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The County Voice

A place where CSAC, county officials and stakeholders can voice their thoughts on governance and issues that impact California’s 58 counties.

The County Voice

San Diego County’s Online Marriage Appointment System Vows Excellent Customer Service

San Diego County’s Online Marriage Appointment System Vows Excellent Customer Service
Sara Floor

Planning a wedding is stressful — planning a wedding if you live out of town can be even more so.

For years, happy couples who wanted to get married in San Diego County had to arrange their marriage license and ceremony appointments in person, at one of the County’s five Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk locations, or by telephone during local business hours.

The County Voice

Humboldt County Takes Code Enforcement of Cannabis to New Heights

Humboldt County Takes Code Enforcement of Cannabis to New Heights
David Liebler

Humboldt County has taken its code enforcement of illegal cannabis grows to new heights – thousands of miles above the Earth to be exact. It’s a state-of-the-art strategy being employed by the County Planning and Building Department to identify unpermitted cannabis cultivations.  Now instead of sending staff into the depths of the 4,000-square-mile county to come across grows that are not in compliance, all it takes is a click of the mouse to review current satellite footage.

The County Voice

Marin County Confronts Institutionalized Racism by Focusing on Equity

Brent Ainsworth

CSAC thanks Marin County for this guest blog post and their efforts to improve equity in the county.

We have quite the national reputation in Marin County. Sometimes we’re playfully teased as a den of decadence and jeered for our prevailing liberal extremism. At the county government offices, we’ve heard it all.

Good-natured ribbing aside, one of the worst hits to Marin County’s image is not funny at all.

The County Voice

People Are the Heart of Information Security in Marin County

People Are the Heart of Information Security in Marin County
Sara Floor

When you think about it, county government agencies collect and retain a staggering amount of personal information. From voter registration and marriage licenses, to property tax information, your county knows almost as much about you as the IRS.

The County Voice

GDP Stats Shed Light on CA County Growth

The following blog post is offered by Jeannine Aversa, Chief of Public Affairs and Outreach at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Ever wonder about the size of your county’s economy? Whether a particular industry category is in a slump or a boom? County officials in California and across the country now have access to those answers and more, thanks to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

The County Voice

The First in the West – Humboldt County’s Prescribed Burn Association Teaches the Value of Fire

The First in the West – Humboldt County’s Prescribed Burn Association Teaches the Value of Fire
David Liebler

On a crisp and clear morning late last year, around 20 volunteer firefighters, landowners and community members gathered on a plot of land outside of the small rural community of Kneeland in Humboldt County. They listened intently to detailed instructions on how to safely burn 20 acres of private property that gradually rises on a hill before them.  The volunteers gathered to learn how to successfully undertake a prescribed burn.

The County Voice

California’s Counties Empowered to Address Homelessness

Lisa Bartlett

“The Empowerment Congress Summit is a great example of how elected officials, community leaders and stakeholders from across the state can come together to share innovative ideas and work together to solve the most challenging issues of our communities in peril.”

The County Voice

Planning, Collaboration and County Ingenuity Combine In Riverside County’s Department of Waste Resources

Planning, Collaboration and County Ingenuity Combine In Riverside County’s Department of Waste Resources
Sara Floor

About 15 years ago, while working for the Western Plant Health Association, I testified in support of a project at the Port of San Diego alongside representatives from the Audubon Society, the Teamsters Union and more. It struck me as funny that civil engineering could bring together such diverse groups, and that’s exactly the case in Riverside County’s Southeast Drainage Channel Improvement Project.

The County Voice

Q and A With Second Vice President Ed Valenzuela

Sara Floor

We kicked off January with a video and blog to introduce new CSAC President and Orange County Supervisors, Lisa Bartlett. Now that we’re two weeks in to 2020, we’re turning the spotlight on to the newest member of the CSAC Officer Team: Second Vice President and Siskiyou County Supervisor Ed Valenzuela.

