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| Supervisor Yee Initiates
Action Aimed at
Increasing Children's Mental Health Services by Leland Y. Yee, Ph.D.
As I progress through the heart of my second year in office, I am continuing to address the main issue on my legislative agenda, healthy children. Recently, I introduced two resolutions at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors which will significantly help children receive mental health services. Last month, I convened a public hearing of the Board of Supervisors on the status of San Francisco's children's mental health system. My goal for this shearing was fairly simple: to identify how many of our children and youth are not getting the services they need, and identify ways of better utilizing the finite amount of resources that are available. The hearing highlighted areas where the City is making significant progress, as well as, those areas where we need to do more. The evidence presented at the hearing showed that the various agencies responsible for the mental health of our children have improved their coordination of services, but there is still a way to go. I feel strongly that interagency cooperation is key to improving the delivery of children's mental health services. The evidence presented at the hearing also made it abundantly clear that we lack the over all resources to provide the level of prevention and early intervention activities the children and youth of San Francisco need. The Department of Mental Health presented alternative fiscal strategies which would help to secure currently unrealized sources of funding for prevention and early intervention services. Based upon what was learned at my hearing, I have decided to introduce two resolutions to the Board of Supervisors which, if adopted, would fund an increase in the amount of mental health services we provide to children. REVENUE MAXIMIZATION
CHILDREN'S SPECIAL USE FUND: RE-INVESTMENT
OF SAVINGS
If we believe children are our future, then we must ensure their physical and mental well being. Children's issues have, and will continue to be, a priority during my tenure on the Board of Supervisors. These two resolutions are the latest in my efforts to help the children. I believe my common sense approach to children's services will aid substantially in addressing the current unmet metal health needs of our children, without using additional resources. Plastics Recycling: What's the Real Story? by David Assmann , Senior Administrator, S.F. Recycling Program "My plastic container has a recycling arrow on the bottom, so why won't the recycling collectors accept it?" This is one of the questions the San Francisco Recycling Program gets asked frequently. To answer this question, we need to look at how plastics are made and how they are recycled. Plastic products are made from plastic resins, which are derived from petroleum in a chemical process. Plastic products have many uses in today’s society, including some considered indispensable. However, there is a down side to plastic. One-third of all plastic is used for items with a lifespan of less than one year. We now use more than 1 billion barrels of oil a year just to make plastics. The largest single use for plastic is for packaging, with a significant percentage being used for "convenience" packaging. In fact, we now spend more for packaging our food than farmers receive in net income. Although considered by many to be a safe, non-toxic product, hundreds of thousands of sea birds and mammals are killed by improperly disposed of plastic every year. In addition, five of the top six chemicals whose production generates the most hazardous waste are commonly used by the plastics industry. Today there are about 200 different types of plastics, but most consumer products made from plastic fall have been consolidated into one of 6 different categories. The first six categories, #1 - Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), #2 - High Density (HDPE), #3 - Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), #4 - Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), #5 - Polypropylene (PP) and #6 - Polystyrene (PS), are all manufactured using different processes and cannot easily be mixed together and recycled. So, for example, if one #3 shampoo bottle is included with a load of #1 soda bottles, it could contaminate the whole load and make it unrecyclable. The Society for the Plastics Industry came up with a labeling system for plastics a number of years ago. This system, which uses numbers from 1 to 7 (7 is for plastics not falling into the first 6 categories) surrounded by recycling arrows, was designed to identify the different types of plastic resins so that they could be more easily recycled when recycling systems came into place. However, even though most plastics are technically recyclable, the recycling infrastructure for plastics is in its infancy. Less than 5 percent of the 40 billion pounds of plastic produced every year are actually recycled. And although plastics made up a minute percentage of the waste stream in 1960, plastics are now the fastest growing sector of the waste stream. Plastics now take up more than 25 percent of the volume of material sent to landfills every year, and this will escalate to one-third of all discards within fifteen years, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates. As a result of this low recycling rate, and lack of recycling facilities for plastic, environmentalists and recyclers have been pressuring the plastics industry to change their recycling symbols, arguing that the symbols mislead the public into believing that plastics are easily recyclable. The plastics industry, while financing extensive advertising campaigns promoting recycling, has lobbied successfully to undermine recycled content requirements for plastic packaging. At the same time, plastic recycling rates are dropping. For example, the national recycling rate for PET soda bottles dropped from 45 percent in 1994 to 34 percent in 1996. In California, the recycling rate for plastic soda bottles dropped from 70 percent in 1995 to 59 percent in 1996. How does that relate to what’s recyclable in San Francisco? Well, fortunately, there are options for recycling some types of plastics. The