Headlines

By Timm Herdt
Ventura County Star
January 22, 2010

SACRAMENTO — Delivering his final annual assessment of the state of public education in California before he is termed out of office next year, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell on Friday praised the progress schools have made during challenging times and expressed hope that President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top education initiative will lay the groundwork for productive reforms.

“It’s a historic opportunity to make systemic changes that could fundamentally improve our educational delivery system,” O’Connell told an audience of education leaders from around the state.

O’Connell is entering his eighth and final year as the state’s top education official. To mark that occasion, his friend and mentor Willie Brown, the former Assembly speaker and former mayor of San Francisco, came to Sacramento to provide the introduction for O’Connell’s annual state of education speech.

Brown described O’Connell as an elected official who throughout his career has been “always working to build a consensus. That’s an unusual trait for a successful politician.”

O’Connell, 59, who spent two decades representing portions of Ventura County in the Legislature before being elected superintendent, has announced he will retire from politics when his term ends next January. Brown said he hopes the departure will be “a pause,” rather than an end.

“Without term limits, there is no question in my mind that Jack O’Connell would be eternally the superintendent of schools, and the state would be better off,” Brown said.

Befitting a final assessment, O’Connell spoke of some of the progress that has been achieved over the past seven years: The percentage of students who test proficient in English language arts has climbed from 35 percent to 50 percent, those proficient in math has climbed from 35 percent to 46 percent, and the number of career technical education classes that are rigorous enough to count for college-admission credits has soared from 289 to 7,650.

He said those gains “take on particular significance at a time when our schools have lost tens of billions of dollars in much-needed funding.”

O’Connell pledged to continue to fight for adequate school funding but advised that “as stewards of our children’s future, we cannot afford to sit back and wait for conditions to improve.”

The Race to the Top initiative, he said, can be a springboard toward improvements in such areas as making better use of assessment data to inform decision-making, creating better methods to assess student performance, and establishing better ways to evaluate teachers and principals.

In a line that drew enthusiastic applause, he said: “Surely we have the capability to figure out how to assess knowledge in a valid and reliable way beyond simply asking our students to fill in a bubble test.”

Chuck Weis, the former Ventura County schools chief who now is president of the Association of California School Administrators, praised O’Connell’s optimism.

“If there is no money, we’re still going to do these things,” Weis said. “What I know about reform is that you’ve got to start somewhere.”

In an interview after the speech, O’Connell said educators must continue to forge ahead even at a time when schools are being starved of money. “We can’t wait,” he said. “The students aren’t going to wait for us.”

Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Martinez, one of three leading candidates seeking O’Connell’s job, said he and his fellow lawmakers cannot allow education funding to deteriorate further next year. The $2.4 billion reduction in school funding sought by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, he said, “dwarfs the amount of money we can get from Race to the Top. I’m going to fight to see to it that the next state budget doesn’t represent a tumble to the bottom.”

By Steven Harmon
Contra Costa Times
December 14, 2009

SACRAMENTO — Charter school advocates were livid. The Assembly's "Race to the Top" legislation was trying to "change the DNA of charters," as one charter school leader put it, by clamping down with "stifling" oversight provisions.

They had little doubt, however, that they'd have a potent weapon to beat back the proposed changes: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger's deep ties to the charter school movement haven't been a secret. He has taken at least $1 million in contributions from charter school advocates, stacked the State Board of Education with charter school educators, overseen since taking office in 2003 more than a doubling in the number of charter schools and steered hundreds of millions of construction bond money to charter schools.

Now, with a potential $700 million in federal cash dangling before lawmakers who have seen $17 billion drained from public schools over the past two years, some critics say Schwarzenegger has used the Race to the Top competition to further his long-term goal of cutting into the powers of traditional public schools while elevating his own sacred cow — the charter movement.

"One can say that the charter school lobby has defined how the governor tries to craft school reform," said Bruce Fuller, director of the Policy Analysis for California Education at UC Berkeley. "Because he's got well-heeled donors that remain very supportive of charter schools, it's a no-brainer for the governor, given his affection for market remedies."

Schwarzenegger has blasted the Assembly's Race to the Top plan for tightening oversight measures for charter schools, calling it a "poison pill" that makes it "impossible for charter schools to survive." He has repeatedly vowed to veto the bill, ABX5-8, if it came to his desk.

