Please click here to watch a brief video about this program.

In a small commercial building in Red Bluff that has been transformed into a workshop, 20 people are creating handmade locally designed products and recreating their own futures at the same time. This is Washington Street Productions, a Welfare-to-Work program created cooperatively by the Tehama County Department of Social Services and the local Workforce Investment Agency, Job Training Center — a CalWORKS provider.

Please click here to watch a brief video about this program.

Meyli was tired, thirsty and hungry for most of her trek on foot through Central America and Mexico. But it is the fear she remembers more than anything else. She was afraid of getting lost, afraid of being caught by the authorities, afraid of being robbed, or worse, by bandits. When she finally crossed into the United States she was still afraid that she’d be sent home and the arduous trip would have been for nothing.

Please click here to watch a video about this program

The best county programs address an intractable problem with an innovative, sustainable, and collaborative solution that gets to the heart of the matter—or in the case of Amador County—to the “root” of the matter.  They take oral health care seriously in Amador County because the water isn’t fluoridated. Now, maybe that doesn’t sound like a huge problem, but tooth decay and cavities are nothing to smile about, and fluoride protects teeth—especially children’s teeth—from those preventable problems.

“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.”
― Abraham Lincoln

To watch a short video about the program, click here.

Maybe it’s patriotism or pride. Maybe it’s the shared experiences of being in the military but it seems like veterans — even those who never served together — share a common bond.  There is a depth of understanding and camaraderie.  Maybe that’s one reason why in an ordinary government building in Orange County, something very special is happening.

Please watch a video about the six-county collaboration on marijuana policy here.

There are some issues that transcend local government boundaries. Air pollution, traffic congestion, crime — these issues ignore lines on a map. The same is true for medical marijuana, which is legal in California. However, growing, selling and using it, even for medicinal purposes, can cause all kinds of problems that do not stay within local jurisdictional boundaries.

One of the best things about my job as CSAC’s communications coordinator is the people I get to meet. We are in the process now of producing videos to celebrate the recipients of our 2015 Challenge Awards. These are all programs that exemplify best practices, innovation, and effective delivery of vital county services.

Invariably, the people who design and implement these programs are smart, hardworking, forward-thinking people who are committed to doing what they do better. They are heroes to the people who need the services they provide. And then once in a while, you get to meet a real hero.

I am not a meteorologist, but every time I see, read or hear a story about “El Niño” this year I get a little worried. We know that the Pacific Ocean temperature is rising in a pattern that we have come to call El Niño. And history tells us that often means increased precipitation in California’s coming winter season. But when that rain will come, where it will fall, and over what period of time are questions that are impossible to answer. There are just too many variables for any model, algorithm or Old Farmer’s Almanac to accurately forecast.

I met with a new editorial writer for the Sacramento Bee the other day–just a “get to know you” meeting over coffee. She’s from the Midwest, and wanted to know a little more about California and our 58 counties. The first thing I tried to tell her was that our counties are incredibly diverse in demographics, geography, economics, and more. But with someone new to this state, how do you begin to tell them just how diverse our counties really are?

Technology is driving up customer expectations. Modern technology has almost eliminated the need to go to the bank, the post office, the DMV—even retail stores. These days you can order just about any product or service today and get it delivered tomorrow. And “Customer Service” means allowing customers to interact with your company 24-7. That was the concept behind some major changes in how the San Diego County Land Use and Environmental Group interacts with the public.

Addressing climate change across an entire government structure isn’t easy. So when the Alameda County Board of Supervisors decided they wanted to reduce the county’s carbon footprint 15 percent by 2020, the Sustainability Team drafted a Climate Action Plan—a blue print if you will, for how they would reach the goal. They knew that it would take a team effort.

It’s only been a couple of years since airlines started offering WiFi on airplanes—but we have quickly become accustomed to having it. Think about that. You’re in an aluminum tube, 30,000 feet in the air, traveling at 600 miles an hour—and with a device that cost about as much as your plane ticket, you have the sum total of human knowledge at your fingertips. OK, most of us just watch cat videos, but if you wanted to study quantum physics, or read Plato you could do that, too!

At CSAC, we try to visit as many of our 58 counties as we can every year. We don’t usually get to all 58, but we try. So we were somewhat in awe last week to read about Jennifer and Jonathon Riehl of Michigan, a couple in their early 30s who recently finished visiting every county in the contiguous United States. That’s 3108 counties across 48 states. They did it all in nine years, putting more than 500,000 miles on the same green 1999 Dodge Intrepid.

Once a year, CSAC throws an event for about 800 of our closest friends. But the Annual Meeting is much more than a typical convention. It’s an official CSAC Business Meeting where we elect our new Officers. It’s a chance for our Policy Committees to discuss and possibly take a position on important issues that affect our counties and our constituents. The Annual Meeting is an opportunity to hear from inspiring speakers, subject-matter-experts, and colleagues and peers from the County Family.

With wildfires burning across California, and people in several counties either sifting through the ashes, or waiting and praying in an evacuation center, the recent Napa Valley Earthquake has faded from nightly newscasts. But the people in Napa and Solano County are still dealing with the aftermath, and will be for some time. In their experience, there are lessons to be learned.

In a scenario that almost reads like the finale from an Ian Fleming novel, the legislature is racing the clock to agree to terms on a Bond, Water Bond, that has a lot of people both shaken and stirred. The old proposal on the ballot in November is for $11 billion dollars, but the Governor, in his recurring role as “Dr. No” is pushing for a much smaller measure—about $6 billion.

I grew up a 4-H kid, doing projects, writing reports, going to meetings and delivering presentations. We raised lambs and showed them at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma and the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa. I really loved the Fairs, the rides, the food, the people and the animals too. But I think I also loved the sense of autonomy.

I grew up a 4-H kid, doing projects, writing reports, going to meetings and delivering presentations. We raised lambs, and showing them at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma and the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa were always highlights of the year. I really loved the Fairs, the rides, the food, the people and the animals too. But I think I also loved the sense of autonomy.

The county programs CSAC recognizes with our Challenge Awards all have one thing in common: they represent the best practices counties put to use every day serving the people of their community. The award given to Stanislaus County is a little different. It recognizes a truly great program—and also the extraordinary effort made to save the program in the face of severe budget cuts. This is the story of the Stanislaus County Clean and Sober living program.

Kids who end up in Juvenile Hall have done something illegal. Why should their stay there be anything other than punishment? As the head of Sonoma County’s Juvenile Hall told me, “The kids in here today are going to get out, and they are going to be your neighbors, and your kid’s classmates.” Punishment is part of it, but so is rehabilitation. That’s why Sonoma County Juvenile Hall has formed a unique partnership with the Boys and Girls Club in their community.

I went to two events this week that I think are worthy of some thought and discussion. The first provided some real insight into how government ought to, and often does work. What I learned at the second event—well, it is cause for concern for anybody connected with government, business, or the news media.

There is some rain due in Northern California this week, and while it will be a welcome end to a record-breaking streak of winter days with no precipitation, it will not mean an end to the drought. After two previous dry years, and the extremely dry winter we’ve had so far, rivers and reservoirs are at roughly half of where they should be this time of year. The “snow pack” in the Sierra is virtually non-existent. That may change a little bit in the next day or two.