September 1857 - ""Capt. Bogart met with quite a serious loss, on Friday of last week, by escape of some forty or fifty fine turtles which he had in a pen, on the island opposite the Playa, waiting for the steamer to send them to San Francisco. The tide being very high they broke through the pen and made tracks for deep water." San Diego Herald, September 12, 1857, p.2, col. 3."    

1857 - "The first mention of sea turtles in San Diego newspapers occurred in 1857, when the whaling Captain Bogart arrived in San Diego with sea turtles that he had captured in Mexico. He set up turtle pens on the shores of Point Loma with the intent of starting up a turtle meat business. During a series of storms that year, approximately 100 turtles broke away and escaped into the bay. Whether these were the first turtles introduced to San Diego or sea turtles already existed here is unknown, but many researchers believe that the turtles have been migrating to San Diego from Mexico for hundreds of years. http://www.portofsandiego.org/sandiego_environment/turtle-tracks/"    

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

Service to State Employees:

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

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

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

CRIMINAL JUSTICE & LAW ENFORCEMENT

GANGS

Gang Wars: The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the Need for Public Safety Strategies. By Judith Greene and Kevin Pranis, Justice Policy Institute. (The Institute, Washington, DC) July 2007. 108 p.

Full Text at: www.justicepolicy.org/reports_jl/7-10-07_gangs/GangsFullReport2.pdf

[“This report attempts to clarify some of the persistent misconceptions about gangs and to assess the successes and failures of approaches that have been employed to respond to gangs. We undertook an extensive review of the research literature on gangs because we believe that the costs of uninformed policy making -— including thousands of lives lost to violence or imprisonment -— are simply too high.... The following conclusions may surprise those who follow the public discussion on gangs.”]

[Request #S74401]

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Compensation and Staffing Issues in the San Francisco Police Department. By the 2006-2007 Civil Grand Jury of the City and County of San Francisco. (San Francisco Superior Court, San Francisco, California) July 9, 2007. 16 p.

Full Text at: www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/courts/sfpd_compensation_report.pdf

[“The police department, which already faces a shortage of sworn officers, is driving up overtime costs by assigning officers to desk jobs that could be filled by civilian employees. The report called the department's overtime use ‘excessive’ -- just 9 percent of the workforce is made up of civilians, who are generally paid less than sworn officers, compared with 31 percent in Oakland and 24 percent in San Diego.... The report also found that budget overruns in the department have been compounded by the fact that police brass are eligible to receive overtime.” San Francisco Chronicle (July 12, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74403]

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Marciano Plata, et al. v. Arnold Schwarzenegger, et al. U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. C01-1351. Order Granting Plaintiff’s Motion to Convene Three-Court Judge. July 23, 2007. 11p.

Full Text at: www.cprinc.org/docs/court/OrderRePanelOvercrowding072307.pdf

[“Federal judges seeking to improve prison medical care called the state's latest efforts insufficient and ordered creation of a three-judge panel to consider capping California's inmate population. The move — the first for a state prison system — has the potential to prompt early release of inmates. In separate rulings, U.S. District Judges concluded that a $7.4-billion prison reform package enacted by the Legislature and Schwarzenegger could worsen prison conditions because it calls for adding beds without bolstering staff. The judges expressed hope that the governor and Legislature would swiftly find ways to make early release of prisoners unnecessary.” Los Angeles Times (July 24, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74404]

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DEMOGRAPHY

PUBLIC OPINION

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and the Environment. By Mark Baldasarre, Public Policy Institute of California, and others. (The Institute, San Francisco, California) July 2007. 54 p.

Full Text at: www.ppic.org/content/pubs/survey/S_707MBS.pdf

[“A survey shows most residents think dirty air from cars is helping foster disasters such as drought and hurting their health through ailments such as asthma.... They want immediate action from government officials and presidential candidates with strong environmental protection stands. They support current attempts to lower greenhouse-gas emissions from autos. But the poll also found two-thirds of workers put up with pain at the gasoline pump so they can drive solo to jobs — a fourth in SUVs. Just 13 percent carpool and 7 percent use public transit.” Oakland Tribune (July 30, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74405]

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ECONOMY

MEDIA INDUSTRY

Video Software Dealers Association, et al. v. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of the State of California, et al. U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. C-05-04188. August 6, 2007. 17 p.