Supported by most public school educators, the Assembly legislation includes tighter auditing requirements on charter schools than current law, stronger tools for measuring academic progress, and prohibitions against renewing continually failing charter schools.

"We believe charters should be held to the same accountability standards as public schools since they're on the public dime," said Dean Vogel, vice president of the California Teachers Association. "If I believe my charter school is high-performing, I should have a measure to prove it. You've got to demonstrate that high achievement and they don't want to do that."

Schwarzenegger's own plan, SBX5-1, shepherded through the Senate last month by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, seeks to streamline the authorizing or renewal of charter schools, bolster their ability to obtain state funding, and codify their own standards of auditing.

Supporters don't deny that Schwarzenegger has been an unapologetic ally of charter schools.

"It's fair to say that Gov. Schwarzenegger has been the most important champion California has ever had for charter schools," said Jed Wallace, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association. "He understands and is focused on making sure nothing comes forward that would compromise charter schools."

Under Schwarzenegger, the number of charter schools operating in California has more than doubled — from 382 in 2003-04 to the current total of 809. Though the state is nowhere near its maximum of 1,350 charter schools, he wants to lift the cap — a provision in both the Senate and Assembly bills.

Schwarzenegger has packed the nine-member State Board of Education with five leaders of the charter school movement, including board President Ted Mitchell, who is president and CEO of the NewSchools Venture fund, a national San Francisco-based firm that provides startup money for charter schools.

Other state board members with ties to the charter school movement are Yvonne Chan, a principal of the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, which focuses on "conversion" charter schools; Jonathan Williams, founder and co-director of the Accelerated School; Jorge Lopez, executive director of the Oakland Charter Academy; and Rae Belisle, president and CEO of EdVoice, a school reform lobbying group with strong ties to the charter school movement. Belisle defended the constitutionality of charter schools while serving as chief counsel to the State Board of Education.

EdVoice board members have rewarded Schwarzenegger, contributing at least $1 million to his various campaign committees.

Eli Broad, a co-founder of EdVoice and billionaire Los Angeles developer who has run a Superintendent Academy, which trains CEOs how to run schools, has contributed $430,000 to Schwarzenegger.

Don Fisher, the late Gap founder and a co-founder of EdVoice, and his family have donated $245,000 to Schwarzenegger, and Netflix founder Hastings Reed, also a co-founder of EdVoice, gave $251,491 in stock to the Proposition 1A-1E campaign pushed by Schwarzenegger this year.

Many of the same donors are beginning to bring Romero, the Los Angeles senator who is pushing Schwarzenegger-backed Race to the Top legislation, into their orbit. Romero, who is running for state superintendent of public instruction, has received at least $72,000 from various members of the EdVoice board, including $13,000 from Broad's wife, Edyth, and $6,500 from Hastings.

The Fisher family, deeply involved in school reform causes, has contributed $45,500 to her campaign.

EdVoice is likely to dig deep into their political treasury to finance Romero's campaign through unlimited independent expenditures against state Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, who will likely have the backing of public school teacher unions.

"We haven't determined to what degree we'll support her," said Bill Lucia, EdVoice's policy director and Chief Operating Officer, "but Gloria Romero is clearly the strongest candidate for education reform and promising parental choice and not continuing to be apologetic for persistent failure."

By Diana Lambert
Sacramento Bee
November 30, 2009

Charter schools have come into vogue as an attractive alternative for parents and kids looking for innovative learning environments and higher test scores.

They've also become a priority in President Barack Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's education system.

And California legislators have pushed through laws that simplify charter funding and lift a cap on how many can operate in the state.

A new report by the California Charter Schools Association shows that more charters have opened this school year than in any year since 1992, when legislation first made them possible. The addition of 88 charter schools this year brings the total to 809 schools in California. Collectively, they enroll 341,000 students – about 5 percent of the state's student population.

"I think we are seeing a fundamental shift in the way our education system is being structured," said Jed Wallace, president of the California Charter Schools Association.

Will the shift toward more charters be the answer for a cash-strapped state where only 45 percent of its students passed standardized math tests last year and five out of 10 weren't considered proficient on English tests?

It's hard to tell from test scores. On the Academic Performance Index, California's primary yardstick for student achievement, charter schools and district-run schools score similarly, on average.

Sacramento County students at traditional district schools scored a little lower on standardized STAR tests this year than the area's charter school students.

