Region Matters

 

November 10, 2014  Vol. 4 - Issue 47     

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Greetings CRC Community,

CRC Director Jonathan London
This week we dedicate Region Matters in honor of Teresa De Anda who passed away earlier this month. Teresa was a tireless advocate for environmental justice related to pesticides, drinking water, air pollution and other issues affecting the health and well-being of under-served communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Teresa was also a crucial partner on the CRC's collaborative environmental justice research projects in the San Joaquin Valley.  She will be deeply missed.

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CRC Project Links 
California Civic Engagement ProjectChronic AbsenteeismEnvironmental Justice Initiative
Healthy Youth/Healthy EnvironmentMaking Youth Data MatterPutting Youth on the Map
Regional Opportunity Index
CRC Spotlight 

CRC at ESRI Health GIS Conference

CRC Director Jonathan London presented the CRC's Regional Opportunity Index on November 4 at the annual ESRI GIS and Health Conference in Colorado.  The event, emphasized how geography improves every aspect of health and human services, from epidemiology and social services to program administration and facility operations. While at the conference, Jonathan had the pleasure of reconnecting with Dr. Este Geraghty, a long-time collaborator with the CRC and now ESRI's Chief Medical Officer and Health Solutions Director.

 

San Joaquin Valley Affordable Health Summit Presentation

Chris Benner, Professor in Human Ecology and CRC core faculty, will be presenting at the Third Annual San Joaquin Valley Affordable Housing Summit "Impacting Communities with Collaborative Community Development" on November 13.  The event is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and registration is required.

 

CCEP in the News

The CRC's California Civic Engagement Project lead by Mindy Romero continues to be a media staple during this mid-term election season as she provides commentary on the mid-term election. Two recent highlights are the CCEP's citing in Al Jazeera News and a radio interview on Los Angeles' NPR-affiliate, KPCC.
 

For the latest on the CCEP's research, follow Mindy Romero on Twitter @MindySRomero.    

CRC Affiliate/Partner Highlight

CRC Faculty Affiliates Receive Grants for Humanities Research

Three UC Davis faculty members were awarded the UC President's Public Partnerships in the Humanities grants from the University of California Humanities Research Institute. Claire Napawan and Sheryl-Ann Simpson, assistant professors in Human Ecology and CRC faculty affiliates, received support for their project "Our Changing Climate: Resilience Networks at the Community Scale." Robyn Rodriguez, associate professor in Asian American Studies, will use the funding towards her project, "WELGA! Filipino-American Perspectives on the Grape Strike of 1965."

 

Recent Reports, Research and Resources
CalEPA Releases Community List for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Investment Program

Disadvantaged communities in California will receive focused investment of proceeds from the state's cap-and-trade program. These investments are aimed at improving public health, quality of life and economic opportunity in California's most burdened communities while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) recently released its list of disadvantaged communities. To inform its decision, CalEPA relied on the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool, a tool that assesses all census tracts in California to identify the areas disproportionately burdened by and vulnerable to multiple sources of pollution.

 

Cap and Trade Benefits for Disadvantaged Sacramento Regions

Several census tracts in the Sacramento region, including parts of downtown Sacramento, West Sacramento, Oak Park, North Highlands and south Sacramento, are eligible for more than $200 million in cap-and-trade dollars to address their economic disadvantages. This means those areas could receive new affordable housing projects, transit upgrades and other improvements to help in both a socioeconomic and environmental context.

 

Much of San Joaquin County Will Be Eligible for Cap and Trade Benefits

California recently concluded that more than 287,000 residents of San Joaquin County face disproportionately high environmental health risks. This finding will allow local communities to compete for hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds from California's new cap-and-trade climate change program, money that could then be reinvested in the most vulnerable neighborhoods.
 
 


Water Quality and Environmental Justice in the Central Valley

Dr. Carolina Balazs, a Switzer Foundation Fellow who is also a post-doctoral scholar working with CRC Director Jonathan London will provide an overview of some of the key health and environmental justice issues regarding water in an upcoming webinar.  Carolina will explore a range of possible solutions being implemented to address these problems, focusing on recent integrated regional water management efforts.

Date: November 12
Time: 9:30am
Place: Online - Register Here

 

Global Health Action on a Crowded Earth: Bay Area Perspectives on Population Growth, Environment and Public Health (Seminar Series)

By 2015, it is projected that we will be sharing the planet with 7.3 billion people. While the human population swells - especially in parts of the world where there is more poverty, disease, famine, and political instability - we must continue finding innovative ways to achieve global health goals. For more information and registration, click here.

Date: November 12

Time: 3pm-4:30pm

Place: Sutardja Dai Hall - Banatao Auditorium, UC Berkley Campus

 

Free Movie Screening: Becoming California

Please join the UCD John Muir Institute of the Environment and the California Environmental Legacy Project for a free screening of Becoming California, a powerful tale of interconnection and environmental change on America's western edge.

Date: November 12

Time: 4:30-7:30pm

Place: Student Community Center Multi-Purpose Room, UCD Campus
 

Dr. Carolyn Finney's "Black Faces, White Spaces"

The Environmental Justice Project of the UCD John Muir Institute of the Environment will host Dr. Carolyn Finney, assistant professor in Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley in a book launch of Black Faces, White Spaces.  In her book Finney looks beyond the discourse of the environmental justice movement to examine how the natural environment has been understood, commoditized and represented by both white and black Americans. This event is co-sponsored by the CRC.

Date: November 18
Time: 4pm-6pm
Place: 3201 Hart Hall (Risling Room), UCD Campus

Copies of her book will be sold at the bookstore on campus during this event.

 

UC Davis GIS Open House and Symposium

The CRC 's Sara Watterson will present its recent interactive mapping sites, the Regional Opportunity Index and Putting Youth on the Map at the UC Davis Geographic Information Systems (GIS) open house and symposium. This day-long event willshowcase UC Davis' vast experience with GIS research and applications used for public service.

Date: November 19

Time: 8:30am-6pm
Place: UC Davis Conference Center, UCD Campus

 

Critical Issues in Food Agriculture: 2014

Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, will be giving a policy briefing on Critical Issues in Food Agriculture: 2014Ross created the nationally-recognized Sustainable Winegrowing Program, assisting wine grape growers in maintaining the long-term viability of agricultural lands and encourages them to provide leadership in protecting the environment, conserving natural re-sources, and enhancing their local communities.

Date: November 19

Time: 4pm-5pm
Place: UC Center Sacramento, 1130 K Street (Room LL3), Sacramento, CA
 
 

Job/Internship Opportunities 

Assistant Director for Diversity and Expansion, UC ANR

The University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, a statewide program with local development and delivery, is seeking an Assistant Director for Diversity and Expansion/4-H Youth Development Advisor for the 4-H Youth Development Program headquartered in Davis.  Deadline: December 5 
 

Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology, Auburn University

The College of Agriculture's Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at Auburn University is seeking candidates for the position of Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology with focus on natural resources, food and agricultural systems, or community and rural development.  Deadline: December 1


About The UC Davis Center for Regional Change

Launched in 2007, the CRC is a catalyst for innovative, collaborative, and action-oriented research. It brings together faculty and students from different disciplines, and builds bridges between university, policy, advocacy, business, philanthropy and other sectors.  The CRC's goal is to support the building of healthy, equitable, prosperous, and sustainable regions in California and beyond.  

 

Learn more! Visit the CRC website. To contact us directly, email [email protected] or  call us at (530) 752-3007.