After more five years of criticism for millions of dollars spent on random community projects, City & County of Honolulu Managing Director Ben Lee announced yesterday the city will no longer allocate funding to the city’s 19 visioning teams.

Lee’s announcement came prior to the Honolulu City Council Budget Committee consideration of two related resolutions. The first would put a two-year moratorium on funding for vision teams and neighborhood board projects, and the second would require vision team and neighborhood board allocations be used for the maintenance of city roads, which according to a recent study, and Oahu’s drivers, are in dire need of repair.

The announcement was well received by some of the 9 members of the Honolulu City Council, including Council Member Charles Djou who commended Harris for taking a “needed step in reforming the visioning team process.”

Djou says over the past five years, vision teams have been responsible for a number of cost prohibitive projects, like the community signs in Nuuanu, which reportedly cost in excess $500,000, and have increased the city’s debt load.

Other critics point to vision team projects such as the $150,000 “Welcome to Hawaii Kai” sign at the entrance of this East Honolulu community, as wasteful. Not only was the sign costly, but at just one year old, it is already deteriorating, cracking and in need of $18,000 in repairs.

The vision team project across Kalanianaole Highway referred to as the “canoe halau,” similar to the one built under vision team instruction in Kailua, was criticized for its total cost and the fact that several of the canoes did not even fit within the structure that was designed and built.

A third project under fire in Hawaii Kai is the so-called “traffic calming – tree beautification” project in the center of Lunalilo Home Road, complete with its own irrigation system. The neighborhood board, when informed of the project, unanimously voted to oppose it, as did citizens who attended that meeting. The city administration however announced it was not subject to scrutiny or approval by the neighborhood board as the visioning team initiated the project, and the city would go ahead. The initial contracts already have been let by the city.

The 19 visioning teams, founded in 1998 by Harris, were supposedly set up to encourage citizens to get involved with local government and come up with projects to improve their communities.

Each visioning team was allocated $2 million per year, with that amount dropping to $1 million in FY 2003-2004 because the Honolulu City Council cut the funding.

But neighborhood board members who are elected, complained their authority was being undermined by vision team members who were not elected.

The mayor, in a public relations move, allocated $1 million per year to each of the 32 neighborhood boards, leading some of the board members to stop their protests. But government watchdogs and some of the more fiscally astute neighborhood board members said the $1 million allocation was just adding to the city debt load. This neighborhood board funding, which dropped to $500,000 this fiscal year, also is being cut altogether next fiscal year according to managing director Lee.

Criticism also came from those who regularly attended meetings and claimed members of Harris’ cabinet, city employees and architects, contractors and those who would benefit from the proposed projects, were making the major decisions, directing the meetings and ultimately acting in Harris’ or their best interest rather than the community’s.

In essence they said the vision teams were a mechanism for the mayor to construct many new city projects with little oversight from the Council, yet the ability to blame the vision team leaders for the often excessive expenditures.

Critics, including legislators, cited the fact that the vision teams exempted themselves from the state sunshine law, which requires specific procedures in announcing meetings, setting agendas and keeping minutes.

Sen. Vice President Donna Kim, D-Kalihi, a former council member, proposed legislation two years ago that would have required these vision team meetings to be subject to state sunshine law, but the mayor, his cabinet and corporation council argued vehemently against the legislation and lobbied heavily for its defeat.

Another common criticism: Vision teams gave the city government the excuse to condemn private property for the “greater good” of the community. For example, the city threatened to condemn the Aiea Sugar Mill property owned by then Crazy Shirts head Rick Ralston, and with the threat, led to the new buyers’ quick exodus.

Ralston invested millions of dollars in the purchase and clean up of the property, which used to house the sugar mill in Aiea, a landmark in the community.

But when Ralston moved to parcel the property and resell it to regain some of his losses caused by delay in construction of his store and by higher clean up costs of the contamination property, the Aiea Visioning Team voted to have the city condemn the property.

The effort was headed by then city employee, now City Council Chair Gary Okino, who voted to have the city condemn the property so it could be turned into a community park.

The announcement, and the city’s posting of its own logo on the property led to the buyers, many in escrow, to ditch their purchase and cut their thousands of dollars in losses put into designs costs before their losses increased.