Charters are part of the public school system and receive public money based on how many students they enroll. They don't have to comply with all the rules and regulations of traditional public schools but must meet student performance goals. Some, like the Performing and Fine Arts Academy at Natomas Charter School, offer a specialized curriculum. Others bill themselves as more- efficient alternatives to public schools.

"Charter schools could have a place in education if what they were were laboratories for trying new things," said Marty Hittleman, president of the California Federation of Teachers. "The problem is they aren't regulated and (aren't) held to any standards."

Teachers union leaders also say charter operators have an unfair advantage because they can be selective about who they enroll and avoid working with students who are difficult to teach or need more resources.

Despite the debate, the charter school movement is gaining traction.

In August, the Los Angeles Unified School District approved a dramatic reform effort that puts the operation of some of the district's lowest-performing schools up for grabs.

The school district has received 219 letters of interest from large charter companies, nonprofits and the United Teachers of Los Angeles union.

"We hope that spirit will spread across the state," Wallace said.

36 in Sacramento County

Sacramento County has 36 charter schools – the fourth-highest number in the state.

Among them is Sacramento Charter High School, a stately campus in Oak Park that was facing state takeover under the Sacramento City Unified School District because of low student achievement. In 2003, the district granted a charter to Mayor Kevin Johnson's nonprofit St. HOPE to run the school.

"The school wasn't serving students well," said St. HOPE's superintendent, Ed Manansala.

St. HOPE set high expectations and increased accountability for students and faculty, Manansala said. The school also set up a system to identify and help struggling students.

St. HOPE lengthened the school day by an hour, and college preparation became a priority.

"There is no room for 'I don't want to do my homework,' " said junior Ashley Leach, as she helped guide a recent tour of the campus.

Since the school reopened as a charter, its four-year dropout rate has decreased from 9.4 percent to 3.7 percent, and its API score has increased from 568 to 731. The state target is an API of 800.

Among schools with similar demographics – 91 percent of Sacramento Charter High's 952 students are minorities and 69 percent receive free or reduced-priced lunches – the charter school ranks in the top 10 percent.

But St. HOPE Public Schools, which also operates the K-8 PS7 school, has had high turnover in its leadership and was $729,742 in debt to Sacramento City Unified School District at this time last year.

District spokeswoman Maria Lopez said last week that St. HOPE is making timely payments.

Not all charters make it. In the past decade, 10 Sacramento County charters have closed, most within a few years of opening. Critics say closures and problems that precede them happen because charters are often run by people with little experience.

Pending state legislation may assuage some of those concerns. Last month, Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D- Antioch, introduced a bill that would make charter schools more accountable by connecting student academic performance to renewal of school charters.

In the past few months, the governor has signed a flurry of bills regarding charters, including a law that allows charters to hold title to their own facilities and legislation that simplifies their funding formulas. Another bill that would lift the state's cap on charter schools is still making its way through the Assembly.

State politicians are following the lead of Obama, who has vowed to replace some of the country's lowest-performing schools with charter schools. And he's made it clear that states need to make it easier to open and operate a charter school if they want any part of the $4.3 billion in federal Race to the Top funds.

"The administration and the department believe charter schools are an important tool in the education toolbox," said Justin Hamilton, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education. "We're looking for them to play a significant role."

The government is doing that by pumping more money into charters. Federal grants for charters grew from $6 million in 1995 to $217 million in 2005, with Obama promising $400 million more for charters. These funds supplement state and local funding, and private donations.

Public schools anxious

The focus on charter schools and the movement of students to those schools is causing increasing angst among public school officials battling reduced budgets and declining daily attendance.

Many local charters, which must be allowed to use vacant school district facilities, are setting up on campuses shuttered by districts.

In the Natomas Unified School District, the success of Natomas Charter means 807 fewer students in district-run schools. The district of 12,000 students took additional hits this year when Natomas Pathways Preparatory School, another charter, added a middle school, culling 400 more students from the district's ranks. The preparatory school's high school already had taken 512 students, and Westlake Charter school has taken another 321.

Public schools now have to compete for students. School district open-enrollment fairs these days often feature slick brochures for public schools and elaborate performances and presentations.

Some reports say the competition is improving grades in regular public as well as public charter schools, but sometimes it cultivates hostility.

"There are districts in the area, where we advise folks you would have a rough ride there," said Eric Premack, director of the nonprofit Charter Schools Development Center in Sacramento.

