Most of us have swatted away marauding mosquitos, attacking from
the sky—well now the mosquitos have to watch out for the air
power too. In San Bernardino County, the Mosquito Vector Control
Program is collaborating with the County’s Sheriff’s Aviation
Division, and using state-of-the-art technology to identify
potential mosquito breeding sites: unmaintained swimming pools.
I admit, there are times when I wish it was a little simpler to
use my smart phone to just make a phone call. But for every time
I struggle to find my way back to the keyboard, there are at
least five times when I am thankful for this app, or that
function that makes my life easier. What was the name of that
restaurant again? Is it on 9th or 10th street? Where is
the nearest gas station? Smart phones are supposed to make our
lives easier with that type of information at our fingertips, and
now thanks to the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, your
smart phone can even make it easier for you to participate as a
voter!
Clinical therapists are taking their jobs a few steps above and
beyond the typical call of duty in Riverside County. In fact,
they are taking them 39 feet beyond. That’s the length of
each of the three mobile clinics that the therapists themselves
drive out to different regions of Riverside County. It’s all part
of the County’s highly successful Prevention and Early
Intervention Mobile Services program.
Kids who end up in Juvenile Hall have done something illegal. Why
should their stay there be anything other than punishment? As the
head of Sonoma County’s Juvenile Hall told me, “The kids in here
today are going to get out, and they are going to be your
neighbors, and your kid’s classmates.” Punishment is part of it,
but so is rehabilitation. That’s why Sonoma County Juvenile Hall
has formed a unique partnership with the Boys and Girls Club in
their community.
To watch a video about San Bernardino County’s Making
Attendance a Priority program, click here.
Truancy is a major issue in many communities — and San
Bernardino is no exception. Truancy can also have
significant impacts beyond hindering education. According to the
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, “Dropouts
are poorly prepared to enter the workforce and require greater
expenditures for social services and criminal justice process
than do graduates.”
When Faythe Arredono talks about Tulare County’s Teen Digital
Media Lab, her eyes light up. That sparkle is only matched by the
teenagers who participate in the program. Ask the likes of
students Araceli Mendoza or Vincent Macareno and you can see why
this program has such a positive impact.
Everyone likes a “Win-Win” situation—a solution to a problem that
meets everyone’s needs. In Tehama County, they had a problem, and
the solution they came up with has been a “win” on several
levels. The AB 109 Auto Shop won a 2013 CSAC Challenge Award
because it is reducing the jail population, training inmates,
saving money for the Sheriff’s Department AND reducing costs and
downtime for other county departments when their vehicles need
maintenance and repairs. Here’s how it works.
They don’t need to spend money making their own apps. They just
put all their data online in an open format and everybody else
goes ahead and makes apps for themselves.
What’s more, these other people do it the way they want, so BART
doesn’t have to guess at what features and format its users want
an app to have. App developers (who are kind of experts at this)
make a bunch of apps and the people pick the one that gives them
what they want. All the incentives line up!
During the budget process the Legislature, famous for passing the
buck—or the bill in this case—reviews mandates it has placed on
local agencies. By law, Sacramento is required to fund any
mandate it imposes on local agencies but when the state’s coffers
run dry the Legislature routinely suspends or repeals specific
mandates and uses the money for something else. The state
currently owes about $1.8 billion to local governments for state
mandated programs.
This is not fair to local governments which are then are left
with some tough choices.
California’s 58 counties are diverse in so many ways: population,
geography, demographics, but they do share some commonalities —
in that they strive to make a difference for the people they
serve, and they do so in some incredibly creative ways. April is
National County Government Month – and during this period, CSAC
will be spotlighting a dozen innovative programs developed by
California counties.
We start Tuesday with a resourceful program out of Tehama County
that helps offenders develop job skills while saving the county
money.
It’s about the federal government’s retirement filing facility,
which is housed in an old limestone mine in a small town in
Pennsylvania. Yes, federal employees’ retirements are actually
processed and stored in a big limestone cave. By hand! Pretty cool, right?
I remember a time, not too long ago, when the State Controller’s
monthly report of cash receipts consistently induced shudders,
giving us a collective chance to cringe at just how bad the
fiscal situation was.
In a recent Sacramento Bee, the prolific political writer Dan
Walters discusses
the problem of legislative vacancies and how to fill them,
focusing on a proposal by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell
Steinberg. Senator Steinberg has introduced Senate Constitutional
Amendment 16, which would require the Governor to fill
legislative vacancies by appointment within 21 days of the
vacancy.
I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days last week in
Riverside and San Bernardino Counties to learn about four very
innovative programs. A few weeks ago I spent a Saturday in Tulare
County meeting with teens and learning how one county program is
enhancing their lives. Our communications guru Gregg Fishman has
made similar road trips, traveling to Sonoma and Tehama counties,
as well as a few blocks away to the Sacramento County Elections
Offices. On the horizon we have visits to Mono, Nevada,
Stanislaus and Ventura. The reason?
I went to two events this week that I think are worthy of some
thought and discussion. The first provided some real insight into
how government ought to, and often does work. What I learned at
the second event—well, it is cause for concern for anybody
connected with government, business, or the news media.
Throw a pebble into a pond and watch the ripples—well, if only we
had a pond. The rain that’s fallen on California in the past
several days is certainly a welcome change, but it is not enough
to reverse the ripple effects of the drought. Average rainfall
and reservoir levels are still well below 50 percent of normal up
and down the state. The drought has been so severe it may have
already caused damage that can’t be undone no matter how much
rain we get now.
I am participating in a briefing this week about the drought in
Sacramento.
‘Tis the season of roses, chocolates and love. CSAC’s
research affiliate, the Institute for Local Government, is
looking at such issues in a decidedly
unromantic way on local officials’
behalf.
In a recent piece entitled “Looking for Love in All the Wrong
Places,” the Institute looks at the downside risks of elected
official/staff romances. The article is available to
local officials from the Institute’s website at www.ca-ilg.org/AgencyRomances.
No red wine and candlelight, we are afraid. The article
does, how