Full Text at: tinyurl.com/39clzn

[“A judge struck down a California state law that prohibits the selling or renting of violent video games to minors. The proponents argued that stricter laws were needed because such games can influence minors to also act violently. The judge wrote that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that video games ‘are any more harmful than violent television, movies, internet sites or other speech-related exposures. The evidence does not establish the required nexus between the legislative concerns about the well-being of minors and the restrictions on speech required by the Act.’” San Francisco Chronicle (August 7, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74406]

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Volunteering in America: 2007 City Trends and Rankings. By Robert Grimm, Jr., Office of Research and Policy Development, Corporation for National and Community Service. (The Corporation, Washington, DC) July 2007. 77 p.

Full Text at: www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/VIA_CITIES/VIA_cities_fullreport.pdf

[“The spirit of volunteerism is thriving in the heartland, but not so much on the coasts.... The highest rates were in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, where more than four in 10 adults volunteered.... Nationally, 26.7 percent of adults in 2006 said they had volunteered in the previous year. That compares with 28.8 percent in 2005 and 20.4 percent in 1989. More than one-third of the people who volunteered in 2005 stopped in 2006.” San Francisco Chronicle (July 8, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74407]

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EDUCATION

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Public Higher Education Performance Accountability Framework Report: Goal - Contributions to Economic, Civic, and Social Development Measure: Educational Attainment of Population. By the California Post-Secondary Education Commission. (The Commission, Sacramento, California) June 2007.

[“The Commission describes ‘a growing deficit in the state's supply of college-educated workers.’ It says employers will be increasingly dependent on importing skilled labor from outside the state, but it's not certain that imports can keep up with the demand. It cites the relatively low levels of educational attainment by young Latinos. Among California's whites and Asian Americans, 50 percent or more have associate degrees or higher levels of educational attainment, but those rates drop to 30 percent or lower among African Americans and Latinos, the latter only about 15 percent.” Sacramento Bee (June 11, 2007) A3.]

Report on Educational Attainment - 12 p.
http://www.cpec.ca.gov/completereports/2007reports/07-11.pdf

Report on Per Capita Income - 8 p.
http://www.cpec.ca.gov/completereports/2007reports/07-12.pdf

[Request #S74408]

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Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program: Summary of Results. By the California Department of Education. (The Department, Sacramento, California) August 15, 2007.

[“California public school students posted small or no gains on standardized test scores last spring, raising concerns about a leveling off of previous achievement increases and continuing debate about the disparities between black and Latino students and their white and Asian peers. Statewide, 41% of students reached the 'advanced' or 'proficient' level in math and 43% in English on standardized tests -- scores that marked no movement from last year in math and only a one-point rise in English.” Los Angeles Times (August 16, 2007) 1.]

Individual Results. Various pagings.
http://star.cde.ca.gov/star2007/Viewreport.asp

[Request #S74409]

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Annual Results of English Learners Reaching English Proficiency. By the California Department of Education. (The Department, Sacramento, California) June 21, 2007. 3 p.

Full Text at: www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr07/yr07rel77.asp

[“California has ratcheted up the standards for students to be considered fluent in English, causing fewer of them than last year to meet the bar. Twenty-nine percent of the 1.3 million students who are labeled ‘English learners’ scored proficient on the test that measures their acquisition of the language. Last year, 44 percent were considered proficient. But the difference doesn't mean fewer immigrant students are learning English, education officials said. Instead, they said, it reflects a harder test and tougher scoring.“ Sacramento Bee (June 22, 2007) A4.]

[Request #S74410]

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EMPLOYMENT

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

No-Vacation Nation. By Rebecca Ray and John Schmitt, Center for Economic Policy and Research. (The Center, Washington, DC) May 2007. 22 p.

Full Text at: www.cepr.net/documents/publications/working_time_2007_05.pdf

[“The United States is the ‘no-vacation nation,’ the only advanced economy in the world that doesn't guarantee its workers any paid vacation time. In fact, 28 million Americans are no-vacation workers, receiving no paid time off, vacation or holidays. On the other hand, managers and professionals often get a good deal of vacation. Then there's a large group in the middle that gets some time off, but not much — and they can't even count on that time being all fun and games. It's the time they use to take care of business.” Los Angeles Times (July 16, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74411]

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Day Labor in the Golden State. By Arturo Gonzalez, Public Policy Institute of California. California Economic Policy, vol. 3, no. 3 (The Institute, San Francisco, California) July 2007. 24 p.

