As California struggles to close persistent achievement gaps, it is increasingly apparent that these gaps exist at school entry and that efforts to improve the early education systems (PreK-3rd) are warranted.
Please join us in the release of "On the Cusp in California: How PreK-3rd Strategies Could Improve Education in the Golden State," a policy paper from New America's Early Education Initiative that highlights key strategies for creating a more seamless system for early learning in California.
The California Asset Building program hosted a policy roundtable discussion Wednesday October 14 in the State Capitol on updating the antiquated and misleading way we measure poverty. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Director of Poverty Research, Mark Levitan, led Assembly and Senate staff in the in-depth discussion (view his presentation here). Last year, New York City enacted an updated and improved poverty measure based on recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences.
Following up on last year's successful Summit, we will continue to expand our network of subnational collaboration to stimulate economic growth, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, create green jobs, promote clean energy solutions, and reduce greenhouse gas pollution.
Please join us in a lunch discussion featuring two dynamic authors. Nicholas Schmidle, author of To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan will discuss the most recent and turbulent period of Pakistan’s history. His observations provide a contemporary history of this country at a time when President Pervez Musharraf’s power was waning and the Taliban’s was growing, and when Americans began to realize that Pakistan’s fate is inextricably linked with our own.
The Southern California Constitutional Convention Town Hall focused on introducing and educating the community to the concept and gathering feedback from the public. Featuring panels of elected officials, issues experts, and community leaders, this event was Southern Californian residents’ first major opportunity to learn and ask questions about this powerful method to reform the state, and give input into a process that could profoundly affect California for generations to come.
Citizens, community groups, and experts from across the state came together to discuss a California constitutional convention. How might it come about? How could it help our cities, schools, budget and government?
Video is available below.
Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña opened the Women and Wealth Asset Policy Forum event, sponsored by the New America Foundation's Asset Building Program in partnership with the California Women's Legislative Caucus, the California Commission on the Status of Women, and the California Women's Agenda.
Late last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called California’s looming budget crisis a fiscal armageddon waiting to strike. Now, as the state faces a $24 billion budget shortfall and major cuts are inevitable, doomsday seems to have come to California, and particularly to its poorest. The one-million-plus Californians on CalWorks, the state’s main welfare program, could lose monthly income beginning in July. Support for those who care for disabled Californians is set to be slashed.
Pete Wilson’s California wasn’t too different from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. The state’s education system lagged behind the rest of the country, interest groups had a tight grip on Sacramento, healthcare costs were rising, and the economy was the worst it had been since the Great Depression. While Wilson may be best remembered for his more controversial stances—like supporting Proposition 187, which sought to refuse services to illegal immigrants—he also managed to pass budgets and break partisan stalemates, ultimately leaving his successor… more
Faced with a deepening budget crisis and a paralyzed political system, a growing number of Californians have concluded that their government needs a complete overhaul. Join us to meet the leaders of the reform movement, to explore different paths to fundamental change, and to discuss some ideas for creating “California v 2.0,” an upgraded political system that meets the challenges of the 21st century.
Join the New America Foundation and the UC Center Sacramento for a roundtable discussion regarding the financing of California's state and local governments. Special attention will be given to the implications of changes in revenue structures and flows for different levels of government.
On June 11th, 2009, San Joses city leaders joined election experts for a discussion on instant runoff voting. Currently, in order to be elected to office in San Jose, a candidate must secure a majority of the votes cast. Sounds simple enough, but if no candidate receives a majority in the initial election, then a runoff election is held in which the top candidates must compete again. This process is lengthy, results in low voter turnout, and can cost $500,000… more
After passing the 2009-10 California state budget in February, lawmakers currently face an additional budget shortfall of $8 billion for the fiscal year, which could grow to $14 billion if ballot measures do not pass. The LAO has recommended that legislators act by no later than July to close this budget gap. The budget crisis we face is serious.
From town tabloids to major metropolitan dailies, newspapers seem to be in their last throes. The availability of free and instant news online, the high profit margins demanded by media conglomerates, and the steep declines in advertising revenue have hit newspapers hard. They have been forced to lay off employees, trim their pages, close print operations or -- as The Hearst Corp. has threatened to do to the San Francisco Chronicle -- shut down completely.
Once more, California's elected leaders have tossed the budget hot potato into the laps of the state's voters. As part of the long-delayed budget deal struck in late February, the Legislature and Governor have placed six measures on a May 19 special election. The passage or defeat of these measures will powerfully shape California's course both in the current recession crisis and in the decade ahead.
craigslist.org may be the only site where you can get anything you need
for life cheap, or even for free. The free community classifieds
service, launched as an email listserv for San Franciscans in 1995,
helps over 50 million monthly users find homes, jobs, cars, stuff,
spouses, friends and flings. The site's simple design and old age (in
Internet company years) hasn't kept it from being at the pulse of
online life. craigslist is one of the top internet websites registering
over 13 billion page views per… more