best markets for plastic resins are for #1 and #2 bottles. That's why we can accept #1 & #2 bottles citywide (the volume of plastics collected in the past year has increased by 50 percent !). However, since there’s not a well established market for the other plastic resins (four of the six resins have a recycling rate of less than 1 percent), we currently can't accept any other kinds of plastic. If market conditions improve, the curbside and apartment recycling programs will be able to accept other kinds of plastics. But until that happens, if you have the choice between a nonrecyclable plastic and an alternative recyclable material (like glass), choose the recyclable material. If there is no alternative to a product packaged in nonrecyclable plastic, and the manufacturer has an 800 number listed on the product, call and express your preference for a recyclable container. More Evidence That Caffeine Poses No Fertility Concerns A study published in the February 1998 issue of the American Journal of Public Health reported the differences in fertility associated with consumption of various caffeinated beverages. This study was prompted by an inconsistency in previously reported findings on this subject. The researchers from the Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Northern California, followed 20 women trying to conceive for one year or until they became pregnant. They did not find a significant association between total caffeine intake and reduced fertility. In fact, they concluded tea may actually increase fertility. According to the study, "Drinking one-half cup or more of tea daily approximately doubled the odds of conception per cycle." As with most research, this study prompted new questions that require further investigation. CHILDHOOD OBESITY: A CONTINUED
CHALLENGE
According to the latest data, 25 percent of America's children are obese or at risk of becoming obese. Not only are overweight and obese children more likely to face stigmatization from others, serious health consequences such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease can result. The reasons for increased obesity are multifactorial, but include decreased physical activity in conjunction with stable total calorie intake. More research is needed to better understand the barriers and issues surrounding obesity and the most effective prevention measures. ENCOURAGING NEWS ON THE CANCER FRONT
From 1973 to 1990, the incidence rate of new cases of all cancers increased 1.2 percent per year. Beginning in 1990 through 1995, the rates declined an average of 0.7 percent per year, with the greatest decrease occurring after 1992. "These numbers are the best proof that we're on the right track," said Richard Klausner, M.D., director, NCI. "However, it is not a time for complacency. This is a time to rededicate and redouble our efforts." According to the report, healthier lifestyles,
including changes of diet, increased physical activity and decreased smoking
rates, were key components of the decline in cancer rates. To help reduce
cancer risk, leading health authorities suggest boosting the number of
fruits, vegetables and grain-based foods consumed as well as increasing
physical activity.
The Dawn of a New Day by Lela Jones As I look to the future, I want my eyes
to behold
Following is an essay which was awarded "Best of the School" at Visitacion Valley Elementary School (VVES) in May when entered in the "Why I'm Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants" contest of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association. The Great America by Susan Chan, Age 10 , Fifth Grade,
VVES
For example, my mom and dad immigrated from China to the United States fifteen years ago. They lived in a very poor village and they started doing chores when they were very young. They didn't go to school very much because they were so poor that they had to work. They didn't get an education until they came to America. I think this is a great nation because there is freedom and great opportunities in this country. But I didn't like it when some people tried to take away the benefits of those who were not citizens because of Proposition 187. Immigrants will miss their chance at getting a good education. In America, people can express themselves in many different ways. They can help others by reaching out to them and sharing. Immigrants made America possible because if there were no immigrants, America would probably have never existed A lot of immigrants invented many creations for our country. Immigrants name a lot of different places in America after themselves and others. They shared their culture and religion. They wrote books to pass on this information. They welcomed all people into their homes to share their culture and religion. I hope things won't change for now. Following are poems entitled "Dreams" and composed by students at Visitacion Valley Elementary School. Hold fast to dreams
Hold fast to dreams
Hold fast to dreams
Hold fats to dreams
Hold fast to dreams
Five Years Ago in the Grapevine JUNE 1993 *Proposals were in the works to build a light rail line through the Bayshore Corridor and reroute the 56-Rutland bus line for two blocks eastbound on Leland Avenue. *Smiling faces were in abundance on a sunny Saturday on May 15 during the ninth annual Arts Festival and Street Fair on Raymond Avenue. *Ready For Work, a new teen job preparedness program, got off to a roaring start with many students recruited from Woodrow Wilson High School. *Residents of Visitacion Valley filled the Board of Supervisors hearing room at City Hall on May 25 for a discussion on neighborhood difficulties. *Presentations in 22 fields were part of a successful Career Day on May 5 at Wilson High School. *Youth who turned their lives around from Geneva Towers and Sunnydale in Visitacion Valley were part of a Amer-I-Can graduation program May 14 at Wilson High School. Historic Proportions Match clues to answers. 1966 1. On Feb. 14, they started using dollars
and cents.
A. Star Trek
Answers: 1-H, 2-N, 3-D, 4-F, 5-O, 6-C, 7-P, 8-R, 9-M, 10-L, 11-Q, 12-B, 13-J, 14-A, 15-I, 16-E, 17-K, 18-G. Sez Who? Match quotes to speakers. 1. "Good fences make good neighbors."
A. Anthony Quinn
Answers: 1-F, 2-G, 3-I, 4-H, 5-B, 6-E, 7-C, 8-A, 9-D. |