Pacific Progressive

Seize the Teachable Moment and Don't Sell Fairgrounds to Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa City Council  needs to learn that not everyone shares their prejudiced views.  Our county is changing, and Costa Mesa needs to figure that out.   One example of the change is the ratings for the May sweeps have come out and Univision is the leader in prime-time viewers 18-49, second in 6 PM news and first in 11 PM news. Costa Mesa City Council has not gotten that memo yet.

Latino lawmakers in Sacramento are threatening to block the legislation allowing the sale of the property to Costa Mesa and Facilities Management West. This action is needed to send a strong message to the City that their actions are unacceptable in this day and age. 

In May 2010, lead by Allan Mansoor, City Council voted  unanimously to make Costa Mesa a  "Rule of Law" city.   This was one of a continuing string of actions  targeting specific groups within the City, which is unacceptable.  One way of getting this message across is to not let Costa Mesa buy the Orange County Fairgrounds.  

The "Rule of Law" resolution was above and beyond what City Council has already done.  Previously,  Mansoor pushed for and got harder local enforcement of immigration laws, costing the City money and police resources that could be better used to protect residents and local businesses from actual crime.   Mansoor has said that the "Rule of Law" is just the beginning of what he wants to do.  City Council shows no signs of stopping him from doing this. 

Another example is the prosecution of  Benito Acosta.  Costa Mesa attempted to prosecute Benito Acosta  (who also goes by Coyotl Tezcatlipoca) for disturbing a City Council meeting.  That criminal prosecution cost the City about $32,000 and ended when the charges were dropped.  Acosta later sued in Federal court over civil rights violations and lost. That suit cost the City at least $500,000 and some reports have the figure at about $600,000.  How many kids could have had afterschool programs with  $632,000?  

Another example is forcing an established business to change their name in order to do business in Costa Mesa.  In July 2009, Councilmember Eric Bever filed an appeal of a Parks Commission decision to allow Liga Azteca/Aztec Basketball League to rent the gym at the Downtown Recreation Center.  Liga Azteca wanted to pay to use the gym for their well-established basketball league.  City staff estimated that about $40,000 would be received from the activity.  In the end, Liga Azteca/Aztec  Basketball League was allowed to use the gym but only if they changed their name to Costa Mesa Weekend Basketball League.

Selling the Fairgrounds to Costa Mesa now that they have instituted "Rule of Law" would be seen by many as rewarding them for being prejudiced.   The City Council hasn't learned their lesson after wasting $632,000 on lawsuits that didn't need to happen and forcing a well-established business to change their name.  This is a teachable moment, let's use it.

For the record, I am no longer associated with the Orange County Fairgrounds Preservation Society.

Making Money on Oil Disasters: Will BP Take Responsibility, or Squeeze this Disaster for Profits?

By Susan Lyon, Daniel J. Weiss 

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

ExxonMobil will convene its annual shareholders meeting in Dallas this morning as the magnitude of the ongoing BP oil disaster grows. This is a reminder that oil companies need to be held accountable for their actions—both while the oil gushes from the ocean floor and 20 years after the spill. The Exxon Valdez oil accident that slimed Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989 is a chilling reminder of the need for government oversight and corporate accountability.

Exxon and BP’s broken record

Many would assume that BP—the company responsible for the Gulf Coast disaster—will cover the entire cost of cleanup. But we learned from the Exxon Valdez spill that the reality is very different:

The Exxon Valdez tanker spilled more than 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound, which eventually contaminated approximately 1,300 miles of shoreline. The total costs of Exxon Valdez, including both cleanup and also “fines, penalties and claims settlements,” ran as much as $7 billion. Cleanup of the affected region alone cost at least $2.5 billion, and much oil remains.

Yet Exxon made high profits even in the aftermath of the most expensive oil spill in history. They made $3.8 billion profit in 1989 and $5 billion in 1990. And this occurred while Exxon disputed cleanup costs nearly every step of the way.

