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Charlotte Wyatt, who has serious brain, lung and kidney damage, weighed only 1 pound and measured just 5 inches when she was born three months prematurely on October 14, 2003. The child hit the headlines soon after birth as her parents battled in the courts to force doctors – against their medical judgement – to provide artificial ventilation if her condition worsened. Her parents won the year-long legal dispute, which cost the taxpayer an estimated £500,000 ($929,000). In addition, the girl’s medical treatment costs around £300 a day, and has totalled an estimated £1.1 million so far. ... Charlotte’s parents...

OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Maryann O'Sullivan, founder and CEO of Preschool California, issued the following statement in response to the governor's signature on AB 172, a bill that invests $50 million to expand preschool programs in neighborhoods surrounding low-performing schools: "We appreciate Governor Schwarzenegger's timely leadership in assuring that the state budget includes some resources to get us started in bringing quality programs to the California kids and schools that need it most. "Creating quality preschool programs is the single most important thing California can do now to assure that our most at- risk kids arrive for...

One of the most mindless laws approved was Assembly Bill 2108, by Sonoma County Democrat Noreen Evans. It requires parents to stick kids in automobile backseat booster seats until they turn age 8, or the kids grow to a specified height. This onerous law will cost parents millions of dollars, and save between zero and seven lives annually in California. Is that a typo? Is it possible that our full-time, "professional" Legislature approved a law forcing parents to spend millions of dollars, and preventing their small children from riding with their bigger kids in the front seat, all to save...

Children under the age of 8 must be restrained in a child seat while traveling in a vehicle, under a bill sent Thursday to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill's author, Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, said her measure would bring California in compliance with recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board. Vehicle-related accidents are the highest cause of deaths for 6- and 7-year-olds, she said. Existing state law requires that children younger than 6 years old or less than 60 pounds sit in a booster seat. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, described the measure as government "nannyism." The 6-foot-4 lawmaker said...

Targeting a new frontier in the fight against smoking, California lawmakers may ban motorists from lighting up near young passengers. The measure would mark the first time that Californians would be prohibited from smoking legal tobacco products on private property not open to the public or employees. No state had passed such a vehicle smoking ban until this year, when Arkansas and Louisiana set a precedent by barring the practice when passengers are under 6 or 13, respectively. Assemblyman Paul Koretz, a West Hollywood Democrat who proposed California's ban, Assembly Bill 379, said some parents don't seem to know --...

ROLLING MEADOWS, IL - Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed legislation Tuesday that makes every 3- and 4-year-old in Illinois eligible for state-subsidized preschool. The catch: There's money for only about 10,000 of the neediest children, at least for now. Blagojevich activated the $45 million first phase of his "Preschool for All" program surrounded by childhood-development advocates and lawmakers who helped move the measure through the General Assembly. The measure's proponents say broadening access to preschool will pay dividends in the future. "It's those precious years between 3 and 5 when kids learn the most," Blagojevich said during a news conference at...

SACRAMENTO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will propose a new plan Saturday requiring drug companies to give discounts to low-income residents within five years or face state sanctions, Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe said Friday. The plan is similar to Democratic proposals the governor has rejected in the past. Under the new proposal, drug companies would have five years to offer discounts to people who earn less than three times the federal poverty level, or about $60,000 a year for a family of four. Companies that do not cooperate could be cut out of the state's Medi-Cal program, which provides...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Provide free preschool for all California children, tax the rich to pay for it, and get a famous Hollywood director to sell it. A measure on Tuesday's ballot to create universal preschool in the nation's most populous state seemed like a can't-miss idea in heavily Democratic California. But the $2.4 billion-a-year plan has been a tough sell. The Preschool for All initiative's best-known supporter, "When Harry Met Sally" director Rob Reiner, ducked out of the campaign spotlight this spring after a state education commission he headed was accused of improperly using taxpayer money to run TV commercials...

As of July 1, more than $600 million for after-school programs will sit in a state bank account waiting for schools to ask for it. At this point, the fear is they won't. The lion's share — more than $400 million — will come from Proposition 49 — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's pre-gubernatorial initiative, his first foray into politics. Voters approved The After-School Education and Safety Program Act in 2002. The measure required the state to be economically in the black before the measure triggered. It took four years for that to happen and now for the first time, the state...

BOSTON - Gov. Mitt Romney on Wednesday signed into law a landmark bill designed to guarantee virtually all Massachusetts residents have health insurance. However, the governor vetoed a key portion of the bill — a $295-per-worker assessment on businesses that do not provide health insurance. Some critics have called that provision a tax on businesses. The bill, intended to extend coverage to Massachusetts' estimated 550,000 uninsured, is being touted as a national model, thrusting the state to the forefront of the national debate about how to provide near-universal health care coverage without creating a single government-controlled system. It's also a...

