February 1: Water Management and California's Aquatic Future

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As discussions of recent winter downpours mature into discussions of California's multi-year drought, the future of the Golden State's water management and infrastructure becomes a key part of the economic and environmental debate. The Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act is an $11 billion bond proposal coming California voters in November of 2010 that would fund improvements and enhancements to water infrastructure. In a cash strapped state government and with tax coffers depleted, how will one of our most basic needs be addressed and financed?

With the public debate often focused on overly simplistic battles like North vs. South, Urban vs. Rural, and Conservation vs. Utility of water, a new vision for California's shared water future seems to be the choice being given to voters.

In San Francisco, there is a special relationship to the Statewide debate since the City's water supply is managed from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in the Sierra Nevada mountains, as is the transmission and storage. Even with this unique position in water supply, the San Francisco Bay is at the crux of two water challenges in sea level rise, in addition to changes that effect the Sacramento delta.

But who will the winners and losers be of this new system? How do divergent water users such as farms, fisheries, cities, and conservationists agree on the right path? How much should we as tax payers and as water consumers be paying for water? With the threat of earthquakes and deficient flood control systems, wouldn't creating and funding a plan now, before a disaster, be the wisest choice? With a number of conflicting interests in water usage and water ownership, the policy-making foundation for how California shares and stores water resources is being rethought with an eye toward building a new consensus for our water policy.

• Ellen Hanak, Senior Fellow, Public Policy Institute of California
• Doug Obegi, Staff Attorney, Natural Resource Defense Council
• Michael Carlan, Deputy General Manager, San Francisco Water Commission

January 4: California at the Crossroads: A look back at 2009 and a look ahead to 2010

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2009 was a dark year in California politics as financial crisis and
political gridlock seemed to have put 36 million people in a daze over
the leadership and future of the Golden State.
But will the governor's race, challenges to the workings of the state
constitution, and progress on numerous environmental issues offer some
new light in 2010? Does the start of economic recovery make 2009's
issues a distant memory or will crisis be an opportunity for a
meaningful re-think of the california dream?

• Marisa Lagos, Journalist, San Francisco Chronicle
• Patrick Murphy, Professor of Political Science, University of San Francisco

November 9: Digital Books and words of the future

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Next on cityvisions, we will look into the evolution of books from turning pages to looking at computer screens. Technology initiatives have sought to increase the access to and the searchability of the printed word. Books can now be viewed on a number of devices and in a number of ways, and delivered with growing ease coupled with streamlined payment processes. Like so many information evolutions, this ease of access will also expand the reach of literacy and knowledge around the world, lessening the digital divide in the process as more people have access to written information in all its forms.

But what impact does digitization have for content creators and publishers? How will the privacy of reading and gaining knowledge be secured in an age of interconnectideness? Will book digitization expand the challenges between literacy and access for groups like the blind and computerless? What benefits will there be to having searchable access to the world's aggregated knowledge?

• Chris Hoofnagle, Director - Information Privacy Programs, UC Berkeley Law,Technology and Public Policy
• Brice Gosnell, Regional Publisher, Lonely Planet Publishing
• Mike Masnick, Founder, TechDirt

October 12: Taxing the Sweet: Will a Soda fee in San Francisco make us healthier

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Next on City Visions, we'll discuss an initiative by the Mayor's office to add a fee to the sale of soda in The City. The surcharge will go toward the funding of the physical activity agency, ShapeUP SF, but will it succeed in using higher consumer prices on soda to help people make different choices. Is this tax fair to everybody and what is some of the recent dietary research supporting this approach? Do the economic choices people make in regards to their health respond to modest tax increases? What successes and concerns have other cities had in using taxation to change behavior?

• Dr. Harold Goldstein, Exectutive Director, California Center for Public Health Advocacy
• J. John Wilson, Communication Director, Center for Consumer Freedom

September 14: Peddle Power and the future of San Francisco Streets

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Next week on Cityvisions, we will be looking into San Francisco's evolving bike and pedestrian plan, and how this ties into a long term vision for San Francisco's streets. Despite the June 2009 bike plan approval by The City's Transit agency, the plan is still facing a court injunction after concerns about the environmental review process. The City's Better streets plan was supposed to benefit pedestrians, but hasn't been enacted due to money issues.What does the plan have in store to improve and expand San Francisco's bike network, as well as make the streets safer for bicyclists? How will this be balanced with pedestrian safety and improvements to the city's walkability?

• Gabriel Metcalf, Executive Director, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research
• Leah Shahum, Executive Director, SF Bike Coalition
• Manish Champsee, President, WalkSF

August 10: The Evolution of Drug Policy

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Next on Cityvisions, we will look at the evolving debate on the legalization and taxation of marijuana. Alameda county voters recently approved "Measure Z" to effectively decriminalize it in Alameda county, but leave it in conflict with state and federal law. Will incremental moves towards legalization make the future of drug policy less effective? In the context of other treatment and law enforcement initiatives Prop 36 Drug Courts, can legalization and public safety be balanced?

Join Joseph Pace and guests for the discussion

• Paul Armentano, Deputy Director, NORML Foundation
• Stephen Kaplan, Director, County of San Mateo, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services

July 13: Labor, Unions and Business in the Bay Area

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Next on City Visions, we will look into the evolving role of labor relationships in the Bay Area and beyond. With an evolving social and economic landscape, we'll talk about how labor organizations and businesses work together to come to agreements. What effects of the strikes and labor insurrections of the 1930s are resurfacing in industries and work places around the Bay Area? How will national priorities like climate change and global trade effect local jobs, unions, and businesses? What are some of the legacies of San Francisco's labor movement and its history of unionization?

Join the discussion with host Joseph Pace and guests.

• Dick Meister, Author and Journalist, http://www.dickmeister.com
• Paul Roose, Manager of Mediation Services, California Department of Industrial Relations
• Katie Quan, Associate Chair, UC Berkeley Labor Center