In the midst of California’s perpetual budget deficits, it sounded like a necessary evil when it was first proposed: furlough state workers for three days a month to save the state money. However, some jobs in California are too vital to go unfulfilled, and prison workers (especially prison healthcare workers) have been forced to “bank” furlough hours and continue working, which might end up costing the state more money than it had hoped to save. Is there any way out of the red in California?
As San Francisco’s first female district attorney, and the first African American woman in California to hold the DA office, Kamala Harris is used to being a trailblazer. By opposing the death penalty and taking a more lenient stance on illegal immigration, she is also no stranger to controversy. Her book “Smart on Crime” argues to reverse many traditional crime-fighting tools that have failed to keep more people out of jail, and to keep record high recidivism rates down. As a candidate for California’s Attorney General, can Kamala Harris carry the “smart on crime” philosophy to Sacramento?
Harris Ranch Beef Co. chairman David E. Wood pledged $150,000 for a new meat processing plant on Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s campus, but threatened to “rethink” his “continued financial support” after the university booked a lecture by sustainable food guru Michael Pollan, which took place today. Wood’s also unhappy about an animal science professor who called conventional feedlots (like Harris Ranch) unsustainable. Pollan still spoke—albeit as part of a panel—and the money remains pledged, but how do universities navigate academic freedom in tight financial times?
Losing track of foreign visitors in the U.S. isn’t a new issue—last year alone 2.9 million visitors on temporary visas checked into the country but never left. After 9/11 keeping tabs on these foreign visa holders took on a new urgency, as was proven last month by the young Jordanian man arrested trying to blow up a high-rise in Dallas, who had overstayed his visa. Now there’s a proposal to fingerprint foreign visitors when they arrive and leave the U.S.—will that help track them?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the weekly regular pay for production and non supervisory workers has been in decline for an unprecedented ten consecutive months. Yet despite those numbers, retail sales fell less than projected last month. Will Americans be able to spend their way out of the recession or will continued job losses and pay cuts stymie recovery?
Patt Morrison is known for its innovative discussions of local politics and culture, as well as its presentation of the effects of national and world news on Southern California.