He cited Davis Unified as an example of a district where declining enrollment, budget cuts and the leadership make the district an unwelcoming place for charters. Natomas Unified and San Juan Unified districts are more supportive, despite their declining enrollments, he said.

Natomas Charter School started in 1993 with 80 students and has since been named a California Distinguished School and a state charter school of the year. The school's Performing and Fine Arts Academy program was one of five in the country to receive a National School of Distinction award from the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network in Washington, D.C., in 2004.

Natomas Charter School students must apply for admission, and those interested in the performing arts academy must audition. Students who fall beneath a 2.0 grade-point average are put on academic probation and given a year to improve before they are asked to leave the school.

Last year, only 3 percent of Natomas Charter students were English learners, and 23 percent were low-income.

Ballet instructor Anne David ticked off a list of required moves – plié, arabesque arms, pirouette – to her advanced ballet students on a recent Monday afternoon as they moved gracefully along metal bars.

David has performed with the Sacramento Ballet and still performs professionally, but five days a week she is a full-time instructor at Natomas Charter School Performing Arts Academy. She's an example of one reason kids and parents like charters. They offer students something they aren't necessarily getting at other schools, she said.

By Anna Bloom
New York Times Bay Area Blog
November 18, 2009

Last night, the city of Richmond honored Margarita Vargas, the young woman who called 911 to report the gang rape of a girl outside of Richmond High School’s homecoming. Tonight, she will be honored by the West Contra Costa Unified School District.

Amid the celebrations of Ms. Vargas’ actions—she was the only person who called 911 say police—is a rebuke of the 10 or so bystanders that police say witnessed or heard about the two-hour-long attack but did not call police. Some of the witnesses have said they were scared. Six people have been charged in connection to the rape.

While there is a law requiring that witnesses report a serious crime against anyone 14-years-old and younger, the law does not apply in the Richmond case because the victim is 16.

State Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, who represents northern Contra Costa County, is exploring how to expand that law to raise the age to 16 or 18, and potentially alter it to include any person physically harmed on a school campus. He was the author of the Sherrice Iverson Child Victim Protection Act in 2000.

“In our world today there’s so much anonymity, people don’t know each other and they are reluctant to get involved in other people’s business,” Mr. Torlakson said. “They have to be reminded of their responsibility to people who are in trouble.”

State Sen. Leland Yee, who represents portions of San Francisco and San Mateo counties, is also looking into how to change the law to address the age limit issue.

“My office is still researching a number of legislative remedies and we have not ruled out amending the law to include crimes committed against people of all ages. That said, crime statistics indicate that children under age 18 represent a disproportionate number of sexual and violent crime victims, so providing them additional protections is more than just appropriate, it’s our obligation.”

Mr. Torlakson said that his office is currently researching the effectiveness of the original act, working with the California District Attorneys Association, schools and police officers throughout the state to compile data and analysis.

The Sherrice Iverson Child Victim Protection Act requires witnesses “to murder, rape or lewd conduct with an under-14-year-old” to report the incident or face a misdemeanor charge with a fine up to $1,500 and in some cases, a sentence of up to six months in jail.

Officer Mark Gagan, a spokesman for the Richmond police department, supports the idea:

What it does, effectively, is to change the status of everyday people to mandated reporters - doctors, teachers, principals of schools, etc. When they are overseeing children 14 and younger, the law says they have a societal obligation to protect them. In essence, what it says is youth and children are vulnerable and people in society need to protect them. As we saw with our victim, who is 16, there is still vulnerability and innocence. Judging from the amount of community outcry, I feel that doing nothing in witnessing this crime is condemnable and should also be illegal. Every law creates an authority, and when used appropriately, gives law enforcement a tool to use in an investigation like this one.

By Sigrid Bathen
Sacramento Bee
Friday, Nov. 13, 2009

Twenty-five University of California students and graduates from UC campuses were gathered around a long table in a windowless basement conference room in downtown Sacramento for a brown-bag lunch. On one side were 10 recent graduates, many working in and around the Capitol, who had participated in a popular public policy program – a program they say prepared them more than any other college experience for the realities of working in politics and public policy. Across the table at the recent gathering were 15 current students, many about to graduate with bachelor's degrees from UC in such diverse fields as political science, mathematics, economics, sociology, psychology and literature.