Bringing Accountability to Tax Expenditures: New Bill Would Require Congress to Examine its Tax Spending

By Sima J. Gandhi

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

Congress will likely vote this week on whether to authorize $32 billion in subsidies for businesses and individuals, most of which will be delivered through tax expenditures—special credits, deductions, and preferential rates provided through the tax code.

The news headlines will likely focus on the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act’s multibillion dollar price tag. This spending is necessary to help those Americans hit hardest by the recession and help ensure a stable economic recovery. But there is other groundbreaking news in the bill: It will include measures to hold Congress accountable for tax expenditure spending.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) authored language (Section 272) in the bill requiring Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation to evaluate whether the act’s business and energy-related tax expenditures—which mostly expire at the end of next year—actually work and should continue. The House passed this requirement last December, but the Senate has not yet passed similar language. The House is scheduled to vote this week on what could be the final version of the extenders legislation and will again put its stamp of approval on this important requirement. Assuming the Senate agrees, JCT would be required to produce evaluations that could support better decision making when Congress next considers whether to extend these tax expenditures.

Framing the Debate on Work-Life Conflict: Family Friendly Workplace Policies Mean Strong Family Values

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

For more on this event please see its events page.

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Busting Through the Orange Curtain - OC Pride 2010 - August 14

Last year, OCEC brought Pride back to Orange County with a "Picnic in the Park."  This year, join OC Pride at the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine for "Busting Through the Orange Curtain."  This year's event features live entertainment, family fun including crafts and face painting, and booths featuring both vendors and community groups.

Buy tickets, become a vendor and get more information at OC Pride 2010.

College Student Health Plans Often Get Low Marks

by Michelle Andrews

This article was published by Kaiser Health News.

Aaron Smith is learning the hard way that student health insurance has limits. After breaking his wrist snowboarding in 2008 and twisting his knee playing soccer last year, the 28-year-old Georgetown University law student racked up $925.69 in medical bills, his share of the cost under Georgetown's UnitedHealthcare student health plan.

Smith, who also heads up the Young Invincibles, an advocacy organization that aims to protect the health-care interests of young adults, says his experience is not unusual for people in that age group. "These kind of accidents do happen," he says.

The new health overhaul law is expected to help a lot of young people, whether students or not. One widely publicized provision taking effect in October will allow young adults to stay on their parents' health insurance until age 26. Many insurers have said they'll implement it in time for students graduating this spring.

But for students who, like Smith, are older than 26, and for those who can't take advantage of the law because their parents don't have coverage or for other reasons, student health plans may be the only option. And unfortunately, many college plans offer limited protection, even for this generally healthy group. "Sixty percent of the plans out there are pure junk," says Stephen Beckley, a health-care management consultant for colleges and universities who's based in Fort Collins, Colo.

Medicare Spending Growth Varies Widely Around the Country

by  Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News

This article was published by Kaiser Health News.

Top 10 Regions - Fastest Growth In Spending:

Medicare spending is growing much faster in some areas of the country than others, including places that once had been reliably low-cost regions. Here are the top ten areas with the greatest annual Medicare spending growth between 2000 through 2007. The national average annual growth rate during this period was 4.7 percent. 

Source: Kaiser Health News calculations of Medicare data from 306 hospital referral regions compiled by the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. 

Regional Hospital Markets	Average Annual Change (2000-7)	Total Medicare reimbursements per enrollee (2000)	Total Medicare reimbursements per enrollee (2007)
TX-McAllen	10.3%	$8,017	$15,695
UT-Provo	8.6	$4,616	$8,064
TN-Jackson	8.2	$5,297	$9,118
TX-Waco	8.1	$4,791	$8,056
TX-Harlingen	8.0	$7,958	$13,531
IL-Aurora	7.9	$5,367	$8,993
MO-Cape Girardeau	7.8	$5,079	$8,453
MS-Oxford	7.7	$5,450	$8,951
MI-Muskegon	7.7	$4,946	$8,249
FL-Miami	7.7	$10,404	$17,274

 

Don't Ask, Don't Tell by the Numbers: The Military Loses Patriotic Men and Women Every Day

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

The House this week could take an important step forward in bringing equality to the military by passing an amendment that would repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” as part of the fiscal year 2011 Defense Authorization bill. DADT is the discriminatory policy that prevents gay and lesbian soldiers from serving openly in the military. The Senate Armed Services Committee is also considering a similar amendment.

