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The Maddy Report Sacramento Segment 2
July 24th, 2010 | 
Author: 
“Sacramento: Reporting from Wonderland”
Summary: California has always led the way—in technology, education, jobs and quality of life. But many say something has happened to the Golden State—that the State has simply become ungovernable—and they point to the perennial budget crisis the State been facing for much of the last 20 years. And this year is no different–with billions of dollars of temporary budget solutions from last year ready to expire and the economy recovering slowly, California once again faces a mammoth budget problem…And, like last year, the Governor has declared another “fiscal emergency”—calling the leg into special session to deal with the almost $20B deficit. And while the Governor is hoping for billions of aid from the Federal Government and the Legislature is hoping for an immediate economic rebound, the state continues to spend $600 million more a month than it takes in…
Has California simply become too big to govern?
Has partisan gridlock and the lack of civility in Sacramento tarnished the Golden State?
And what about the Valley—how does the dysfunction in Sacramento impact the pressing issues we face including jobs, water, air quality and quality of life?
Will the election of a new governor in November change the political calculus?
And what are the key political reforms that could put the State back on track?
Maddy Institute Executive Director Mark Keppler talks to two of Sacramento’s most respected political observers:
John Meyers. Sacramento Bureau Chief — KQED and Anthony York, Editor of the Capital Weekly and Special Correspondent for the LA Times.
Segment 2 of the program discusses the annual state budget battle in Sacramento.
Duration : 0:5:44
Health: Now, an Update on Those New Year’s Resolutions
This is the VOA Special English Health Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com
People who stop smoking often replace cigarettes with food. A new study says the weight they gain may increase their diabetes risk in the short term. Type two diabetes is common in people who eat too much and exercise too little and those with a family history of it.
Smoking is another risk factor. But quitting smoking may carry a temporary risk. The study found that smokers who quit had a seventy percent increased risk of developing diabetes in the first six years. That was compared to those who had never smoked.
The risks were highest in the first three years. And the risk returned to normal after ten years of not smoking.
The researchers say weight gain is probably to blame for the increase. But they say smokers should stop anyway — and the real message is not to even start. Type two diabetes interferes with the body’s use of insulin. The substance produced by the pancreas normally lowers blood sugar during and after eating. Over time, high blood sugar can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and nerve damage. The study is from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. It appears in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Another American study says obesity has become as great a threat to quality of life as smoking.
It compared losses in what are called “quality-adjusted life years.” The study found that losses from obesity are now equal to, if not greater than, those from smoking.
These days, there are fewer smokers in the country but more people who are extremely overweight. The findings are based on questions about health-related quality of life in government telephone surveys. The study is from Columbia University and the City College of New York. It appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
And another study has linked each hour of watching television daily to an eighteen percent increased risk of death from heart disease. The study of adults in Australia also found an increased risk of death from others causes. The findings are published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Lead author David Dunstan at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Victoria says the body was designed to move. He says even if people have a healthy body weight, sitting for long periods of time still has an unhealthy influence on blood sugar and blood fats.
And thats the VOA Special English Health Report.
(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 13Jan2010)
Duration : 0:3:56
Posted in Quality Of Life | 
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