Full Text at: www.ppic.org/content/pubs/cep/EP_707AGEP.pdf

[“Public day-labor markets aren't nearly the problem to the economy some believe and don't have to be so controversial in cities or unsafe for workers. The [study] says more help from government and community-based organizations could greatly ease the spectacle of men rushing employers' vehicles to negotiate for work. Both the workers and their employers operate on a cash basis outside taxation and worker safety rules. Loopholes in labor and immigration laws prevent crackdowns on employers. Day laborers are drawn to the informal sites because they get more jobs in construction and other sectors than at formal work centers. But jobs stemming from work centers may be safer.” Contra Costa Times (July 26, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74412]

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Management Audit of San Francisco's Workforce Development Programs. By the San Francisco Budget Analyst. (San Francisco Board of Supervisors, San Francisco, California) August 2, 2007. 155 p.

Full Text at: tinyurl.com/36epgm

[“San Francisco is spending at least $29 million a year on employment programs while placing a disappointingly low number of people into jobs and without knowing whether the jobs they are receiving are permanent or temporary. The audit called the city's workforce development system ‘fragmented, with inconsistent planning and coordination of resources and inadequate monitoring of programs to ensure that the programs' goals and outcomes are achieved.’" San Francisco Chronicle (August 3, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74413]

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ENERGY

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The State Energy Efficiency Scorecard for 2006. By Maggie Eldridge and others, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. (The Council, Washington, DC) June 2007. 74 p.

Full Text at: aceee.org//pubs/e075.pdf?CFID=3402661&CFTOKEN=87563580

["States now spend about three times as much on energy efficiency programs as the federal government, and are leading the way on appliance standards, building codes, energy efficiency resource standards, and other key policies that drive energy efficiency investment. [Researchers] developed in this report a comprehensive ranking of state energy efficiency policies and identified exemplary programs and policies."]

[Request #S74414]

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A Low-Carbon Fuel Standard for California. By Alexander E. Farrell, UC Berkeley, Daniel Sperling, UC Davis, and others. (Institute of Transportation Studies, Davis, California) August 2007.

[“Researchers made public a plan for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks, trains and the refineries that make their fuel. Among the reports recommendations: The low-carbon fuel program should cover all gasoline and diesel in the state, including fuel used by construction and farm machinery. Gasoline and diesel producers should be required to track the global warming emissions produced by making, transporting, storing and using their fuel; refineries could turn to new sources of power - such as burning biomass - or make their plants more energy efficient as a way to cut their carbon dioxide emissions; makers of ethanol and biodiesel should be able to sell credits to oil refineries under a cap-and-trade system. So should electric utilities.“ San Francisco Chronicle (August 4, 2007) 1.]

A Low-Carbon Fuel Standard for California: Part 1: Technical Analysis. 179 p.
http://pubs.its.ucdavis.edu/download_pdf.php?id=1082

A Low-Carbon Fuel Standard for California: Part 2: Policy Analysis. 96 p.
http://pubs.its.ucdavis.edu/download_pdf.php?id=1084

[Request #S74415]

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ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES

CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT

The People of the State of California, ex rel. Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., v. County of San Bernardino. San Berardino County Superior Court. CV-700329. Petition for Writ of Mandate. April 13, 2007. AND: Settlement Agreement between the County of San Bernardino and the People of the State of California. August 21, 2007.

[“San Bernardino County will be forced to measure how much it contributes to global warming and set targets to begin cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in the next 2 1/2 years, according to a legal settlement. The case had opened a new front in the battle against climate change, which has so far been dominated by efforts to regulate power plants, industrial factories and vehicle tailpipe emissions. The settlement applies only to unincorporated areas of the county and to government operations, not to the county's fast-growing cities.” Los Angeles Times (August 22, 2007) 1.]

Agreement. 9 p.
http://ag.ca.gov/cms_pdfs/press/2007-08-21_San_Bernardino_settlement_agreement.pdf

[Request #S74416]

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GENERAL GOVERNMENT

BONDS

The State of California ex rel. Pension Bond Obligation Committee, et al. v. All Persons Interested in the Matter of the Validity of the California Pension Obligation Bonds to Be Issued, etc. California Court of Appeals, Third Appellate District. C051749 July 3, 2007. 33 p.

Full Text at: www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/C051749.PDF

[“An appeals court has denied California's request to float $525 million in bonds to cover government pensions because the state didn't ask voters for their permission. The court affirmed that the pension obligation bonds are not exempt from the state's constitutional debt requirement, which prohibits the Legislature from borrowing more than $300,000 without a two-thirds vote in each house plus the approval of a majority of the state's voters. The state announced it will not appeal the ruling, which means elected officials will not get to rely on the bonds to help fill the budget gap.” Sacramento Bee (July 4, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74417]

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Broadband for All? Gaps in California’s Broadband Adoption and Availability. By Jed Kolko, Public Policy Institute of California. (The Institute, San Francisco, California) July 2007. 24 p.

