Brian Leubitz Posts

With increased federal pressure, time is running out on much-needed funding and planned prison transfers in California. Though State Senator Darrell Steinberg has compromised, the plan appears to be very similar to Gov. Brown's original plan.

At the height of the war on drugs, while Nancy Reagan was leading the charge to "Just Say No", the federal government and most states passed harsh legislation to punish drug offenders. It crowded our prisons, but hasn't put a dent in the fight against illegal narcotics. Some of the laws were blatantly racist, and have already been removed. Other reforms are pending, with the notable example of reforms in Attorney General Eric Holder's strongly symbolic speech in San Francisco.

The unfortunate timing of Prop 63's passing at the apex of the real estate bubble has relegated California's mental health spending measure to a backfill for cutting tax dollars. The earmarked $5 billion became an example of "fiscally responsible budget cuts" before it ever could go into effect. The state auditor released a report that detailed Prop 63's remaining spending, but missed the key point — its underfunding.

There is a lot of misinformation going around about California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's transgender student equality law. Since Gov. Brown signed it last week, the right-wingers have been stirring themselves into a frenzy online. A few of the usual suspects are motivating offline, too, as Republican lawmakers and rabble-rousers are gathering forces to put the issue to ballot.

Jose Julio Sarria, the first openly gay candidate in U.S. history, was a trailblazer in the LGBT community. That word is tossed around lightly sometimes, but it would be hard to imagine a more perfect moniker for Mr. Sarria. And today, the LGBT community has lost a legend.

The law is the first of its kind in the country, and requires that California public schools respect students' gender identity and makes sure that students can fully participate in all school activities, sports teams, programs, and facilities that match their gender identity.

MICRA does nothing to decrease costs, but makes a mint for malpractice insurers
by Brian Leubitz
Over the weekend, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones exposed some of the mistruths that the insurance lobby has been using to fight to save their cash cow, MICRA.
Here's the thing that nobody really talks about, and that is that those caps have not prevented excessive medical malpractice insurance rates. I know this because one of the first things I did as insurance commissioner was look at the medical malpractice insurance rates, and I discovered that the me

Two years ago, hunger strikes drew national attention to California prisons, but this year, they are even bigger. Especially with the added attention surrounding hunger strikes by military prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.

The BART strike was certainly preventable, but its unsurprising nature was equally certain. Following a long line of government employees facing pay cuts and furloughs, BART workers have the strongest weapon: a transit strike that makes the public sit up and notice. But will increased safety measures and a wage increase congruent to cost of living rises be enough to keep the public on their side?

Recent stories in San Francisco highlight the struggle of some publishers to maintain a viable local reporting staff — the boots on the ground of journalism — among a new, Internet-driven information economy (and a recession-era real life economy). What's a paper to do? "Do more with less," as they say in season five of "The Wire."

California's redistricting commission wasn't the most popular idea when it was first introduced, but its apparent success seems to have made it a populist idea — and a potential model for other states.

According to surveys, more than 90 percent of Americans support the labeling of genetically engineered foods. That is until a campaign comes along, dumps a bunch of cash into confusion, and suddenly things change.

Once is a slip, an uniformed comment. Twice is a troubling pattern, but perhaps just two outliers. A third crazy rape statement makes it pretty hard to explain away. The last thing Republicans needed as March rolled around was more fuel for the rape comment fire.

Recycling law leads to theft, but what can be done about it?
by Brian Leubitz
If you read the San Francisco Chronicle often enough, you get the general vibe of where CW Nevius is headed. He's all about quality of life and would generally prefer a modern suburbanization. Lovely for the suburbs, but it doesn't always go well in the City

New list of House Dems features 2 Californians
by Brian Leubitz
This is 2013, and even Republicans are moving towards accepting marriage equality. Yet some House Democrats still haven't announced their support. Joe.My.God. compiled such a list, featuring two Californians: Juan Vargas of San Diego and Jim Costa of Fresno.
Now, politicians are rapidly "evolving", so I don't want to unfairly mark either of these t

Leaders in SF team up with staff to protest cuts
by Brian Leubitz
The UC health care system is one of the best in the world. However, beneath the reputation, there is a serious staffing issue. While management costs have ballooned over the past few years, administrators are working to make big cuts to employees who actually provide care. In a recent report, AFSCME 3299 cited some disturbing trends.
Since

Former Obama official looks to challenge longtime Congressman
by Brian Leubitz
One of the positive aspects of term limits is that some of the more personal, intraparty battles are avoided. But you don't have that with Congress, and Congress has been Ro Khanna's target for a while now. Khanna, an intellect

Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard: "As a society, we just have not done a very good job of dealing with the mentally ill."
by Brian Leubitz
Dan Morain has a very thought provoking column today taking off from the recent discussion about the prison health care litigation. Long story short, Gov. Brown is working to once again attempt to emerge from the litigation that has upped the prison health budget from $732 million to over $2bln. He makes a fair point:
"That money is coming out of the university, it's coming out of child care. It's a situation you w

California fails recent transparency study
by Brian Leubitz
California is home to Silicon Valley, so you think we could bring some of that innovation to bear on our state government. But one look at the Cal-Access contribution information website will quickly disabuse any user of that notion. But more than that, the state lacks the kind of transparency tools that other states provide. That yields a failing grade in the US-PIRG's report o

Former Assembly Speaker hopes to mediate with California Teachers
by Brian Leubitz
If you are planning to come to the CDP convention in Sacramento in a couple of weeks, it will be no secret that the teachers are an important constituency within the party. And they are critical for elected officials due to their willingness to fight, and sp