Ralston soon after had to declare bankruptcy and lost his once thriving company and his property.

Managing Director Lee told the media that the city administration still wants vision teams to list with priority projects annually, which will be considered for inclusion in the mayor’s budget. But these projects will not longer have a guaranteed approval.

Djou says he would prefer a moratorium on vision teams altogether, without the mayor’s proposed expansion of their scope and purpose.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 23 (UPI) — Berkeley, Calif., resident Jan
Lecklikner’s routine is ordinary by most measures. At 7:30 a.m. she
pulls the car out of her suburban driveway and shuttles to a nearby
cafe for her first cup of coffee; but then her schedule takes a
rather unconventional turn.

At 8 a.m. she lines up outside her neighborhood transit station and
invites two complete strangers into her car. Her purposes is nothing
shady — she is attempting to shave a few precious minutes off of
her morning commute to work.

“Casual carpooling,” as this practice is called, is a kind of
highly-organized and civilized form of hitchhiking that has emerged
as the San Francisco Bay Area’s answer to traffic-snarled highways
and infuriating rush-hour gridlock.

It does not work everywhere, however. Residents of cities like New
York tend to consider corralling two strangers into their vehicle
each morning as borderline deranged behavior.

Here in the Bay Area, however, where morning commute times over the
8.4-mile-long Bay Bridge can take a single driver up to two hours,
residents have warmed up to this unconventional transportation
strategy, which pairs two passengers with a lone motorist, giving
each of them speed in numbers. All three riders bypass the toll
station and forgo the steep public transit fares they might
otherwise pay, which can total several hundred dollars per month,
and enter the High Occupancy Vehicle, or HOV, lane, which requires
at least three warm bodies.

For commuters like Lecklikner, who work outside the downtown public
transit grid, casual carpooling improves their quality of life
drastically. A public defender who sees her fair share of criminal
behavior, Lecklikner said inviting strangers into her car does not
intimidate her.

“I’m a pretty outgoing person so I tend to meet interesting people
on the ride in,” she told United Press International. “I’ve never
had a problem.”

Passengers get a good deal as well. They often shuttle into the
city in a comfortable, leather-interiored luxury car — a huge
step-up from the sticky, over-crowded seats of the commuter train —
in half the time it would take on the public transit system.

Casual carpooling also has become popular in the Washington, D.C.,
area, where approximately 5,000 random individuals connect each
morning in the Northern Virginia region — more than 8,000
participate in the Bay Area.

The program’s genius is its clever mix of informality and
formality. Drivers and riders are not hindered by the schedules of
other commuters because sufficient numbers in each group allow
clusters of three to form spontaneously during peak rush hours at
designated stops.

To make the arrangement palatable to all parties involved, the
system has some unspoken rules.

For example, passengers should not strike up a conversation with
the driver unless spoken to first and the driver should not play
cloying or obnoxious music. Etiquette requires audio choices be
limited to classical music or news radio.

The passengers — or “slugs,” as they are called in Metropolitan
Washington — should try to act as passive cargo by abstaining from
touching the driver’s controls or opening and closing windows.

These simple rules are supposed to ensure a consistently pleasant
trip and the system depends largely on a basic trust casual
carpoolers will abide by them. No government or private entity
oversees its function.

Casual carpooling took shape spontaneously during times of crisis.
The Washington system was born out of the oil shortages of the
1970s. As commuters opted increasingly to take public transit
instead of their cars, drivers in the Virginia suburbs began picking
up passengers waiting at bus stops in order to qualify for the HOV
lanes to the Pentagon. Gradually, the practice gained acceptance and
the slug system expanded to include nine different pick-up locations
throughout the greater D.C. area.

High gas prices also spawned the Bay Area system, but casual
carpooling really took off after a transit strike shut down the
buses and trains from the East Bay to San Francisco. The region now
boasts one of the highest carpool rates in the country.

Some environmental groups, such as Environmental Defense, an
advocacy group in New York City, have praised the ingenious
transportation alternative because it slashes vehicle emissions by
reducing the number of cars on the road. But, increasingly, research
is showing exactly the opposite is true.

Other public interest groups, including the Sierra Club, claim
carpooling actually increases highway traffic and vehicle emissions
and that the system should be actively discouraged.