The session was part of an intensive orientation at the University of California Center in Sacramento before students begin internships in state legislative and government offices, at nonprofits and lobbying and consulting firms. The grads were advising the new students on what to expect in their internships, how to get the most benefit from the experience. "Don't be afraid to ask questions," they said. And "show initiative."

More than 500 students have completed the program since it began in 2004. But this gathering was "bittersweet," as one student put it, because the fall-quarter class may be the last in a widely praised program that was abruptly suspended by UC President Mark Yudof in August, as UC officials struggle to balance a precarious budget. The action has generated a storm of criticism, and UC administrators are reportedly rethinking how they can keep the effective program in Sacramento.

One of the grads at the brown-bag lunch, Kelly Bradfield, came to the center as a "scholar-intern" in the summer of 2007; she was about to graduate from UC Berkeley with an English degree, specializing in gender and sexuality in literature. While considering a public policy career, she lacked practical experience. Placed in an internship with Planned Parenthood, she wrote a paper on the public policy aspects of mandatory vaccination for the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer and was later hired as a policy analyst at the UC Center. Echoing the views of other grads, she said the program "prepared me more than any other academic experience" for working in the Capitol.

Bradfield's job and those of four other staffers, several adjunct professors and a visiting scholar were eliminated. Director Gary Dymski, who founded the center six years ago and taught many of its public policy classes, is teaching the current – and likely final – class but is expected to return to his tenured position as a UC Riverside economics professor.

Associate Director A.G. Block, a veteran Sacramento political editor who was hired in 2005 to oversee the center's summer public affairs journalism internship program, remains as the center's administrator. While the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism is one of the finest in the nation, UC has no undergraduate journalism major and offers few journalism classes; the intensive summer program was an effort to fill that gaping academic void.

University officials say the cuts to the UC Center saved the budget-strapped UC system $850,000, but those familiar with the center's most recent proposed budget say it had been slashed to a bare-bones $650,000.

One block from the Capitol, the center served a rich mix of academic and public service functions and fostered an unusual sharing of public policy and media expertise among UC and California State University faculty, legislative and administration officials, nonprofits, lobbyists and other policy experts who participated in seminars on wide-ranging policy issues.

"It's too valuable an institution to lose," said Barbara O'Connor, a communications professor who heads the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at CSUS. She suggests UC administrators help "break down the silos" so ingrained in academic politics and work with CSU and the California Community Colleges to keep the center open.

State legislators and members of the UC Board of Regents have also reportedly urged Yudof to reconsider his decision. Rich Zeiger, chief of staff to Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, whose daughter was a UC Center intern and whose office employs another intern as a scheduler, said the UC Center is "one of the few programs that demonstrates to policymakers exactly what the university does – the teaching, the research and the public service. All are brought directly into legislators' offices every day." To abruptly discard that role is foolish, he added "particularly when UC relations with legislators are not the best."

UC spokesman Peter King said the UC administration is engaged in "more detailed discussion" about the future of the center, and a decision will likely be made in December. UC Davis spokeswoman Maril Stratton confirmed reports that UCD administrators are having "initial discussions" with Yudof's office about a possible "lead role" in maintaining the center.

Placing administrative responsibility for the center on one campus creates its own set of political hurdles and potential for inter-campus rivalries. "At the end of the day," said Zeiger, "this needs to look to the students and the Legislature as it looks now – an independently functioning unit."

By Sam Richards
Contra Costa Times
November 6, 2009

Several notable area education leaders and legislators are set to discuss "Creative Solutions to the Education Crisis" from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Civic Park Community Center, 1375 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek.

Topics will include education budget issues, the 2010 census, college admissions and solving the state's education crisis. Speakers include Assemblymen Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch (a former teacher); Judy Walters, Diablo Valley College president; Michael Beseda, Saint Mary's College vice provost; Nancy Vandell of the California State PTA; and Bill Clarkson, San Ramon Valley School Board president.

Complimentary buffet dinner starts at 5 p.m.

The forum is free, but a reservation must be made by 4 p.m. Saturday. To make a reservation, go to www.capacommunity.org, or call 925-945-1901.

By Amina Khan
Los Angeles Times LA Now Blog
November 3, 2009

The California Education Supports project, a new joint venture between three nonprofit foundations, held its first forum Tuesday to address the effects of mental and physical health on California students. Nearly 100 community leaders, students, health and education professionals piled into a Manual Arts High School classroom to talk about those issues.

