Posts Tagged: policy
Opinion
More than one out of three adults have pre-diabetes. Fifteen to 30 percent of them will develop type 2 diabetes within five years if they don’t make lifestyle changes now. This is no exaggeration, these are numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While there is no easy answer to curbing obesity and diabetes, the good news is both can be prevented through a combination of physical activity, balanced food choices and good old-fashioned weight loss.
Opinion
California’s universities receive more and more applications every year. Last year there were a record 193,873 applicants to the University of California and 290,473 to the California State University system. Each applicant applied, on average, to two or three campuses. But just as this demand is growing, more and more eligible students are being turned away from California’s universities.
News
John Mockler, one of the most influential voices on California education policy for more than 40 years, died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer. He was 73. The architect of Proposition 98, the 1988 initiative that sets state support for public schools, Mockler also served as executive director of the State Board of Education and Gov. Gray Davis’ cabinet secretary for education.
News
GRIZZLY BEAR PROJECT: After some hard feelings and bruised egos, De León accepted his defeat and ran for the Senate seat that he never really wanted. But in the Senate, de León has matured and grown as a legislator. Early on, he helped ease roadblocks between the Senate and the governor’s office. In the meantime, he reconstructed and expanded his personal relationships, and was elected by his colleagues last year as the new leader of the state Senate.
News
Legislators may serve a maximum of twelve years in the Legislature. Someone could serve six, two-year terms in the Assembly, or three, four-year terms in the Senate, or some combination of terms in both houses. This system replaced a more chaotic term limits system of six years in the Assembly and eight years in the Senate, which resulted in Assembly members constantly seeking to “jump” from the Assembly to the Senate in what fairly can be described as a non-stop series of elections and musical chairs.
Opinion
OPINION: By accelerating the development and deployment of alternatives to oil, California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard—which the Air Resources Board will consider this week —helps untangle us from regimes that do not share our values. It helps make our nation stronger by weakening regimes that use oil to pay for their murderous acts, and makes the world a little bit safer.
News
California Health Report: An estimated
2.6 million undocumented California residents are explicitly barred by law from the benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The legislation has been a huge boon for many Californians: More than 3 million previously uninsured Californians gained health insurance since the start of the ACA’s first enrollment period. Almost 30 percent of the remaining uninsured, however, are undocumented immigrants who are ineligible for both Medi-Cal and assistance through Covered California.
Opinion
While most people have heard of lobbyists and have a general idea of what the lobbying profession is about, few understand the breadth and complexity of this work and the important role that lobbyists play in developing state policy. When I first began lobbying, long-time relationships ruled the process, there was far more bipartisan collaboration, and individual legislators wielded enormous clout.
Opinion
OPINION: I find it fascinating that a handful of gullible news reporters have been convinced this was a “leaked” document that reveals WSPA’s secret formula for world domination. The truth is, the presentation in question was given to a public gathering and provided to individuals who requested it – a regular transparent practice we employ at WSPA.
News
Californians’ reliance on TV for their political news is declining, while an increasing number of people are using the Internet for political coverage, according to a report from the Public Policy Institute of California.
Healthy foods and exercise are a deterrent to diabetes. (Photo: Dimitry Lobanov)