Defense Secretary Gates called earlier this year for a Pentagon working group to begin drafting a plan for enacting a repeal to the ban, and that proposal is due to the secretary, Joint Chiefs, and president later this year. Congressional passage of repeal would ensure that all parts of government—legal and military—can move forward together once the Pentagon’s proposal is completed.

At a time when we are fighting two wars, what matters most on the battlefield is a person's ability to complete the mission. It’s time for our country's laws and our military's policies to reflect this basic, common sense notion.

More than 13,000: The number of gay and lesbian service men and women have been discharged from military service since 1993. Thousands more have decided not to reenlist due to the policy.

Silent No More - June 19

Join us June 19th for "Silent No More," a silent auction event to benefit OC Pride. This evening will include hosted food and drinks, entertainment, and silent auction items you won't want to miss! If you have an item you would like to donate to the silent auction please email [email protected].

Silent No More will be held from 7-10 pm at 26616 Meadow Crest Drive, Laguna Hills, CA.

Onshore Oil and Gas Drilling Done Right: Obama Administration Moves to Protect Lands in American West

By Tom Kenworthy

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

The Obama administration is moving briskly to erect new protections against environmentally destructive energy development practices in the American West even as it grapples with the cascading effects of the catastrophic BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico—and the federal oversight lapses that may have contributed to it.

Leasing of public lands to oil companies soared under the Bush-Cheney administration, even long before “drill, baby, drill” became a fatuous rallying cry on the right. The federal Bureau of Land Management approved nearly 42,000 drilling permits from fiscal year 2001 to fiscal year 2008—almost two-and-a-half times as many as in the previous eight years.

Oil and gas drilling became the priority use for these lands, regardless of other important values or legal requirements that they be managed for other public activities. The Bush administration offered up iconic landscapes treasured for their scenery, recreational opportunities, clean water and clean air, and archeological treasures. These lands became battlegrounds for litigation, including the Roan Plateau in Colorado, a rugged mesa overlooking the Colorado River prized for its elk and deer herds and a rare pure strain of Colorado cutthroat trout; the Otero Mesa in New Mexico; the Wyoming Range and Red Desert in Wyoming; and some of Utah’s most spectacular red rock canyon country.

Energy development has progressed on such a broad and intensive scale in the region around Pinedale, Wyoming, that it has transformed what was a quiet rural area into an industrial zone with air pollution problems more commonly found in Los Angeles.

New Health Law Throws Lifeline to 'Uninsurables'

by Michelle Andrews

This article was published by Kaiser Health News.

If you're sick - or have ever been sick - and can't get insurance, the new health-care law promises fast relief: access to guaranteed coverage through a special federally funded insurance program starting in July. The goal is to provide comprehensive and affordable coverage to more people.

But as the starting date approaches, uncertainties abound. Details have yet to emerge about the costs and benefits of the "high-risk pools" to be set up under the program. Not everyone who qualifies will be able to afford the premiums. And while many states have said they will set up their own pools, with help from Washington, others have balked, opting to let the federal government run the program in their states.

Debra Keown, a 52-year-old resident of Kalamazoo, Mich., is the type of "uninsurable" person who might be helped by the new program. A lung cancer survivor with severe asthma, she and her husband, 50-year-old Kerry, have been without insurance since his concrete-construction company dropped their coverage nearly two years ago, then laid him off several months later. Even if they could afford health insurance on his unemployment check, no private insurer would accept them because of their preexisting medical conditions.

