reorganization of the Harbor Area: Executive Officer's Report. And Executive Officer's Supplemental Report #2 And Fiscal Tables. Prepared for The Local Agency Formation Commission for Los Angeles County. By Larry J. Calemine, Executive Officer. (The Commission, Glendale, California) May 2002. Various pagings.

Full Text at: lalafco.org/lafco_topics.htm

["Commission Says San Pedro and Wilmington Would Face Millions in Deficits as a City. Placing the Issue on November's Ballot Appears Unlikely: The executive officer of the Commission, who has backed the breakaway movement by the San Fernando Valley, determined that a harbor city, population 145,000, would immediately be saddled by budget deficits, and recommended that a secession election for the waterfront area not be held." Los Angeles Times (May 12, 2002) 1.]

[Request #S5295]

Return to the Table of Contents

Governor Davis' Proposed Labor Agency Reorganization Plan. By the California Budget Project. (The Project, Sacramento, California) April 2002. 5 p.

Full Text at: www.cbp.org/2002/bb020403.htm

["The proposal aims to improve the coordination and effectiveness of state workforce development activities. Although consolidation and coordination of state job training programs is consistent with recommendations included in the CBP's report on state economic development spending, it is unclear whether the plan will achieve this goal.... The plan warrants careful deliberation by the Legislature and the Governor."]

[Request #S5296]

Return to the Table of Contents

Borrowing Against the Future: Is Securitizing California's Tobacco Settlement Revenues The Best Way To Budget Gap? By Delaine McCullough and Jean Ross, California Budget Project. (The Project, Sacramento, California) April 2002. 5 p.

Full Text at: www.cbp.org/2002/bb020402.pdf

["Governor Davis' 2002-03 Budget proposes to securitize a portion of the state's tobacco settlement revenues (TSRs) in order to provide $2.4 billion to help balance the upcoming year's budget. The state would securitize its TSRs by issuing bonds that will be repaid with this revenue stream. This paper looks at how the state's TSRs are spent, the issues surrounding securitization, and the Governor's proposal."]

[Request #S5297]

Return to the Table of Contents

The Correct Way to Measure the Revenue Impact of Changes in Tax Rates. By Daniel J. Mitchell, American Heritage Foundation. Backgrounder. No 1544 (The Foundaiton, Washington, DC) May 3, 2002.

Full Text at: www.heritage.org/library/backgrounder/pdf/bg1544.pdf

["When taking steps to modernize and correct the revenue-estimating process, policymakers should ... learn from history. Static scoring routinely overestimates how much revenue will be generated by tax increases. The fact that dynamic scoring cannot pinpoint all the multiyear effects of a change in tax policy, however, is not an argument for maintaining a static process that guarantees an answer that is wrong and farther from the truth."]

[Request #S5298]

Return to the Table of Contents

HEALTH

GENETICS

Genetic Screening of Populations. By Alissa Johnson, National Conference of State Legislatures. Legisbrief. Vol. 10, No. 30. (NCSL, Denver, Colorado) June/July 2002. 2 p.

["Little progress in population genetic screening is expected until the costs, risks and potential benefits are better understood. Given the rapid pace of advances in genetics, however, policymakers should be prepared to confront this issue. In the end, scientists and public health agencies will play a critical role in harnessing this technology for the public's benefit. The unique relationship state legislators share with their constituents may allow them to best assess the public's desire for population genetic screening services."]

[Request #S5299]

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

"Health Policy for Low-Income People: States' Responses to New Challenges." By John Holahan, Health Policy Center, The Urban Institute (The Institute, Washington, DC) IN: Health Affairs Web Exclusive (May 22, 2002) pp. 187-218.

Full Text at: www.healthaffairs.org/WebExclusives/2104Holahan2.pdf

["States are facing enormous budget pressures, and rising health care costs for low-income families, but so far, according to this analysis, they are resisting cutting benefits, enrollments, or eligibility in their Medicaid and SCHIP programs. The report cautions, however, that rising health care costs and lower savings from managed care are likely to pose long-term funding pressures on Medicaid and SCHIP even after the economy rebounds." Connect for Kids (June 10,2002)1.]

