January 2000 PRI Ideas in Action
Policy Update and Monthly Impact Report

PRI continues to impact public policy in California, the nation, and abroad. The following is just a sample of PRI's recent contributions.

Enterprise and Opportunity

On January 3, Naomi Lopez, director of PRI's Center for Enterprise and Opportunity, discussed her recent study Free Markets, Free Choices: Smashing the Wage Gap and Glass Ceiling Myths on Denver's KWAB. On January 5, Naomi discussed the home-office ruling of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Worldnet Daily. Naomi's guest editorial, "The Bush that Stole Christmas?", ran in the December 27 Investor's Business Daily and her article "Clinton Plays With Food" appeared in the Washington Times on December 31. "Women share in a breakfast of champions," by PRI's Laura Steadman, appeared in the January 24 San Francisco Business Times.

"An Attack on Drug Companies Would Be Bad Medicine for AIDS," by Naomi Lopez, appeared on the web site of CNNfn in New York on January 22. On January 25, WLNS-TV posted "'Big Doctor' Is Watching You," by PRI fellow Joanna Elachi. "Utah's Mental Health Parity Insanity," by PRI fellow Dr. Mark Schiller, was mentioned in the January 11 To The Point of the Sutherland Institute and reprinted in the January 20 Standard Examiner of Ogden, Utah and the Salt Lake Tribune on January 23.

 

Education

Lance Izumi, director of PRI's Center for School Reform, was quoted in the January 6 Los Angeles Times in "Debate Grows Over Spending Gap on Schools," by Amy Pyle. On January 10, Lance spoke on charter-school reform issues at a roundtable discussion in Washington organized by the Smith Richardson Foundation and attended by top education researchers, including Harvard's Paul Peterson and the University of Rochester's Eric Hanushek. In January the Orange County Register twice interviewed Lance on education issues and on January 30 published his article. "What school rankings tell us." Lance participated in a January 28 debate on the merits and risks of Prop. 26, which would lower the passage requirement for local school construction bonds from a two-thirds vote to a simple majority. Capital Public Radio and KCRA-TV, Sacramento's NBC affiliate, covered the debate.

The Heritage Foundation's Insider published prominent reviews of PRI's education templates Expanding the Charter Idea, Developing and Implementing Educational Standards, and Making School Choice Work for All Families. The Heritage Foundation also distributed to their network of state think tanks Rethinking the Federal Role in California Schools, by PRI fellow Tom Dawson. Tom's "Breaking the Cycle" appeared in the January 12 Orange County Register. PRI's The Empire Strikes Back: How California's Education Establishment Is Hindering the Growth of Charter Schools, by Lloyd Billingsley and Pamela Riley, was cited in Charter Schools in Action, a new book by Chester Finn, Jr., Bruno V. Manno, and Gregg Vanourek. The Hyde School of Bath, Maine, will distribute PRI's charter template to its board members. "Funding still below par," by Doug Ston, mentions PRI's A Short Primer on Per-Pupil Spending, in the December 31 Pasadena Star-News and San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

 

Freedom and Technology

Sonia Arrison, director of PRI's Center for Freedom and Technology, was quoted by Declan McCullagh in "Talkin' Bout that Mega Merger," in the January 11 Wired News. Sonia's "Business will protect your privacy" appeared in the December 29 CBS Marketwatch, which quoted Sonia in "The whole Web is watching," by Kristen Gerencher. The Chicago Tribune's "Click early, click often" quoted PRI fellow Justin Matlick on January 17. WCPO-TV in Cincinnati posted Justin's "And Now, Online Democracy?" on January 20. "Taxing the Net," by Sally Pipes, appeared in the December Chief Executive. On January 11 KQED in San Francisco broadcast Lance Izumi's commentary on the negative impact of Internet taxation. "Let Market Decide Internet Access Debate" by Sonia Arrison appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle January 28.

 

Environment

On January 24 Steven Hayward, director of PRI's Center for Environmental and Regulatory Reform, debated Ted Mondale on the subject "The Brawl Over Sprawl: Is Smart Growth a Dumb Idea?" The Minneapolis based Center of the American Experiment hosted the debate. Steve also met with the Smart Growth Task Force of the Minnesota legislature and discussed growth issues on KSTP radio. "Is sprawl a myth?" quotes Steve in the January 2000 CE News.

 

Notables

PRI President Sally Pipes spoke on "The Way Ahead in Education" to the Annual Golden State Republican Women Leaders Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on January 22 and was mentioned on US Newswire in January 18. Sonia Arrison's "CRTC: On Guard for Canadian Culture" appeared in Canada's National Post on January 29. "The Black and the Red," Lloyd Billingsley's review of The Black Book of Communism, ran in the December Heterodoxy. On January 10, the Washington Times published "National Council of Castro's Friends," Lloyd's article on the Elian Gonzalez controversy. "Apocalypse now? Let's hang on a moment…", by Bob Carr, mentions the Pacific Research Institute in the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald on January 9. The Pacific Research Institute is mentioned on the January 18 Business Wire, and is quoted by Allen Zaremburg in "California enters twilight zone of bizarre punitive damages," Contra Costa Times, January 16.