Full Text at: www.ppic.org/content/pubs/cep/EP_707JKEP.pdf

[“Nearly half of California households have broadband (highspeed) Internet access. Broadband is more widely available in higher-income and higher-density areas, and there are large gaps in access between the urbanized coastal regions of California and the more rural inland areas. Differences in broadband adoption rates between different racial and ethnic groups are also significant, although some of these are due to different rates of computer ownership. This report reviews the policy approaches that California and its cities are taking to raise broadband adoption and availability, including local efforts to provide municipal Wi-Fi (wireless broadband). It concludes that broadband policy in California should focus on increasing availability in rural areas and helping raise adoption rates among disadvantaged groups in urban areas.”]

[Request #S74418]

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Memorandum: Rescission of the AOCDS Retroactive Pension Benefit. By John M.W. Moorlach, Orange County Board of Supervisors. (The Board, Santa Ana, Callifornia) July 24, 2007. 8 p.

Full Text at: cams.ocgov.com/Web_Publisher_Sam/Agenda07_31_2007_files/images/

[“Orange County initiated a high-stakes, first-of-its-kind battle to rein in costly public employee and scale back the pensions of sheriff's deputies. Over the objections of the sheriff, the district attorney and the sheriff's deputies union, supervisors unanimously agreed to consider rescinding portions of the deputies' pension packages, which were approved in 2001. The county is pursuing a novel legal strategy contending that part of the deputies' contract is unconstitutional. Public safety officials say the contract is legal and binding, and that it would be unfair to take it away now from retired deputies.” Los Angeles Times (August 1, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74419]

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HEALTH

CHILDREN

Kids Count Data Book: State Profiles of Child Well-Being. By Laura Beavers and others, Annie E. Casey Foundation. (The Foundation, Baltimore, Maryland) 2007. 196 p.

Full Text at: www.kidscount.org/sld/db_07pdf/databook.pdf

[“California slipped one spot to No. 19 in an annual state-by-state analysis of child well-being -- a report that some advocates said raises concerns about the state's education system and the availability of health care for children. The report shows that California improved in half of the 10 key categories, such as the child death rate, teen birth rate and percentage of children living below the poverty line. But the state lags behind national averages for children's health insurance coverage and basic education benchmarks.” San Francisco Chronicle (July 25, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74420]

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Health Coverage Proposals in California: Impact on Businesses. By Ken Jacobs, and others, UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. (The Center, Berkeley, California) July 2007. 20 p.

Full Text at: laborcenter.berkeley.edu/healthcare/ca_healthreforms07.pdf

[“Both AB 8 and the Governor’s Health Care Proposal can be expected to have a positive net impact on the California economy. After a short period of adjustment, most firms will experience no or little net change in operating costs. Firms with high current rates of health spending will experience some net gain through a lower rate of increase in health expenses. Firms with a high preponderance of minimum wage workers that do not currently offer health care will face some long-term increases in operating costs. Increases in operating costs are likely to be absorbed through a combination of increased productivity and modest price increases for consumers. In net, we expect little impact of the health policies on long-term employment growth.”]

[Request #S74421]

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The Working Uninsured: An Analysis of Worker Health Coverage Among California Industries. By the Center on Policy Initiatives. (The Center, San Diego, California) July 2007.21 p.

Full Text at: www.onlinecpi.org/downloads/

[“Health benefits vary widely among industries, with just 20% of hotel and restaurant workers having coverage. The lowest-paying jobs were least likely to offer health benefits. Just 28% of administrative support jobs included health insurance, and 40% of retail jobs did. Some of those workers were able to obtain insurance coverage through a partner's or relative's employer or to buy insurance independently. But in the hospitality, administrative support, agriculture and mining industries, more than half the workforce either had no insurance at all or relied on government programs.” Los Angeles Times (July 11, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74422]

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School’s Out --- Who Ate? A Report on Summer Nutrition in California. By Matthew Sharp and Sivakumar Chandran, California Food Policy Advocates. (The Advocates, San Francisco, California) June 2007. 31 p.

Full Text at: www.cfpa.net/press/SOWA/SOWA2007.pdf

[“The report determined the percentage of children who received free or reduced-price lunches during the school year and then participated in summer meal programs at schools or in their communities. Across the state, the participation rate was 29 percent -- a troubling figure. Officials cited obstacles to offering meals such as population movement, shorter summer school sessions and rising food costs. Though districts are reimbursed annually for low-income meal programs, the rates are not adjusted as often as food costs change. Additionally, challenges to getting students to take advantage of the programs exist as well. Chief among them: lack of knowledge about where to find the food.” Sacramento Bee (July 15, 2007) B1.]

