The California Report

Here are a few things I never got around to this week:

• Democratic Senators are asking for a real plan from Gov. Schwarzenegger about how to solve the prison crisis. AB 900 passed a year ago with the promise of building thousands more beds to address prison overcrowding. To date not one construction project has begun. This is a complete shell game, and the courts are likely to act immediately in the face of such incompetence. Just another reason why trying to build our way out of this problem was such a stupid idea.

• Not only did immigrant's rights advocates rally in Los Angeles today, they were joined by businesses who want an end to workplace raids. I actually believe in workplace enforcement to an extent, but business can be a powerful ally in reaching toward a comprehensive solution. The crowd was smaller this year but I think there's a more robust coalition for a breakthrough. Voter mobilization is going to be the key.

• Others have mentioned the new poll numbers on taxes and schools, but I'll say this - decades of anti-tax rhetoric has succeeded in dislodging the relationship between taxes and services. People want education and other services to be funded but don't want to pay for it. The only way to restore that relationship is to... restore that relationship, by specifically explaining how America is worth paying for and turning the whole issue on its head. Not a huge revelation, but thought I'd throw it out.

• Home prices continue to fall in LA and Orange County, and foreclosures continue to wreak havoc on the state's homeowners, including Jose Canseco.

• I thought this was the most interesting study of the week:

It's often said, "You are what you eat," but new research suggests that where you eat may have a lot to do with it, as well.

In communities with an abundance of fast-food outlets and convenience stores, researchers have found, obesity and diabetes rates are much higher than in areas where fresh fruit and vegetable markets and full-service grocery stores are easily accessible.

"The implications are really dramatic," said Harold Goldstein, a study author and executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, based in Davis. "We are living in a junk-food jungle, and not surprisingly, we are seeing rising rates of obesity and diabetes."

Intuitive, and it's a chicken-or-the-egg argument. Convenience stores and fast-food outlets move to neighborhoods where people are more likely to only be able to afford convenience stores and fast food. However, the researchers claim this holds across socioeconomic strata. "Food environment" is something we have to think about. Education would seem to be the key,

• Forgot to link George Skelton's article on the potential for competing redistricting measures on the ballot. My position on redistricting is well-known. Skelton does segue into initiative reform, which is sorely needed.