“My research shows that HOV lane construction leaves vacancies in
the other lanes which are filled by other drivers,” Akos Szoboszlay,
vice president of the Modern Transit Society, told UPI. “It’s an
excuse to circumvent the clean air act by the false claim that
carpooling and constructing HOV lanes decreases vehicle emissions
and air pollution,” he said.

Casual carpoolers tend to drive to their local pickup stops whereas
public transit patrons tend to walk. The cold starts of autos
traveling to carpool pickup locations obviate any benefits to air
quality from the practice of casual carpooling, claim opponents of
the ad hoc programs.

Moreover, they argue, the systems divert commuters from public
transit, causing those publicly funded systems to lose revenue and
increase fares. Casual carpooling likely occurs in other cities with
a large portion of suburban to urban commuters and highways that
require three passengers for access to the HOV lane, says Joy
Dahlgren, a traffic expert and assistant research engineer with the
University of California, Berkeley School of Engineering.

“What seems to happen is that when you need three people to
carpool, you see people picking up strangers at transit centers. It
reduces patronage on the transit system and reduces transit
revenues,” Dahlgren told UPI.

According to a 1999 survey by Rides.org, 74 percent of casual
carpool passengers said they used public transit before they
switched to carpooling.

Because it tends to attract commuters who would have otherwise
opted for public transit, casual carpooling actually adds about 645
cars to the HOV lanes on the Bay Area’s main artery into San
Francisco, concluded the study.

“It’s potentially a very minor contributor to congestion and air
pollution,” concedes Steve Beroldo Rides.org’s research manager.

Despite these unforeseen drawbacks, the advantages to casual
carpooling — it is faster, cleaner and cheaper than public transit
— is prompting the practice to catch on in other cities. For
example, officials from Portland, Ore., visited the D.C. slug system
last year in order to explore the possibility of forming a similar
program in the Pacific Northwest.

“It’s sort of a perverse argument to say that expanding the
transportation system and increasing commuter convenience is a
negative,” Frank Moretti, research director for TRIP, a
transportation policy think tank, told UPI.

Beroldo agreed. “It may add a few cars to the roads but the upside
is that it’s another option for commuters that they seem to like,”
he said. “You don’t have to worry about a schedule, you don’t have
to pay and, occasionally, you meet interesting people,” he added.

“It’s really a delightful way to get into work in the morning.”

Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 23 (UPI) — Berkeley, Calif., resident Jan
Lecklikner’s routine is ordinary by most measures. At 7:30 a.m. she
pulls the car out of her suburban driveway and shuttles to a nearby
cafe for her first cup of coffee; but then her schedule takes a
rather unconventional turn.

At 8 a.m. she lines up outside her neighborhood transit station and
invites two complete strangers into her car. Her purposes is nothing
shady — she is attempting to shave a few precious minutes off of
her morning commute to work.

“Casual carpooling,” as this practice is called, is a kind of
highly-organized and civilized form of hitchhiking that has emerged
as the San Francisco Bay Area’s answer to traffic-snarled highways
and infuriating rush-hour gridlock.

It does not work everywhere, however. Residents of cities like New
York tend to consider corralling two strangers into their vehicle
each morning as borderline deranged behavior.

Here in the Bay Area, however, where morning commute times over the
8.4-mile-long Bay Bridge can take a single driver up to two hours,
residents have warmed up to this unconventional transportation
strategy, which pairs two passengers with a lone motorist, giving
each of them speed in numbers. All three riders bypass the toll
station and forgo the steep public transit fares they might
otherwise pay, which can total several hundred dollars per month,
and enter the High Occupancy Vehicle, or HOV, lane, which requires
at least three warm bodies.

For commuters like Lecklikner, who work outside the downtown public
transit grid, casual carpooling improves their quality of life
drastically. A public defender who sees her fair share of criminal
behavior, Lecklikner said inviting strangers into her car does not
intimidate her.

“I’m a pretty outgoing person so I tend to meet interesting people
on the ride in,” she told United Press International. “I’ve never
had a problem.”

Passengers get a good deal as well. They often shuttle into the
city in a comfortable, leather-interiored luxury car — a huge
step-up from the sticky, over-crowded seats of the commuter train —
in half the time it would take on the public transit system.

Casual carpooling also has become popular in the Washington, D.C.,
area, where approximately 5,000 random individuals connect each
morning in the Northern Virginia region — more than 8,000
participate in the Bay Area.

The program’s genius is its clever mix of informality and
formality. Drivers and riders are not hindered by the schedules of
other commuters because sufficient numbers in each group allow
clusters of three to form spontaneously during peak rush hours at
designated stops.

To make the arrangement palatable to all parties involved, the
system has some unspoken rules.

For example, passengers should not strike up a conversation with
the driver unless spoken to first and the driver should not play
cloying or obnoxious music. Etiquette requires audio choices be
limited to classical music or news radio.

The passengers — or “slugs,” as they are called in Metropolitan
Washington — should try to act as passive cargo by abstaining from
touching the driver’s controls or opening and closing windows.

These simple rules are supposed to ensure a consistently pleasant
trip and the system depends largely on a basic trust casual
carpoolers will abide by them. No government or private entity
oversees its function.

Casual carpooling took shape spontaneously during times of crisis.
The Washington system was born out of the oil shortages of the
1970s. As commuters opted increasingly to take public transit
instead of their cars, drivers in the Virginia suburbs began picking
up passengers waiting at bus stops in order to qualify for the HOV
lanes to the Pentagon. Gradually, the practice gained acceptance and
the slug system expanded to include nine different pick-up locations
throughout the greater D.C. area.

High gas prices also spawned the Bay Area system, but casual
carpooling really took off after a transit strike shut down the
buses and trains from the East Bay to San Francisco. The region now
boasts one of the highest carpool rates in the country.

Some environmental groups, such as Environmental Defense, an
advocacy group in New York City, have praised the ingenious
transportation alternative because it slashes vehicle emissions by
reducing the number of cars on the road. But, increasingly, research
is showing exactly the opposite is true.

Other public interest groups, including the Sierra Club, claim
carpooling actually increases highway traffic and vehicle emissions
and that the system should be actively discouraged.

“My research shows that HOV lane construction leaves vacancies in
the other lanes which are filled by other drivers,” Akos Szoboszlay,
vice president of the Modern Transit Society, told UPI. “It’s an
excuse to circumvent the clean air act by the false claim that
carpooling and constructing HOV lanes decreases vehicle emissions
and air pollution,” he said.

Casual carpoolers tend to drive to their local pickup stops whereas
public transit patrons tend to walk. The cold starts of autos
traveling to carpool pickup locations obviate any benefits to air
quality from the practice of casual carpooling, claim opponents of
the ad hoc programs.

Moreover, they argue, the systems divert commuters from public
transit, causing those publicly funded systems to lose revenue and
increase fares. Casual carpooling likely occurs in other cities with
a large portion of suburban to urban commuters and highways that
require three passengers for access to the HOV lane, says Joy
Dahlgren, a traffic expert and assistant research engineer with the
University of California, Berkeley School of Engineering.

“What seems to happen is that when you need three people to
carpool, you see people picking up strangers at transit centers. It
reduces patronage on the transit system and reduces transit
revenues,” Dahlgren told UPI.

According to a 1999 survey by Rides.org, 74 percent of casual
carpool passengers said they used public transit before they
switched to carpooling.

Because it tends to attract commuters who would have otherwise
opted for public transit, casual carpooling actually adds about 645
cars to the HOV lanes on the Bay Area’s main artery into San
Francisco, concluded the study.

“It’s potentially a very minor contributor to congestion and air
pollution,” concedes Steve Beroldo Rides.org’s research manager.

Despite these unforeseen drawbacks, the advantages to casual
carpooling — it is faster, cleaner and cheaper than public transit
— is prompting the practice to catch on in other cities. For
example, officials from Portland, Ore., visited the D.C. slug system
last year in order to explore the possibility of forming a similar
program in the Pacific Northwest.

“It’s sort of a perverse argument to say that expanding the
transportation system and increasing commuter convenience is a
negative,” Frank Moretti, research director for TRIP, a
transportation policy think tank, told UPI.

Beroldo agreed. “It may add a few cars to the roads but the upside
is that it’s another option for commuters that they seem to like,”
he said. “You don’t have to worry about a schedule, you don’t have
to pay and, occasionally, you meet interesting people,” he added.

