Compiled by Julie Lefevre and Nick Robinson
Institute of Governmental Studies Library
University of California at Berkeley
The LAO has produced a quick and graphic overview of water in California to aid policymakers and citizens in grappling with the coming challenges to the state’s vital water delivery system. Sections with copious charts and tables cover governance, supply and demand, finance, and issues for legislative consideration.
… or perchance to cut. Though Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t a natural to play Hamlet, the current state (country, world) economic downturn puts him in an existential budget crisis. A new report from the California Budget Project suggests that raising taxes on those with high incomes is better than cutting state expenditures.
A new publication from the IBM Center for the Business of Government includes a report titled “Emergency Management Networks in California” that identifies a set of practices that public managers can use to successfully develop inter-organizational networks to more effectively address emergency management challenges.
[Public Policy Institute of California]
A suite of reports from the Public Policy Institute of California looks at preparations for climate change at state and local levels. Some institutions, such as water agencies and electrical utilities, have already begun planning for change. But other areas have yet to prepare effectively for the challenges of a changing California.
While previous reports have clearly documented the need, the challenges, and the real economic potential for new grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods, there are relatively few resources available to community advocates and local governments that describe how to attract or develop a new store. This report provides nuts and bolts resources to help communities organize a coordinated strategy for grocery store attraction.
After a 20-month planning process, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force has adopted its Delta Vision Strategic Plan. The plan seeks to ensure long-term sustainable management of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, balancing the need for a reliable water supply for California, and protection for the Delta’s environmental resources.
A new report from UC Berkeley’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics opens with an epigraph by Darwin, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” The report details costs associated with climate change and response options in seven areas: water; energy; transportation; tourism and recreation; real estate; agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; and public health.
Several new reports mine data from the California Health Interview Survey and other sources to provide a perspective on the health of California’s children. The bottom line: children in California are not as healthy as they could be. In particular, low-income and Latino children face multiple obstacles and consequently bear a disproportionate burden of health problems. According to a related report, Mexican-origin children and youth have less access to public health programs in comparison with immigrants from other regions and the white U.S.-born population.
With the recent passage of Proposition 1A clearing the way for the construction of a high-speed rail line linking San Francisco and Los Angeles , a report from the Bay Area Council Economic Institute explores quality-of-life benefits to Bay Area residents in four categories: business and job creation; mobility; urban development; and climate change.