Letters

All correspondence should be sent to editor@monitor.net. We reserve the right to edit letters as needed.

Update on the Drug Education Wars

	I read with great interest your article "State Drug Education Gets "F" Study Says." I find your reporting of our position to be accurate and truthful. Since that publication though, I have become aware of two significant developments regarding this study. First, we have recently been notified that our second scientific peer reviewed article from the DATE study entitled "The other side of the story: Student narratives on the California DATE Program," has been accepted for publication in the journal, Evaluation Practice. This demonstrates yet another example of support from the research community of this report in both its content and recommendations, and leads to our second development. In my discussions with other researchers, I have become increasingly aware of publicly funded drug education studies in which the scientifically sound and major study findings are not presented to the public by the public institution who funded the research. In the past two years, the DATE study is third case of which I am now aware. The only link I could find among these three studies is that the findings are similar, and the public rationales for not presenting them (methodologically unsound and/or outdated) are the same. The acceptance of this research in scientific circles as contrasted with of the absence of publicly presented drug education findings like these, should be of concern to educators and taxpayers alike. And, as always, the children suffer from our myopic views of them. Thank you for presenting this issue.

	Joel H. Brown, Ph.D., M.S.W.

Endangered Species

	Current campaign: to save CESA ( California Endangered Species Act). A prize for recipients of this who knew that CESA is actually used, and yes, indeed it enabled (read: forced) the state Fish and Game Commission to list coho salamon as endangered in Scott and Waddell Creeks south of S. F. This in turn helped get the feds to consider listing coho southwards as endangered rather than threatened status -- assuming the feds can list anything in any status when the Gingrich'es get finished. The data to list north of SF is in existence to a significant degree, "all" that is needed is some group to take on the project to assemble the stuff from various sources and draw up the petition, using Santa Cruz as the model. Dave Hope of Santa Cruz Planning Dept. was largely responsible for their successful effort. In the state legislature, CESA is under fierce attack; one bill even says no one can petition for listing unless he/she/it would be ADVERSELY affected by listing. (!!!) Much big-time maneuvering is going on behind the scenes; to compromise or not, or more realistically, what kind of line can we hold? Giving in near-totally before the public battle even begins usually means we lose MORE than if we fought; remember the forestry Accord battles. Those concerned: please write the Sierra Club in Sacramento, expressing concern, and assuming you want CESA preserved as near intact as possible, indicate that position. Ask to be on a list to be alerted when a crucial bill is at a crucial stage. They will write or e-mail you with WHAT bill is the hot spot, WHICH legislator to bombard with mail, etc. Early January will be the start of the public battles. Sierra Club 923 12th St., Sacramento 95814 fax 916- 557-9669. I have not yet got a response from our own Senator Thompson as to his position. Calls to his Santa Rosa office would be useful. 576-2771, fax 576-2773. If you feel like wasting time, call Hauser's office, too. As usual, if you have an aunt or a friend in the district of bill authors, that helps muchly.

	Helen Libeu

Net Work

	Enjoyed finding your www site. Do you have someone regularly assigned to healthcare stories? Thank you. Keep up the great net work.

	Don Mariacher

	We try to include at least one health-related story in each issue, and are currently working on two large features and several news items. But our best leads come from our readers. Is there something that we should explore? Let us know! -- Editor

New Year's Cards

	Hello, my name is Brother Peacemaker and I work with the Center for Community Peacemakers in Oakland, California. We are asking kids from ages 5 to 18 to send me a postcard listing 10 simple New Year's Resolutions on how you will stop or avoid violence in your life, at home and school in 1996. Please send your resolutions to Brother Peacemaker, c/o 2908 Madeline Street, Box 11996, Oakland, CA 94602 by 1/15/96. Please do not give me your last name or address and your responses will be kept confidential. When we reach 1,000 postcards, we will give then to a California Peace group for burning. We also ask you to keep a copy with you so that you can read them every once in a while and to see how you are keeping your 10 resolutions. We know that it does take a commitment and you can do it!

	Peace Be Yours. BrPeacemkr. (BrPeacemkr@aol.com)

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