May 1999 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.

Education

PRI research on charter schools has helped educate those striving for more freedom and responsibility in education. On May 24, proponents of charter schools held a rally at the capitol in Sacramento to protest AB842, a bill sponsored by teachers unions and carried by San Francisco Democrat Carol Midgen. The bill would force unionization on charter schools and threaten their ability to innovate. Charter school proponents contacted Pamela Riley, co-director of PRI’s Center for School Reform, for information. At the rally co-director Lance Izumi was interviewed by the Los Angeles Daily News. Portions of the bill were subsequently dropped.

The May issue of the California Journal carried Lance Izumi’s column "Forced Unionization of Charter Schools," also the subject of Lance’s May 4 commentary on KQED-FM, the Bay Area affiliate of National Public Radio. On April 29, the Orange County Register interviewed Lance for a news story on school choice.

"Vouchers take a step forward," quotes Pam Riley in the Gaston Gazette (Gastonia, North Carolina), May 7. An editorial on the forced unionization of charter schools by PRI editorial director Lloyd Billingsley, previously published by the Los Angeles Daily News and Orange County Register, was reprinted on April 29 by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, and Pasadena Star-News.

Environment

PRI’s 1999 Index of Leading Environmental Indicators continues its national impact with citations in "Benefits accruing after 25 years," by John Webster in the May 6 Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA); "Environmental misinformation in U.S.," by Paige Parham in the April 28 Fayette Daily News; "Some reason for optimism," in the April 22 Naples Daily News; "NAM Survey Shows Improved Environmental Performance by US Firms," by Glenn Hess in the May 3 Chemical Market Reporter; and by Heritage Foundation president by Edwin Feulner in many papers including the May 7 Messenger (Union City, TN) and May 4 Valley News Today (Shenandoah, IA). Jay Ambrose mentions the Index in "Environmental progress well worth celebrating," in the April 23 Daily Journal (Franklin, IN).

"Let’s have a brawl about sprawl," by Martin F. Nolan, quotes PRI fellow Steve Hayward in the Salisbury Post (Salisbury, NC) on May 9. Steve’s "Smart Growth policy is chock-full of dumb ideas," ran in the Sun on May 10. "No nation escapes planet’s decline," by Carl Geiser, mentions Erin Schiller in the May 3 Corvallis Gazette-Times (Corvallis, OR). Erin’s "Earth Day is cause for celebration," appeared in the Cedartown Standard (Cedartown, Georgia) on April 20.

George Dunlop of Century Communications used PRI environmental materials at the recent Alliance for America 1999, with more than 200 grassroots activists in attendance from across the United States.

Florida 21, a non-profit organization providing information to Floridians, is quoting from PRI’s Environmental Gore: A Constructive Response to Earth in the Balance in "Environmental Policy in Florida—Politics and Progress in the Reinvention Era." The quotes include the "Open Letter to Al Gore" written by Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg and excerpts from the preface by John Baden with Gus diZerega.

Enterprise and Opportunity

On May 5 Naomi Lopez, director of PRI’s Center for Enterprise and Opportunity, appeared on Lou Penrose’s Palm Springs radio show to discuss California’s general assistance program. On May 17 the Detroit Free Press interviewed Naomi on the pay-gap issue.

"Trouble with scrubs," by Michelle Singletary, quotes Naomi Lopez in the May 5 Green Bay News Chronicle.

Freedom and Technology

"Think-tank launches e-mail newsletter," quotes Justin Matlick, director of PRI’s Center for Freedom and Technology, in the May issue of Link-Up. On May 20, PRI’s Center for Freedom and Technology sponsored "Privacy and Security in the Information Age: Market-based Solutions", a breakfast discussion at the Stanford Park Hotel in Palo Alto. Joe McNamara, research fellow at the Hoover Institution and former police chief of San Jose, talked about why encryption regulations should be abolished. Justin Matlick spoke about market-based solutions to Internet privacy problems.

Events

On May 11, PRI hosted a group of senior executives from the Canadian Centre for Management Development on a study tour sponsored by the Canadian government. The guests, on track to become Assistant Deputy Ministers, heard presentations from the directors of PRI’s four centers on technology, health and welfare, the environment, and education.

Steve Forbes, publisher and presidential candidate, addressed the 8th Annual Speaker of National Prominence Dinner, co-sponsored by the Pacific Research Institute and the Smith Center for Private Enterprise, at the Sheraton Palace Hotel in San Francisco on May 12. In a wide-ranging speech, the Forbes publisher touched on monetary policy, the IMF, funding for the military, immigration, and educational choice.

Notables

Lance Izumi’s column "Misfired Public Policy," which detailed the problems of gun lawsuits, was published as the cover article in the May 1 issue of the internet magazine Realmensch. "Are cities doing enough about growth?," by Joseph Maguire, mentions PRI’s Lloyd Billingsley in the Lansing State Journal, May 9. PRI researcher Joanna Elachi was cited in syndicated columnist Deroy Murdock’s recent editorial, "Vouchers work in many ways, why not in schools?" in the May 25 Post and Courier (Charleston, SC). "Ill in jail," by John Lang, mentions the Pacific Research Institute in the April 18 State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL).