While the California Legislature was feverishly working last week
to pass last- minute bills, California’s County Engineers were
looking at ways to affect the future of California’s
infrastructure.
Almost 150 public works directors and staff from 37 counties
around the state convened in Sacramento for their 8th
Annual Policy Conference.
There’s a story circulating today on the
MSN news site that lists the 10 counties across the country
where people live longer on average than elsewhere.
It’s hard to believe that the 119th CSAC
Annual Meeting is just 10 weeks away. CSAC staff, though, has
been working diligently for the past six months on developing an
agenda that will feature a dynamic program of insightful speakers
and informative workshops.
Our theme this year is “Healthy Counties, Healthy
California.” With all 38 million Californians living within
one of our 58 counties, a healthy California truly depends on
healthy counties.
When it comes to California’s ethics laws, it can be a love-hate
relationship for local officials. County officials appreciate the
boundaries and accountability the laws create for those in public
service for the wrong reasons. Understanding the
ever-changing nature of these laws for the well-intended county
official, however, can be a challenge.
To help, the CSAC’s research affiliate, the Institute for Local
Government, has just released an updated version of its
publication, Understanding the Basics of Public Service
Ethics.
I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying “waste not want not” and
it’s more true today than ever. In fact, these days, even
ordinary garbage is too valuable to waste. Or maybe more
accurately, simply putting it in a landfill is really too
wasteful to be sustainable.
Over the past several years, CSAC has been working closely with
the County Engineers Association of California (CEAC) to explore
alternative methods to deal with our waste stream.
Of all the issues facing California, farmland conservation
doesn’t get a lot of attention. But when you consider the
implications for our food supply and the environment in general,
maybe it should be a little higher on the priority list.
The very first story I ever covered as a paid journalist was a
tour of the newly rented “Governor’s Mansion” in Sacramento’s
Wilhaggin neighborhood prior to George and Gloria Deukmejian
moving into it. The story reverberated locally because Governor
Jerry Brown, in his first iteration in that post, lived in a
small apartment near the Capitol, and land set aside for a new
Governor’s mansion had been sold.
I had the pleasure of spending a day last week behind the scenes
at the State Fair and getting an up-close look at the County
Exhibits. Wandering through these exhibits has always been one of
my favorite parts of the Fair – even before I joined the CSAC
team.
If you are traveling this long holiday weekend, be prepared for a
bumpy ride. California’s highways rank 47th in the
nation, according to an annual report released today by the
Reason Foundation. In fact, the Golden State has ranked in the
bottom 10 every year since 2000.
When people say that government agencies should be run more like
a business, I suspect what they really mean is that government
should use more efficient processes that result in better
customer service. That’s what Sacramento County is now offering
through a change of technology and process in their Cal-Fresh
Service Center.
Riverside County covers more than 7,000 square miles, and
includes some of the most sparsely populated landscape in the
state. Keeping a county that big clean isn’t always easy, but
Riverside County has a long-running jail inmate work program to
pick up trash and maintain the landfills. It helps keep the
roadsides clean and the inmates get some much-needed activity.
There is a great deal of angst among the press regarding a
provision in
AB 76, a budget trailer bill that establishes certain
procedural activities associated with the California Public
Records Act (CPRA) as “best practices” and require a local agency
that determines that it will not follow these practices to make a
public announcement of that fact at its next regularly scheduled
public meeting.
This blog posting and video are part of a series being
produced by CSAC to highlight county best practices through our
annual Challenge Awards. These awards recognize the innovative
and creative spirit of California county governments as they find
new and effective ways of providing programs and services to
their citizens. The Challenge Awards provide California’s 58
counties an opportunity to share their best practices with
counties around the state and nation. The programs being
highlighted are recipients of the 2012 awards.
Mental illness! For some reason, we are perfectly happy
discussing other chronic problems, from diabetes to the
heartbreak of psoriasis, but mental illness? Let’s not talk about
that right now. And because we don’t want to talk about it many
people who suffer from it suffer alone. Mental illness can
manifest itself in behavior that is unpleasant at best so many
people who have it are estranged from their families and friends.
They often rely on county mental health services for help.
For many people, purchasing that first home is the financial
equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest. The process is made even more
difficult in destination areas such as Napa County where housing
prices are high and homes are in demand. It’s not uncommon for a
house on the market to receive numerous offers. So, what do you
do if you are a first-time homebuyer who wants to live in the
community in which you work, yet you have limited resources for a
down payment?
While the Legislature has yet to officially vote on the budget
package, lawmakers and the Governor announced a deal yesterday
that includes the Governor’s more conservative revenues estimates
and limited spending increases. The deal also includes the
Governor’s proposal to loan $500 million in Cap and Trade auction
revenues to the State’s general fund.
When California’s 58 counties began to tackle the challenges
imposed by AB 109, the public-safety realignment of 2011, Glenn
quickly became the “little county that could.” Through its
Community Re-Entry Work (CREW) Program, Glenn is reducing
recidivism, turning ex-offenders into contributing members of
society – and saving the county money in the process.
When there’s an emergency, like a flood or a toxic spill,
communicating effectively can literally mean the difference
between life and death. Knowing how, when and with who to
communicate before the emergency happens can be immensely
important. By definition, an emergency is unpredictable, except
that you can predict that there will eventually be another one.
You might not know when the next flood, fire, epidemic or
earthquake will strike, but you can prepare for them. However,
for immigrants language and cultural barriers can make disaster
communication even more difficult.