“It’s really a delightful way to get into work in the morning.”

Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

”’Editor’s Note: 40 percent of Hawaii’s state Legislature is at this conference being held in San Francisco, CA from July 21 to 25.”’

SAN FRANCISCO – (UPI) The nation’s state legislators were told Wednesday there may be light at the end of the fiscal tunnel and they’re not to blame for the budget gaps of the past three years.

“Good news may be on the horizon,” Angela Monson, president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, said at the NCSL meeting in San Francisco.

“No state is predicting a deficit at the end of the next fiscal year and the state fiscal officers we surveyed are predicting revenues will rebound in the current fiscal year.”

Monson, an Oklahoma state senator, made the comments after the release of the NCSL’s final report on fiscal 2003, which ended June 30 for most states. More than 1,600 legislators are attending the meeting of the bipartisan research group.

The survey included data from all 50 states except California and five others states that were still working on their budgets when the information was collected. The figures from California, which is facing a possible tax increase, could impact the final national figures.

In the past three years states have had to close budget gaps of nearly $200 billion. Three months ago, they still had to close $21.5 billion in shortfalls by the end of the fiscal year but 43 states have balanced their budgets, largely without broad-based tax hikes.

States increased taxes $6.9 billion, or 1.3 percent, compared to fiscal 2002 when they increased taxes 1.6 percent, or $9.1 billion, although the final figures in California and a few others states could push those numbers higher later in the year.

To balance their new budgets, 31 states have cut spending, 23 have laid off state workers, 13 have dipped into rainy day funds, 11 states delayed capital projects or shifted them to pay-as-you go projects, and six states expanded gaming.

“This follows seven consecutive years where state legislatures reduced taxes by $37.5 billion, as much as 2 percent,” she said.

Responding to critics who have said states created their own money woes by reckless spending during the 1990s, the NCSL said state spending as a percentage of the gross domestic product was almost level during the decade, about 9.6 percent to 10 percent.

William Pound, the NCSL’s executive director, said the growth in state spending was attributable to increasing population, the inflation rate, and the general growth of the nation’s wealth from 1991 to 2001. He pointed to two major factors in the rise.

“The growth in state spending can almost be all be accounted for by the growth in Medicaid and all the trend lines we look at today would indicate that will continue to be the case through this decade, unless there are significant changes in that program,” he said.

The second major factor was increased spending for education, not only at the K-12 level in local schools, but higher education across the country, Pound said.

“That was in direct response to a demand of the citizenry to a general concern we’ve had in this society about the adequacy of our educational system, the need for higher standards, not only for teachers but for performance in the classroom,” he said.

Monson, who has served in the Oklahoma Legislature for 13 years, said that state legislatures acted “prudently” during the 1990s to take advantage of better economic times, save money, and try to provide for needs in education and healthcare.

“I think state legislators and governors made some difficult decisions during the ’90s when things were better,” she said. “There was a record number of dollars in rainy day funds, we put money aside for when times would get bad. We gave resources back to our citizens in some tax restructuring and we did spend more where money was needed, particularly in education and healthcare.”

The fiscal 2003 figures reported Wednesday by the NCSL did not include Alabama, California, Connecticut, Nevada, Oregon and Pennsylvania, which had not passed their budgets at the time the data was being compiled.

For nearly every other state, it was the second consecutive year of money woes and they had to make their already enacted 2003 budgets balance by June 30. They resorted to spending cuts, tax increases and even dipping into rainy day funds and retirement funds.

As states tapped reserves to help close 2003 gaps, aggregate year-end balances dropped 48 percent or $22.4 billion from fiscal 2002 to $11.6 billion. Revenues in 2003 were only 0.7 percent above 2002 levels reported from all the 43 states.

In adopting fiscal 2004 budgets, legislatures again faced major challenges although about $20 billion in federal aid was approved for states. However, the federal funds came after most of the lawmakers had already adopted budgets for the new fiscal year and gone home.

States raised taxes and fees in 2003 for the second consecutive year, which should boost revenues for the 2004 fiscal year. Forty-two states reported tax increases totaling $6.9 billion. In addition, states raised fees and other revenues another $3.7 billion.

Only one state — Hawaii — cut taxes by more than 1 percent of 2002 collections.