[Request #S5301]

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Medicare Home Health Care: Payments to Home Health Agencies Are Considerably Higher Than Costs. By the U.S. General Accounting Office. GAO-02-663. (The Office, Washington, DC) May 6, 2002. 22 p.; Appendices.

Full Text at: www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-02-663

{"Medicare home health payments grew ... more than three times the rate of spending growth for the entire Medicare program.... In response to rising home health spending, Congress enacted major changes ... which provides incentives to home health agencies to operate efficiently.... We believe that the Prospective Payment System should incorporate risk sharing of financial gains and losses between the Medicare program and Home Health Agencies."]

[Request #S5302]

Return to the Table of Contents

Re: Proposed Regulatory Amendments Permitting SCHIP Coverage of "Unborn Children." By the National Health Law Program and others. (The Program, Los Angeles, California) May 6, 2002. 9 p.

Full Text at: www.healthlaw.org/pubs/200205.schipcomments.html

["We, the undersigned organizations, urge the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to withdraw its proposal to amend the definition of 'child' found in the SCHIP statute and regulations. Instead the agency should encourage States to utilize available options under the Medicaid program to provide desired prenatal and pregnancy-related care."]

[Request #S5303]

Return to the Table of Contents

HOUSING

HOMEBUYING

“Bubble Trouble? Your Home Has a P/E Ratio Too.” By Edward E. Learner, UCLA Anderson Forecast Project, and others. IN: UCLA Anderson Forecast For the Nation (June 2002) pp. Nation 1.1-1.19.

[“The p/e (price to earnings) ratio for L.A. housing is rising but is still 17% below it’s 1989 bubble peak. The Bay Area housing p/e, however, is 6% above the 1989 peak. The LA p/e is supported by the fundamentals: appreciation of rents at the rate of 7% per year, while the high Bay Area p/e is not: rents have stabilized.”]

[Request #S5300]

Return to the Table of Contents

HUMAN SERVICES

CHILD CARE

What Happens When the School Year is Over? The Use and Costs of Child Care for School-Age Children During the Summer Months. By Jeffrey Capizzano and others, The Urban Institute (The Institute, Washington, DC) Assessing the New Federalism, Occasional Paper No. 58, June 2002. 45 p.

Full Text at: www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310497_OP58.pdf

["This paper provides one of the first systematic examinations of child care patterns among 6- to 12-year-old children during the summer months. Using the 1999 National Survey of America's Families, the paper analyzes two key aspects of summer child care: the types of arrangements used for school-age children while their primary caretaker is working and the amount families with school-age children spend on child care. Where possible, it looks at aspects of child care separately for children of different ages and for children from families with different incomes."]

[Request #S5304]

Return to the Table of Contents

The Vast Majority of Federally-Eligible Children Did Not Receive Child Care Assistance in FY 2000: Increased Child Care Funding Needed to Help More Families. By Jennifer Mezey and others, Center for Law and Social Policy. (The Center, Washington, DC). June 4, 2002. 10 p.

Full Text at: www.clasp.org/pubs/childcare/ChildCareNumberFull.pdf

["Based on recently released data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services CLASP estimates that states served about 15 percent of federally-eligible children (approximately 1 out of 7) in FY 2000.... The Administration has sought no new child care funding for the next five years, and its welfare proposal would exacerbate the current gap between need and enrollment."]

[Request #S5305]

Return to the Table of Contents

Recent Changes in California Welfare and Work, Child Care, and Child Welfare Systems. By Deborah Montgomery, American Institutes for Research, and others. Prepared for the Urban Institute. Assessing the New Federalism, State Update No. 11. (The Institute, Washington, DC) May 2002. 30 p.

