[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Many see it as an issue of education from pre-school through higher education and as an investment in the future of our state

By Frank D. Russo

They came by the busloads to Sacramento from all across the length and breadth of the state of California and marched to the state Capitol for a rally. Not only were there numbers large—perhaps as large as 2000 in Sacramento in addition to those taking part in rallies in other locations—but they were loud and energized. Folks working inside their offices three blocks away could hear students chanting as could those inside the Capitol.

The Governor was out of town, but the message was clear. After the rally and throughout the day, students roamed the hallways of the legislature talking to their representatives. They represented 3.2 million students—who have registered to vote in record numbers—and will be looking closely to see what is done after the May Revise of the budget is available in about three weeks. There will be a huge backlash if the cuts go through.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Dina Cervantes
Chair
California State Student Association

The leadership of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC), California State Student Association (CSSA) and University of California Student Association (UCSA) have come together in a historic coalition, called Students for California’s Future and announced that Monday, April 21, 2008 will be a Day of Action across California with major marches being planned at the State Capitol and downtown Los Angeles.

Over 3.2 million students at the California Community Colleges (CCC), California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems are represented with the unification of these organizations because all would be adversely affected by $1 billion dollars in cuts to higher education.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

This should be a good show: Former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Crest Theatre as part of the California Lectures subscription series. He will be in conversation with former Sacramento Mayor Phil Isenberg. A 6:30 p.m. lecture preview will be hosted by Professor Tim Hodson of California State University, Sacramento.

Brown is promoting his autobiography, "Basic Brown: My Life and Our Times" (Simon & Schuster, $26, 368 pages; in collaboration with P.J. Corkery).

Individual tickets ($25) are available at tickets.com or (800) 225-2277, and at the Crest box office, 1013 K St., (916) 442-7378. For more information: (916) 737-1300 or http://www.californialectures.org.

Image courtesy Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

At first I thought it was just me: Was Sen. Barack Obama beginning to sound a lot like Arnold Schwarzenegger? Then there it was in a Washington post headline yesterday: "Post-Partisan Obama," and another Post story talking about Obama's California groundswell, where a Santa Cruz decline-to-state voter suggested he'd do well in the Golden State because he has a similar "post-partisan" style.

Then I Googled "Schwarzenegger" and "change" and found this gem from CNN's "Inside Politics":

"Gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger ... vowed Wednesday to lead a "people's takeover" of California's government, saying career politicians have left the state in a shambles. Speaking in advance of a candidates' debate he has decided to skip, Schwarzenegger, a Republican, described his candidacy as a "movement for change." "Help me send a message to Sacramento -- game is over," Schwarzenegger told the enthusiastic crowd at California State University in Long Beach."

"Movement for change?" Arnold ought to sue Obama for plagarism.

There's more...

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Barbara Owen
Professor
Department of Criminology
California State University-Fresno

Introduction

As California leads the nation in irrational prison policy, a new report calls for major reforms to reduce the prison population. Unlocking America: Why and How to Reduce America's Prison Population, is co-authored by nine leading criminology and penal experts from around the country and relies on a thorough review of recent research into crime and incarceration. Several of these authors have researched the California system which serves as a cautionary tale of political and policy missteps.

Under current sentencing policies, the state and federal prison populations will grow by another 192,000 prisoners over the next five years, according to the report. Such an increase will force the nation to spend an additional $27.5 billion in prison construction and operation costs over the five-year period, in addition to the $60 billion now spent annually on corrections. In California, the annual cost is quickly approaching $10 billion per year. Recent legislation has called for many more billions to be spent on prison construction.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

The James Irvine Foundation has released a 44 page report, "New Experiments in Minority Voter Mobilization: A Report on the California Votes Initiative",that is the product of a multi-year study of infrequent voters.

The authors of this report, Melissa R. Michelson of California State University East Bay,Lisa García Bedolla of the University of California at Irvine, and Donald P. Green of Yale University are all respected scholars. Green is the author of Get Out The Vote! How to Increase Voter Turnout, published in 2004 by the Brookings Institution Press.

While the information here is of tremendous interest to those involved in the hurly burly of political campaigns, there is a very important point they make as well: The electorate that is turning out does not represent California's diversity. At the beginning of the report, they say:

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Recent legislation among the reforms needed at the university

By Leland Yee, Ph.D.
Assistant President pro Tem
California State Senate

On Tuesday, the California State Auditor released a critical report of the California State University’s (CSU) executive compensation policies, further confirming what lawmakers, students, and faculty members have been publicizing for months.

Among the highlights, the audit revealed that the university failed to adequately monitor adherence to its compensation policies and that the CSU used questionable methodology to justify increasing top executives’ pay. In addition, the state audit found that high level managers received significant compensation after they were no longer providing services to the university.