The California Endowment, the James Irvine Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which are funding the $700,000 effort, plan to release policy papers and hold hearings in the next 12 to 24 months on a range of potential issues from childhood obesity to reproductive health.

The project is part of a broader effort to integrate student healthcare with educational goals, said Cecilia Echeverria of the California Endowment.

Manual Arts has an on-site health clinic, operated by St. John's Well Child and Family Center, which provides services to students, their families and the surrounding community. But some said the school should continue to focus on reducing violence.

"It makes people think about priorities a bit differently: 'How can we worry so much about vending machines when there are lockdowns on campus?'" said Linh Huynh with MLA Partner Schools, which helps manage Manual Arts. Huynh added that measures like school uniforms have significantly improved campus safety.

Erin Gabel, legislative director for state Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), called Manual Arts High “a great example of vision around student health services, but not necessarily a model of acting on that vision,” she said. “They’re demonstrating how difficult the steps are and how great the opportunities are.”

Torlakson, who chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Schools and Community, had planned the gathering as a legislative hearing, Gabel said, but the Assembly members slated to attend were called back to Sacramento to work on the water policy bill.

The event attracted health and education professionals from outside Los Angeles. Miguel Villarreal, food and nutritional services director for the Novato Unified School District in Marin County, raised the importance of providing students with inexpensive but healthy meals during a relatively short lunch break. “We want to see where they’re going and how we can leverage their work in our field — and make sure we’re included" [in the policy discussion], he said.

Camille Levee, executive director of Glendale Healthy Kids, came to see how the experts were planning to integrate dental, mental and physical care into public education. “We provide a connection between students and healthcare services, and we do case management,” she said. Levee said she came to see if any of the panelists were proposing a similar model.

By Rowena Coetsee and Paul Burgarino
Contra Costa Times
October 20, 2009

Legislation enacted Tuesday to combat the growing problem of derelict boats on California's waterways could have a ripple effect locally. Assembly Bill 166 will permit recreational boat owners to hand over their dilapidated vessels to local agencies without paying a penny before they become a danger. The bill was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, who has worked on removing derelict vessels from Delta waterways since he was a Contra Costa supervisor, was happy to learn that the state now has another tool to rid the county's waterways of the environmental and safety hazards that abandoned boats create.

"Better to get them while they're still floating than after they've sunk," he said.

Pittsburg harbor master Van DiPiero also welcomed the legislation, noting that derelict boats have been an eyesore for years.

"What happens is when these boats gets old, like those built in (the 1940s or 1950s), owners just can't maintain them," he said.

"It's an ongoing problem, especially now that the economy has gone down. If the sheriff's marine patrol can legally take custody and properly dispose of them quickly, hopefully that would help."

Perhaps no one is more pleased with the new law than Sgt. Doug Powell, supervisor of the Contra Costa County Sheriff Office's marine services unit.

He served on a committee of the state Department of Boating and Waterways that was charged with coming up with ways to prevent residents from using California's rivers as dumping grounds.

One of the ideas the group proposed is the new law, which allows the state to treat recreational boats that are surrendered as any other wrecked, abandoned or rundown vessel, he said.

He noted that the state already has a fund to defray the cost of removing these boats, money that law enforcement agencies can apply for if the county also is willing to contribute 10 percent.

The marine services unit patrols about 200 miles of waterways in Contra Costa County, and in 2008-09 it used $106,024 in state and local funds to pull 44 abandoned vessels out of the water.

The agency has applied for a $100,000 state grant this fiscal year to continue the work; Powell says his unit knows of about a dozen recreational boats that have yet to be removed, including an approximately 35-foot, wooden-hull craft that sheriff's deputies came across Monday partially submerged in Fishermans Cut.

Someone had removed the registration numbers and other identifying information before leaving the broken-down vessel there, he added.

People do this rather than pay hefty salvage fees to get rid of their boat legally, fees that cost about $180 per foot, Powell said.

The vessels often become makeshift homes for transients before sinking and leaking fuel, oil and other contaminants into the water, he said.

Submerged wrecks also are dangerous to water-skiers and other boaters, Powell said.