Full Text at: www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310495_recent_changes_CA.pdf

["This brief offers a detailed description of current policies and recent changes in the areas of TANF and employment and training, child care, and child welfare in California. It begins with a short profile of California's population, economy, and politics, followed by an overview of the income support and social services safety net. The final section offers concluding statements about changes in these three social welfare policy areas."]

[Request #S5246]

Return to the Table of Contents

"Teenage Births in the United States: State Trends, 1991-2000, An Update." By Stephanie J. Ventura and others, Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics. IN: National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 50, no. 9 (May 30, 2002) pp. 1-4.

Full Text at: www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr50/nvsr50_09.pdf

["This report finds that teen birth rates dropped 5% in 2000. The decline in teen birth rates fell for the 10th straight year, hitting a record low in 2001. The birth rate for teenagers 15-17 years of age fell 8% in 2001. The rate for teens 18-19 years of age dropped 4% in 2001. The reduction in teen birth rates from 2000 to 2001 was greatest among black teenagers (8%)." CDF Child Health Information Project (June 7, 2002).]

[Request #S5248]

Return to the Table of Contents

What Works in Welfare Reform: Evidence and Lessons to Guide TANF Reauthorization. By Gordon L. Berlin, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (The Corporation,New York, New York) June 2002. 53 p.

Full Text at: www.mdrc.org/Reports2002/TANF/TANFGuide_Full.pdf

["With an eye to informing policymakers as they deliberate over TANF reauthorization, this guide reviews what states have done with the flexibility afforded them by PRWORA, synthesizes findings from dozens of rigorous studies of welfare reform's effects on poor families and government budgets, and spells out the implications of this research for future welfare and employment policy."]

[Request #S5306]

Return to the Table of Contents

How Welfare and Work Policies for Parents Affect Adolescents: A Synthesis of Research. By Lisa A. Gennetian and others. The Next Generation Project. (Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, Oakland, California) May 2002. 81 p.

Full Text at: www.mdrc.org/Reports2002/ng_adolescent/ng_adolsyn_full.pdf

["The latest research synthesis takes a closer look at troubling findings regarding the effects of welfare and work programs on the teenaged children of program enrollees.... The analysis shows all three approaches -- requiring parents to work or participate in work-related activities, offering earnings supplements to working parents, and putting time limits on welfare receipt -- were associated with small detrimental effects on adolescents' school outcomes, including academic performance and grade repetition. Possible explanations and their implications for policy are explored."]

[Request #S5307]

Return to the Table of Contents

INTERNATIONAL READER

The New World Fear: America. By Stewart Nusbaumer. IN: Intervention Magazine (June 2002) [online]

Full Text at: www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=82&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

["Americans view the end of the Cold War as the end of a threat, while others see it as the beginning of a new threat... Every week brings charges from European leaders that America is acting unilaterally. Asians call Americans bullies. In the Middle East, they want to murder us. This author believes... that the post-Cold War era has not lived up to its promise. In fact, the post-Cold War era has been downright miserable."]

[Request #S5308]

Return to the Table of Contents

NATIONAL READER

NATIONAL READER

Michael A. Newdon v. U. S. Congress, et al. U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District. 00-16423. June 26, 2002. 32 p.

Full Text at: news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/conlaw/newdowus62602opn.pdf

["Pledge of Allegiance Ruled Unconstitutional: The Pledge of Allegiance, a patriotic ritual of America's classrooms, is unconstitutional because the phrase 'under God' is a government endorsement of religion, a federal appeals court ruled.... If the decision stands, school children would no longer recite the pledge -- at least in its current form, which was prescribed by a 1954 federal law that added the words 'under God' to the text.... The Court pointed out that the law inserting the words 'under God' into the pledge had an expressly religious purpose: distinguishing the United States from communist countries during the height of the Cold War." San Francisco Chronicle (June 27, 2002) A1.]

