Featured Stories

Deadline for Strategic Alliance Journalism Award Nominations has been extended to December 15, 2006!

Due to strong interest, we are extending the deadline to send in nominations for the Strategic Alliance Journalism award to December 15, 2006. Given the media’s critical influence on the debate around healthy eating and physical activity, the award acknowledges an individual reporter or newspaper who strives to include an environmental and policy perspective in their coverage of nutrition and physical activity. We encourage all Strategic Alliance members to take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen their relationships with local media by nominating a local reporter. Please click here to read more about the criteria for nominating a reporter or newspaper and for a nominations form.

Save the Date, January 25, 2007: Strategic Alliance Member Meeting

The Strategic Alliance Member meeting will be held on Thursday, January 25, 2007 (6:00 -7:30 p.m.) during the 2007 CA Childhood Obesity Conference in Anaheim. Join fellow Strategic Alliance members from around the state to share optimal strategies for creating healthier nutrition and physical activity environments, with particular emphasis on advocacy for local and statewide policies.

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Legislative updates

Park Bonds Measure Passed: Proposition 84 and 1C a success

The November 2006 election saw the passage of two propositions that together will provide $800 million dollars for state and local parks and open space: Proposition 84, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 and Proposition 1C, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2005. Proposition 84 also features funding for a number of programs that can yield park and recreation benefits such as the River Parkway Program, nature centers, urban streams and urban greening projects (joint-use).

The initiatives do not yet include a clear description of how funds will be distributed. Last year, the California Park & Recreation Society (CPRS) sponsored SB 153 (Chesbro), which would have dictated how the funds from propositions 1C and 84 should be allocated. Though SB 153 was ultimately derailed before the end of the legislative session, the bill provides the new legislature with a template to begin discussions around allocation formulas. Whether there will be Per Capita funds, funding distributed exclusively through existing or new competitive programs remains to be seen. Please stay tuned for future updates on how to access the resulting funds for your communities!

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Resources

Apply for Emergency Repair Program Funds to Improve School Nutrition and Activity Environments

In 2000, nearly 100 San Francisco Unified County Students filed a class action lawsuit against the State of California and the California Department of Education asserting that the State had failed to provide public school students with equal access to instructional materials, safe school facilities and qualified teachers.

When the Williams vs. the State of California case settled in 2004, one outcome was new state legislation allocating  $800 million to emergency facilities repairs over several years through a new School Facilities Emergency Repairs Account grant program.  The Emergency Repair Program (ERP) provides funding to low-performing schools for repairing building or structural conditions posing a health and safety risk to students and staff. Funding is available for schools identified by the California Department of Education (CDE) as ranked in deciles one, two, or three based on the 2003 Academic Performance Index (API).  API measures the performance of schools on a variety of academic measures.  To see if your schools are ranked in Deciles 1-3, click here.  Schools eligible for EPI funding must also be  newly constructed prior to January 1, 2000.

ERP funding can be utilized to address some of the issues that limit students’ ability to eat healthy and get active during the school day. For instance, funding can be used for the repair of playground equipment, walkways, gymnasiums, kitchens, and water fountains.  For more information on the Williams Settlement and the ERP please visit: Decent Schools for California or  The State of California's Emergency Repair Program Website.

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Announcements

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation RFP

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation is pleased to announce the release of a request for proposals addressing prevention of Type 2 diabetes in children through improving children’s access to healthy food and physical activity.  Proposals addressing the following topic areas will be accepted:

• Changing children’s environments to support prevention through healthy eating and physical activity (for projects within the greater Los Angeles area).
• Addressing prevention of type 2 diabetes in children through risk factor reduction strategies  (for projects within the greater Los Angeles area).
• Creating learning communities through national conferences and strategic meetings of stakeholders in diabetes primary prevention (Funding limited to conferences located in the United States).

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation will entertain proposals for 12 month projects with budgets in the range of $25,000 - $150,000.  A Letter of Intent is due by December 1, 2006.  For more information please visit www.thegilbertfoundation.org/dmrfp.zip or email rdiamond@thegilbertfoundation.org to obtain the application materials.  For questions regarding the request for proposals, please contact Samuels & Associates (info@samuelsandassociates.com, 510-271-6799), consultants to The Foundation.

Workshop on School Nutrition Standards and Local School Wellness Policies

Samuels & Associates and California Project LEAN are co-facilitating a pre-conference workshop, School Nutrition Standards and Local School Wellness Policies: Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation for Success on January 23, 2007, 12:00 – 4:30 pm (lunch included) at the California Childhood Obesity Conference (January 23-26, 2007) in Anaheim.  The workshop will feature a step-by-step guide to implementing your local wellness policy and evaluation tools for monitoring changes in the school nutrition environment.  The workshop is designed for school food service personnel, community advocates, health care professionals, school health or wellness policy committee members, and all others involved in implementing school wellness policies and nutrition standards. This workshop will feature tools you can begin using right away to put your policy into action! The workshop fee is $25 but scholarships are available for all who request one. Register here! If you have any questions, please contact Janet Arelis Quezada at Samuels & Associates at 510-271-6799 or admin@samuelsandassociates.com. Space is limited, so please register early.

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Upcoming Events

Farm Bill Forum in San Diego, CA

December 1, 2006

Policy in Action:  Implementation and Evaluation of Your Local School Wellness Policy in Sacramento, CA

December 6, 2006 and various dates and locations

Growing a Healthy Food System: From Farms to Food Stamps to Food Banks in Oakland, CA

December 7, 2006

Building Health Communities Through Food in Sacramento, CA

December 9, 2006

California Childhood Obesity Conference in Anaheim, CA

January 23-26, 2007

6th Annual Smart Growth Conference in Los Angeles, CA

February 8-10 , 2007

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Thanks for reading!  The Strategic Alliance is currently engaged in building a broad and diverse statewide membership.  If you were forwarded this e-mail and want to receive your own copy in the future, please click here or e-mail Sana@preventioninstitute.org.  And if you’re already a member, please forward this message to your colleagues so we can continue to strengthen our coalition.  Thank you!

WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE?

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity away from a focus on individual choice and lifestyle towards one of environment and corporate and government responsibility. Current Steering Committee members are: California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit), California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA), California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA), California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Park and Recreation Society (CPRS) , California Project LEAN, California WIC Association (CWA), Child Care Food Program Roundtable, Latino Health Access, Partnership for the Public’s Health, Prevention Institute, Samuels & Associates, and YMCA of the East Bay.

The Strategic Alliance is supported by funding from The California Endowment.

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity--from a focus on individual choice and lifestyle, towards one of environment and corporate and government responsibility.

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