Child Hunger by the Numbers: A Serious Problem We Can Solve

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

Read the report: Feeding Opportunity: Ending Child Hunger Furthers the Goal of Cutting U.S. Poverty in Half over the Next Decade

Hunger impairs children’s emotional, intellectual, and physical development, and poorly nourished children end up costing our nation billions a year in health care costs and other public services. The issue only grew worse during the Great Recession. But the problem is solvable if we make the right investments in the upcoming child nutrition bill, reform child nutrition programs, and take steps to eliminate poverty.

This by-the-numbers look at child hunger shows how widespread the problem is, how many different types of families are affected, and what we can do about it.

Child hunger is prevalent and has real costs

16.6 million or 22.5 percent: Number of American children living in homes with some level of food insecurity in 2008. Food insecurity is a term used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to measure families’ level of hunger. Food insecure households are “at times, uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food for all household members because they had insufficient money and other resources for food.”

Nearly 25 percent: Percentage of American children who didn’t have enough food in 2007, but lived in households too wealthy to receive any government nutrition assistance.

50 percent: Percentage of all U.S. children who will receive food stamps at some point before their 18th birthday.

Public Opinion Snapshot: Public Still Wants Comprehensive Immigration Reform

by Ruy Teixeira 

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

The public’s continued support for comprehensive immigration reform is being shunted to the side amid all the fuss about Arizona’s draconian new law allowing police to interrogate suspected illegal immigrants at will and detain them if they can’t produce papers. But it is there, as recent polling attests.

In a recent AP-Gfk poll, for example, the public was asked whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that the Obama administration had not yet passed a comprehensive immigration bill. A plurality of 48 percent pronounced this a bad thing, while just 9 percent thought it a good thing (41 percent thought it was neither).

Moving From Short-Term Jobs to Long-Term Skills: Priorities for Workforce Reinvestment Act Reauthorization

By Louis Soares

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

Download this memo (pdf)

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 is up for re-authorization this year. WIA-funded programs are designed to help unify a fragmented set of employment and training programs and create a single, universal system—a one-stop shop with local centers that can serve all job seekers needs, particularly whose who are low skill, low income, and unemployed.

The WIA one-stop system brings together 16 categories of programs from four separate federal entities: the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Housing and Urban Development. Federal agency funds are distributed through state and local workforce investment boards, or WIBs, which manage the one-stop centers, and include businesses, unions, postsecondary educational institutions, community-based organizations, and government agencies. 650 WIBs around the country currently fund and manage approximately 1,600 one-stop centers.

This re-organization has simplified the delivery of federal employment and training services, but the system as a whole has not kept pace with the increasing demand for postsecondary level skills in the U.S. economy nor the dizzying complexity of the labor market. WIA services focus on short-term crisis intervention—helping people re-enter the workforce quickly rather than counseling workers and helping them receive the training and education they need to find a long-term, well-paying job. Only 40 percent of funds are invested in training, and it is unclear how many credentials this investment actually produces. And the program provides very little in the way of career counseling support to job seekers.

Hans Johnson Presents Gall in the Family: The Growing Rift Within the Religious Right over LGBT Equality - June 19

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, together with OCEC, is proud to welcome Hans Johnson to Orange County. Hans is the president of Progressive Victory and an expert on labor, gay rights, religious extremism, and trends in state politics, ballot measures, and strategies of absentee and precinct voting. 

He has a winning record in coordinated, community-based action fueled by knowledge of the local and national political landscapes, Congress, and state legislatures. He has worked closely with leaders of nearly every constituency in civil society, including labor, business, banking, consumer advocacy, transportation, environmentalism, immigrants, good-government, disability, civil rights, education, philanthropy, media, arts, and moderate and progressive religious institutions.

Please Click Here for more information.

Americans United will meet on Saturday, June 19 from 2-4 pm at the Irvine Ranch Water District Headquarters, 15600 Sand Canyon Ave, Irvine, CA 92618.  Irvine Ranch Water District makes rooms available for use by community groups and does not support or endorse any group using the community rooms.