[Request #S5218]

Return to the Table of Contents

TRANSPORTATION

DRIVERS' LICENSES

Safe Roads, Safe Communities: Immigrants and State Driver’s License. By Michele L. Waslin, National Council of La Raza. (The Council, Washington, DC) May 2002. 20 p.

Full Text at: www.nclr.org/policy/briefs/drivers_license_issue_brief_6.pdf

["A number of states have passed or are considering legislation that severely restricts the ability of immigrants to obtain state-issued driver's licenses ... in the name of national security. This brief argues that restricting access to driver's licenses endangers the public safety and that national security efforts are best served with valid and reliable forms of identification."]

[Request #S5309]

Return to the Table of Contents

"Drivers' Licenses as Security: A Unique Combination or Potential Headache? By Tod Newcombe. IN: Government Technology's Crime & The Tech Effect. (April 2002) pp. 12-15.

Full Text at: www.govtech.net/magazine/sup_story.phtml?magid=1505000000000010&id=3030000000005451&issue=4:2002

["The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) announced a proposal to bring greater uniformity and control to how licenses are issued and for establishing identity for security purposes. The changes outlined in the proposal will require federal and state legislative support and financing."]

[Request #S5310]

Return to the Table of Contents

WASHINGTON READER

TRANSIT

California Capitol Hill Bulletin. By the California Institute for Federal Policy Research. Vol. 9 Bulletin 16-17. (The Institute, Washington, DC) June 6 - 13, 2002. 12 p.

Full Text at: www.calinst.org/bulletins/bul917.pdf

[Includes: "Senate Panel Reports CALFED Reauthorization;" Californians Seek, Get Relief from FERC on Gas Contract Issue;" "California Hill Briefing Raises Senate Ethanol Mandate Questions;" "Runaway Production Hurting California Economy, CRB Finds;" and others.]

[Request #S5311]

Return to the Table of Contents

[The following studies, reports, and documents have been ordered or requested, but have not yet arrived. Requests may be placed, and copies will be provided when the material arrives.]

EMPLOYMENT

RE-EMPLOYMENT

Selling Ben Cheever: Back to Square One in a Service Economy. By Benjamin Cheever. (Bloomsbury, New York) December 2001. 395 p.

["In response to his own sudden job loss and to the general unemployment all around him, Cheever decided to write a book about starting over. He spent five years applying for, training for, and -- more often than not -- getting rejected from dozens of low-wage service jobs in the greater New York metropolitan area.... [He lists] his five rules for finding work in today's tough job market." Fast Company (April 2002) 122. NOTE: Selling Ben Cheever ... will be available for 3-day loan.]

[Request #S5214]

Return to the Table of Contents

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES

COASTAL AREAS

Oil in the Sea: Inputs, Fates, and Effects. By the Committee on Oil in the Sea, National Research Council. (National Academy Press, Washington, DC) May 2002. 434 p.

Full Text at: books.nap.edu/books/0309084385/html/R1.html#pagetop

["Most oil pollution in North American coastal waters comes not from leaking tankers or oil rigs, but rather from countless oil-streaked streets, sputtering lawn mowers and other dispersed sources on land, and so will be hard to prevent, a panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences says in a new report. The thousands of tiny releases, carried by streams and storm drains to the sea, are estimated to equal an Exxon Valdez spill -- 10.9 million gallons of petroleum -- every eight months." New York Times (May 24, 2002) A14.]

[Request #S5215]

Return to the Table of Contents

GLOBAL WARMING

Climate Responses to a Doubling of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide for a Climatically Vulnerable Region. By Lisa C. Sloan, University of California, Santa Cruz, and others. IN: Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 29, no. 11 (June 2002) pp. 9-1 - 9-4.

["In one of the most comprehensive studies to date on the effects of global warming in California, scientists predict that within this century, average temperatures will rise everywhere, especially in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges, and winter snowpack in the Sierra will diminish by as much as 82 percent." Sacramento Bee (June 4, 2002) A1]

[Request #S5217]

Return to the Table of Contents