By Steven Harmon
Contra Costa Times
October 16, 2009

SACRAMENTO — Forbidding teens from buying electronic cigarettes until the Food and Drug Administration could enact new regulations seemed to be the reasonable thing to do. In fact, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's staff suggested that state Sen. Ellen Corbett include adults in the ban.

So, the San Leandro Democrat was stunned to learn that Schwarzenegger vetoed her bill, SB400, in part because he supports the right for adults to buy these new battery-powered, nicotine-dispensing, flavored smoking devices. Corbett got the idea of a ban when she found that the devices are being sold at kiosks in malls and appear to be marketed to youths.

"We added amendments that expanded it from kids to everybody," Corbett said. "And then he vetoed it even though we did what he asked. All we tried to do was stop the process until the FDA had the ability to regulate it. Now, I'm worried about kids getting hooked on nicotine."

The veto was one of 240 by Schwarzenegger, in keeping with his history of robust rejections. Over six years, Schwarzenegger has vetoed an average of 279 bills per year, second only to George Deukmejian's average of 287, according to the Senate Committee on Local Government.

A governor's veto is a blow to the egos of a bill's sponsors and a rebuke to the two legislative chambers that sent it to his desk. And it stops an idea in its tracks, though a rejected bill has a way of lingering — sometimes for years — until it finds a sympathetic ear.

Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, won't get another shot at bills of his that were vetoed. He's term-limited in 2010, and will have a difficult time resurrecting vetoed legislation. One such measure, AB476, would have authorized an evaluation of the state's Standardized Testing and Reporting, or STAR, program to determine whether alternative testing models should be considered.

In his veto message, the governor said the work called for in the bill is already being done by other entities and that it would circumvent the authority of the state Department of Education.

"That didn't make sense," Torlakson said. "It's very disappointing."

The problem, Torlakson said, is that time is running short for evaluating the testing program before it comes up for reauthorization in 2011.

The STAR test assesses students once a year in math, language, science and history. The test results give an idea of how schools are progressing but don't help students improve in their daily studies, Torlakson said.

"The state spends a half-billion dollars a year doing testing, which drives a lot of what teachers are expected to do," Torlakson said. "My bill said let's examine how effective the tests have been. Are there reforms that could make the test more meaningful, help students learn more effectively?"

Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Newark, said he wasn't surprised by Schwarzenegger's veto of two of his bills, given the apparent tensions between the two. Torrico has called Schwarzenegger out publicly for what he has said are his "bullying" tactics in dealing with the Legislature.

One of Torrico's bills, AB1049, would have added the state Safely Surrendered Baby Fund to the state income tax return form's voluntary contributions section. Schwarzenegger had previously signed nine similar such checkoff bills, but said simply, in his veto message, "I have reviewed the merits of this bill ... I do not believe it is necessary to sign this bill at this time."

Another Torrico bill, AB1270, would have made it easier for victims to receive compensation from the Victim's Compensation and Government Claims Board in a timely manner.

"It really shows how mean-spirited this governor is, that he couldn't put our differences aside," Torrico said.

Corbett said she believes the hospital lobby influenced Schwarzenegger on her bill, SB196, that would have lengthened the notice from 60 days to 90 days given to the state and required public hearings before a hospital emergency room can be shut down. Her bill was a response to the shutdown plans for San Leandro Hospital.

Schwarzenegger said he was sympathetic to the problem of hospital closures putting additional strains on emergency rooms, but "I cannot support a bill that would mandate a hospital to maintain specific services when those services are not a requirement of licensure. Forcing hospitals to keep an emergency room open, especially when they are closing because of financial circumstances, will only jeopardize patient care due to the rapid attrition of medical and nursing staff, as well as suppliers."

"Nobody likes to have their bill vetoed," Corbett said, adding that she was particularly disappointed with this veto.

"I can't think of any valid reason why it's OK to not allow for more notice," she said. "If you know you're going to close in 60 days, you know you'll close in 90 days."

The extra days could be used to find another medical group to run the hospital, or to allow voters to place an initiative on the ballot to fund the operations.

By Jim Sanders
Sacramento Bee
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009

From celebrating Harvey Milk to banning the sale of laughing gas to kids, California will change in hundreds of ways with legislation signed Sunday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger, citing progress in water negotiations, lifted a veto threat over much of this year's legislation and signed 478 of the 707 bills on his desk before Sunday's midnight deadline.