Rob Reiner claims that opponents of Proposition 82, his ballot initiative for universal government-run preschool in California, are making him the issue because they are incapable of arguing against the measure on its merits. In recent days, Reiner has become the issue, but for reasons related to his first political production. The child of show-biz magnate Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner made his television debut as a motorcycle hood in a "Partridge Family" episode in 1970. The following year, Norman Lear cast him as the verbose liberal Michael Stivik in "All in the Family." His fame secured, Reiner went on to...

Voters will decide in June whether they want to tax California's richest residents to send the state's 4-year-olds to preschool. Secretary of State Bruce McPherson has certified the "Preschool for All'' initiative, declaring that its backers, led by actor-director Rob Reiner, had collected more than the 598,105 valid signatures needed to place the measure on the June 6 ballot. The voluntary program would offer a full year of preschool to all California 4-year-olds, provided mostly by local school districts. The initiative would boost the top tax rate by 1.7 percent on individuals earning more than $400,000 annually or married couples...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - An initiative sponsored by director and Democratic activist Rob Reiner that would fund preschool for all California children has qualified for the June primary election ballot, the secretary of state's office said Friday. Reiner's Preschool for All Act would raise income taxes on the wealthy to pay for a year of preschool for all 4-year-olds. Reiner also is chairman of California's First 5 program, which provides programs for children up to age 5. The initiative would raise an estimated $2.4 billion a year by increasing income taxes by 1.7 percent for individuals who earn at least $400,000...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - An unexpected boost in state revenue has given Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger an election-year bonus: funding for the after-school initiative he championed during his initial foray into California politics. Proposition 49 will be funded for the first time since voters approved it in 2002. Schwarzenegger is expected to include the funding in the budget he presents to the Legislature next week. "It's a happy coincidence of his sponsorship of a popular measure and now a favorable budget situation," said Jack Pitney, government professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. "It's one bit of good luck after a line...

Preschool for All Committee Total (last twelve months):$2,169,584 Cash on Hand (as of June 30):$195,431 Expenditures (Note: this includes only late contributions, generally large electronically filed contributions.This is not necessarily the total amount of cash-on-hand for the committee.) << Donor >> << Amount >> << Received Date >> << Report Date >> Carl And Estelle Reiner (Beverly Hills, CA) $500,000 12/07/2005 12/16/2005 Jamel Perkins (San Francisco, CA) $5,000 11/22/2005 12/02/2005 Catholic Healthcare West (Phoenix, AZ) $25,000 11/11/2005 11/18/2005 Brian S. Snyder (New York, NY) $30,000 11/10/2005 11/18/2005 Hispanic Express, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) $20,000 11/09/2005 11/18/2005 Elon R. Musk (Los...

Kids want to know. Kids need to know. It's up to you to tell them... WHY MOMMY IS A DEMOCRAT A different kind of children's book. Why Mommy is a Democrat brings to life the core values of the Democratic party in ways that young children will easily understand and thoroughly enjoy. Using plain and non-judgmental language, along with warm and whimsical illustrations, this colorful 28-page paperback depicts the Democratic principles of fairness, tolerance, peace, and concern for the well-being of others. It's a great way for parents to gently communicate their commitment to these principles and explain their support...

French Kiss Values Good-Bye By Denis Boyles Of all the cool French things Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry might have found to bring home from his trip to France last year, unfortunately what he found most appealing is the way the government of the Fifth Republic sees to the "education" of French toddlers. In France, where the public schools are used to inculcate a certain way of seeing the benefits of the parasitic relationship between those who govern and those who are governed, children are sent off to schoolrooms before the sun has risen on their sentiency -- generally at the...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - High-quality, universal preschool for all 4-year-olds in California would generate $2.62 in benefits for every public dollar spent, according to a new economic analysis released Tuesday by the Rand Corp. The cost-benefits study by the Santa Monica-based think tank estimated average annual costs of $1.7 billion for universal preschool would be offset in the long-term by a reduction in the high school graduation dropout rate, less juvenile crime and a more productive work force. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which advocates voluntary preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds in California by 2013, funded the study....

Overcoming an array of political and bureaucratic hurdles, actor-director Rob Reiner will announce today the launch of a tobacco tax-funded preschool program for tens of thousands of 4-year-olds throughout Los Angeles County and the rest of California. "This is a great day for the children of Los Angeles," said Reiner, chairman of First 5 California. "By launching this effort to provide access to higher-quality preschools for thousands of children, (Los Angeles Universal Preschool) is helping to solve the preschool crisis that exists in this county and state." Reiner and Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina are expected to join preschoolers...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill suggested new ways Thursday to solve the state's budget problems, including suspending the after-school initiative championed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger before the actor turned politician. Though the program hasn't begun, Hill said it could soon add $424 million to the state's bills while California remains in a budget crisis. Schwarzenegger, who headed the Inner-City Foundation to provide after-school programs for children, successfully qualified and passed Proposition 49 on the 2002 ballot. Days after Hill suggested revenues are up $2.2 billion due to an improving economy, she labeled the governor's measure - which gives...