The County Voice

El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department Mobilizes A Partnership and Service Approach to Addressing Homelessness

El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department Mobilizes A Partnership and Service Approach to Addressing Homelessness
Sara Floor

“Community Safety, Partners in Service” is the motto of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department, and this fall I was able to witness first-hand how a small group of deputies lives this motto and mission every day.

The County Voice

Meet Your New CSAC President, Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett

Meet Your New CSAC President, Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett
Lisa Bartlett

I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to serve as CSAC President for the upcoming year. As the leader of the Urban caucus, it has been a pleasure serving as a CSAC Officer for the past two years and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to be the 2020 President of the organization. This is a big deal for Orange County because our county has not served in the role of President of CSAC for 70 years.

The County Voice

Focusing on 2020, a Legislative Look
Second Year, Same as the First, A Little Bit Louder…

Geoffrey Neill Marina Espinoza

For the last blog of 2019, we asked seasoned Capitol staffer turned CSAC analyst Marina Espinoza and CSAC veteran Geoff Neill to share their insights and perspectives on how the Legislature and Associations like CSAC use the recess and holiday season to prepare for the second year of a two-year legislative cycle.

The County Voice

125 Years of Serving California’s Counties

125 Years of Serving California’s Counties
Sara Floor

In 1895, representatives from 14 different California counties gathered in San Francisco to celebrate a brand new organization.

In media coverage of that first meeting, the Sacramento Union Democrat reported that the California Supervisors Association “will become actually a more important body than the Legislature. It will do more for the State than the Legislature can, for it will not make laws, of which there are too many now, but it will study how to make the State and its communities better, stronger, more economic and prosperous, and all the people more happy.”

The County Voice

Giving Thanks

Virginia Bass

Growing up, my family always had a very big Thanksgiving gathering. For many years, my siblings, their spouses and all the kids would gather round the table to celebrate.

The County Voice

Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Violence

Jessica Devencenzi

A man, convicted of domestic violence, sat in a batterer intervention program and cried. He had a breakthrough and recounted the abuse he suffered as a child. He told the group a story about how he and his little brother had planned to kill their father to end the abuse. He cried because he was ashamed that he was not able to go through with it and protect his little brother. Violence is a cycle—a cycle that must be broken.

The County Voice

Visit California Offers New Resources for Counties as Golden State Tourism Thrives 

This is a guest blog from Caroline Beteta, the president & CEO of Visit California, the state’s privately funded nonprofit tourism board.

After nine consecutive years of growth, California’s travel and tourism economy continues to surge. Visitors pumped more than $140 billion in travel spending in counties across California last year, stimulating business development and providing Californians with more than one million jobs.

The County Voice

Telling the County Stories

Sara Floor

When people ask me about my job, I know that the standard answer of “Communications Manager” doesn’t really mean a lot to most people. The field of communications is so broad that a single title can apply to someone with great meeting planning and product marketing experience, social media expertise, digital production, public affairs, media relations, promotions, philanthropy and more.

The County Voice

Advocacy Continues Even as Legislature Enjoys Recess

Sara Floor

There’s a noticeable change in Sacramento when the Legislature is in recess. Traffic is lighter, parking is easier and lines at popular lunch spots are shorter. While it’s been more than a month since the end of session and two weeks since the Governor’s bill-signing deadline, CSAC remains hard at work advocating on its key priorities of homelessness, In- Home Supportive Services and wildfires.

The County Voice

Update from Wash…The Pumpkin Patch?

Sara Floor Joe Krahn

Everyone has a life away from the office, a hobby or passion that we pursue outside of business hours. In my spare time, I raise succulents and create jewelry. CSAC legislative representative Farrah McDaid Ting fosters kittens until they are old enough for adoption; Geoff Neill, also a CSAC legislative representative,  hosts a monthly poetry reading; and CSAC legislative assistant Karen Schmelzer does cross-stitch embroidery. Even our federal lobbyists have lives outside of work.

The County Voice

California’s Counties Are Driven to Serve

Graham Knaus

California’s 58 counties provide nearly all state and many municipal services to help Californians improve their daily lives. From public health to homelessness supportive services; foster care, behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment to public safety; housing and land use to emergency services and more; California’s counties are driven to serve.

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