Never before has a governor signed fewer bills ? 632, counting measures acted upon earlier this year. Schwarzenegger also holds the three previous lowest totals, according to Peter Detwiler of the Senate Local Government Committee.

After vetoing similar legislation last year, Schwarzenegger approved Senate Bill 572, creating a yearly "day of special significance" honoring the birthday of Milk, a former San Francisco county supervisor and gay-rights pioneer.

Milk was the nation's first openly gay man elected to public office in a major city. His life was depicted last year in an Academy Award-winning movie, "Milk," and he was inducted posthumously into the California Hall of Fame.

Milk served less than one year on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors before he was fatally shot along with Mayor George Moscone by colleague Dan White inside San Francisco City Hall in November 1978.

"He is a role model to millions, and this legislation will help ensure his legacy lives on forever," said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, a nonprofit group promoting same-sex rights.

Schools and government offices will remain open each year during Harvey Milk Day, May 22, which will not be a state holiday. Schools will be encouraged to conduct "suitable commemorative exercises."

Opponents contend that Milk had numerous character flaws and that his annual day of recognition is a step toward presenting children with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender "indoctrination" despite opposition from many parents.

"Harvey Milk Day teaches children as young as 5 years old to admire the life and values (of homosexuals) and the notorious homosexual activist Harvey Milk," said Randy Thomasson of SaveCalifornia.com.

In explaining last year's veto of a bill honoring Milk, Schwarzenegger had said he should be honored in the local community where he worked. Aaron McLear, the governor's spokesman, noted Monday that Milk's Hall of Fame induction and movie biography occurred after that veto.

"Harvey Milk has become a symbol of the gay community in California, and the governor wanted to honor that community by signing that bill," McLear said.

Assemblyman Tom Torlakson's crackdown on nitrous oxide sales to children, Assembly Bill 1015, targets "laughing gas" that can be sniffed for a cheap high or used for legitimate purposes ranging from a dentistry sedative to a whipping agent in whipped-cream dispensers. Sales to minors can be charged as a misdemeanor.

Potentially one of the most significant revenue-producing measures is Assembly Bill 1383 to impose a new fee on hospitals that is designed to draw several billion dollars in matching federal funds. The measure includes no appropriation, however, so companion legislation is needed.

Schwarzenegger, continuing a multiyear trend, hammered legislation designated by the California Chamber of Commerce as "job killers." He vetoed six such bills Sunday, adding to the 47 of 51 that have died upon reaching his desk since 2004, according to chamber officials.

Other legislation vetoed Sunday by Schwarzenegger included Assembly Bill 241, which would have banned so-called "puppy mills" by prohibiting a business or individual that buys and sells animals from having more than 50 unsterilized dogs and cats.

Two health-related bills killed by the governor were Assembly Bill 98, intended to force health plans to cover maternity services, and Assembly Bill 911, which would have required hospitals to create and enact a response plan to reduce emergency-room overcrowding.

Schwarzenegger refused to extend until 2016 a program offering low-cost, bare-bones auto insurance to low-income drivers. In vetoing Assembly Bill 725, Schwarzenegger said he supports the concept but that participation is low and changes may be needed before the program expires in 2011.

Schwarzenegger also vetoed bills to bar the sale of electronic cigarettes, set statewide standards for tattoo and body piercing salons, prohibit businesses from requiring that patrons speak English, and restrict health insurance firms from rescinding policies after costly claims are filed.

Bills signed ranged from banning gender-based health insurance to allowing seatless bicycles.

They will ease "lowest bidder" requirements for a new 49ers football stadium in Santa Clara, impose restrictions on "talent services" that solicit would-be actors, and regulate vocational training colleges and other private postsecondary institutions.

New driving-related consumer protection laws include Senate Bill 95, requiring auto dealers to pay off outstanding liens before selling a used car; and Assembly Bill 647, designed to provide greater public access to a national database of title, theft and other vehicle information.

Other measures signed by Schwarzenegger include:

* Senate Bill 54, to recognize spousal rights of same-sex partners who wed outside California. Their unions are not deemed "marriages," however, if they occurred after passage of Proposition 8 last November.

* Assembly Bill 962, to require, beginning in 2011, that handgun ammunition vendors obtain thumbprints and other data from buyers.

* Assembly Bill 636, to impose new restrictions on charter buses operating without proper permits or driver training. The bill stemmed from a Colusa County crash that killed 11 passengers and injured dozens.