[Request #S74423]

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HOUSING

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Audit of the Housing Department’s Loan Portfolio Management. By Laura N. Chick, Los Angeles City Controller. (Office of the Controller, Los Angeles, California) July 16, 2007. 42 p.

Full Text at: www.lacity.org/ctr/audits/LAHousingLoan%20Portfolio%20as%20of%207-16-07.pdf

[“The audit found that the department was delinquent in collecting some of the money it had lent to developers of affordable housing and that the city had lent money to developers already in default, thereby increasing the city's risk. The audit criticized the housing agency for too often lending money to the same developers, which can be risky. The political implication of this, [the controller] said, is that she will refuse to back any affordable housing bond measures until the Housing Department can demonstrate that it is using its money better.” Los Angeles Times (July 17, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74424]

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Performance Audit of the Los Angeles Housing Department’s Affordable Housing & Occupancy Monitoring Activities. By Laura N. Chick, Los Angeles City Controller. (Office of the Controller, Los Angeles, California) July 9, 2007. 48 p.

Full Text at: www.lacity.org/ctr/audits/LAHD%20Affordable%20Hsg%20Final%20rpt.pdf

[“Amid what Los Angeles leaders call a housing crisis, city departments have failed to figure out how many affordable units are needed or are even on hand, according to an audit. [The controller] said she found that developers had used the trust fund to help build 1,069 affordable units between 2004 and 2006. But it was hard to assess what those numbers meant. The Housing Department could not say how many affordable units had become unavailable during that period or how those efforts fit in with the needs of the city's poor residents." Los Angeles Times (July 10, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74425]

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Affordable Housing Needs 2005: Report to Congress. By the Office of Policy Development and Research, U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. (The Office, Washington, DC) May 2007. 99 p.

Full Text at: www.huduser.org/Publications/pdf/AffHsgNeeds.pdf

[“Growing numbers of the nation's poorest households are using more than half their earnings for rent while waiting years for federal housing assistance that may never come. The phenomenon is largely playing out in urban and suburban locales, but has exploded recently in rural areas as coveted rental assistance becomes harder to get due to high demand and scant funding from Congress. A report found that 6 million impoverished households used most of their monthly earnings for housing or lived in substandard conditions in 2005. That's an increase of 16 percent, or 817,000 families, since 2003. The number of rural families facing this dilemma grew by 51 percent, to nearly 1 million households over the same two-year span.” Sacramento Bee (July 15, 2007) A6.]

[Request #S74426]

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HUMAN SERVICES

HOMELESS

Anthony Lehr, et al. v. City of Sacramento, et al. U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. Class Action Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief. August 1, 2007. 21 p.

[“The way the city of Sacramento and Sacramento County treat homeless people is unconstitutional. According to the lawsuit, local ordinances prohibiting homeless people from sleeping outside violate the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because they punish people for being homeless. It also claims the practice of taking and destroying personal property, including necessary survival gear, as well as irreplaceable prescription medication, paperwork, memorabilia, valuables and tools, violates their rights.” Sacramento Bee (August 2, 007) A14.]

[Request #S74427]

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TRANSPORTATION

OUTSIDE CONTRACTING

Availability and Disparity Study. Final Report. By BBC Research & Consulting. Prepared for the California Department of Transportation. (The Department, Sacramento, California) June 29, 2007. 539 p.

Full Text at: www.caltrans.ca.gov/hq/bep/study/Avail_Disparity_Study_Final_Rpt.pdf

[“A study is expected to recommend that the state should again set goals for awarding a portion of federal transportation contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses. The study will also answer this question: Why are fewer than one-in-four minority and women-owned businesses available for construction and engineering work with the government, from a pool of 3,398 firms certified for the disadvantaged business program? Already the study's preliminary findings have sparked at least one call to not only reinstate the race-conscious program for federal projects, but revisit Proposition 209 too.” Capitol Weekly (July 26, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74428]

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Assessment of Local Models and Tools for Analyzing Smart-Growth Strategies: Final Report. By DKS Associates and the University of California, Irvine. Prepared for the California Department of Transportation. (The Department, Sacramento, California) July 27, 2007. 196 p.

Full Text at: www.dot.ca.gov/hq/research/researchreports/reports/2007/local_models_tools.pdf

[“The report explores models and tools available for use by cities and counties in California for assessing the potential effects of smart-growth land-use and transportation strategies designed to provide mobility options and reduce demand on automobile-oriented facilities.” TRB Newsletter (August 7, 2007) 1.]

[Request #S74429]

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