CA FWD NEWS

More than 160 community leaders from across San Mateo County gathered at the College of San Mateo on Friday, January 13, 2012 for the first in a series of meetings to work on “Building A Healthy and Safe Community.”

The summit is the vision of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas who sees it as a way to empower citizens and give them a better understanding of what’s going on in their neighborhoods.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, we would simply like to present the entire video of his “I Have a Dream” speech, along with the full text transcribed.

Retired Redlands Police Chief Jim Bueerman believes he ran a successful police department because he not only held criminals accountable but police officers as well.

“You can apply this to the adult correctional system and our judicial system, where we need to hold people accountable for inappropriate behavior,” says Bueermann. “But the sanctions we give them shouldn’t be so disproportionate that they fail to learn the lesson, because then they’re just mad at the unfair system.”

Bueermann believes elected leaders should also be held accountable–that’s why he supports California Forward’s Government Performance Accountability Act.

Steven Worthley, who works as a Tulare County Supervisor, supports the CA Fwd Action Fund’s proposed ballot measure as a way of giving the governed more direct, tangible benefits for their tax dollars.

Founded on the principal that decision makers are most effective when the constituents they serve are actively involved in the decision-making process, the Empowerment Congress has served as the model and precursor to the City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils.

We present the first in a series of news coverage roundups on three important stories from the past few days, synthesizing news so you don’t have to. We’ll be doing on regular basis as ballot season heats up locally and politics take center stage nationally.

From the CAFwd Radio Show: The Latino electorate is a large and rapidly expanding political arm of the California population that wields formidable power when organized. Latinos already represent half the populations of Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as significant segments of the Bay Area, Central Valley, Orange County, and Inland Empire.

Lucy Dunn knows California can once again be the Golden State.
How do we accomplish this? She believes the private and public sectors need to work together and come up with solutions to or slumping economy.
An attorney by training, Dunn has been on both sides of the coin and now heads the active Orange County Business Council.
Sacramento thinks every regulation is “a perfect snowflake” but refuses to see that “the roof has caved in on the business community from the weight of all that snow.” Dunn says every national business publication reports that California ranks 49th or dead last as the worst state to do business.