Seventeen states hiked taxes by more than 1 percent. Delaware, New York, Ohio and Idaho raised their taxes by more than 5 percent, according to the report.

Although all tax categories showed net increases in 2003, sales and use tax increases of $2.8 billion accounted for most of the total increase. Personal income tax increases totaled $1.8 billion and hikes in the corporate income tax another $486 million.

Most states predicted revenue growth will rebound in fiscal 2004, although they remain cautious about spending, the report said state revenues are projected to grow 4.3 percent above last year’s collections in the 43 states.

Most of the increase in fiscal 2004 spending will be because of Medicaid, which is supported by both federal and state dollars. With 36 states reporting, Medicaid is budgeted to grow 4.6 percent, even higher than K-12 education at 1.5 percent.

Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

”’Editor’s Note: 40 percent of Hawaii’s state Legislature is at this conference being held in San Francisco, CA from July 21 to 25.”’

SAN FRANCISCO – (UPI) The nation’s state legislators were told Wednesday there may be light at the end of the fiscal tunnel and they’re not to blame for the budget gaps of the past three years.

“Good news may be on the horizon,” Angela Monson, president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, said at the NCSL meeting in San Francisco.

“No state is predicting a deficit at the end of the next fiscal year and the state fiscal officers we surveyed are predicting revenues will rebound in the current fiscal year.”

Monson, an Oklahoma state senator, made the comments after the release of the NCSL’s final report on fiscal 2003, which ended June 30 for most states. More than 1,600 legislators are attending the meeting of the bipartisan research group.

The survey included data from all 50 states except California and five others states that were still working on their budgets when the information was collected. The figures from California, which is facing a possible tax increase, could impact the final national figures.

In the past three years states have had to close budget gaps of nearly $200 billion. Three months ago, they still had to close $21.5 billion in shortfalls by the end of the fiscal year but 43 states have balanced their budgets, largely without broad-based tax hikes.

States increased taxes $6.9 billion, or 1.3 percent, compared to fiscal 2002 when they increased taxes 1.6 percent, or $9.1 billion, although the final figures in California and a few others states could push those numbers higher later in the year.

To balance their new budgets, 31 states have cut spending, 23 have laid off state workers, 13 have dipped into rainy day funds, 11 states delayed capital projects or shifted them to pay-as-you go projects, and six states expanded gaming.

“This follows seven consecutive years where state legislatures reduced taxes by $37.5 billion, as much as 2 percent,” she said.

Responding to critics who have said states created their own money woes by reckless spending during the 1990s, the NCSL said state spending as a percentage of the gross domestic product was almost level during the decade, about 9.6 percent to 10 percent.

William Pound, the NCSL’s executive director, said the growth in state spending was attributable to increasing population, the inflation rate, and the general growth of the nation’s wealth from 1991 to 2001. He pointed to two major factors in the rise.

“The growth in state spending can almost be all be accounted for by the growth in Medicaid and all the trend lines we look at today would indicate that will continue to be the case through this decade, unless there are significant changes in that program,” he said.

The second major factor was increased spending for education, not only at the K-12 level in local schools, but higher education across the country, Pound said.

“That was in direct response to a demand of the citizenry to a general concern we’ve had in this society about the adequacy of our educational system, the need for higher standards, not only for teachers but for performance in the classroom,” he said.

Monson, who has served in the Oklahoma Legislature for 13 years, said that state legislatures acted “prudently” during the 1990s to take advantage of better economic times, save money, and try to provide for needs in education and healthcare.

“I think state legislators and governors made some difficult decisions during the ’90s when things were better,” she said. “There was a record number of dollars in rainy day funds, we put money aside for when times would get bad. We gave resources back to our citizens in some tax restructuring and we did spend more where money was needed, particularly in education and healthcare.”

The fiscal 2003 figures reported Wednesday by the NCSL did not include Alabama, California, Connecticut, Nevada, Oregon and Pennsylvania, which had not passed their budgets at the time the data was being compiled.

For nearly every other state, it was the second consecutive year of money woes and they had to make their already enacted 2003 budgets balance by June 30. They resorted to spending cuts, tax increases and even dipping into rainy day funds and retirement funds.

As states tapped reserves to help close 2003 gaps, aggregate year-end balances dropped 48 percent or $22.4 billion from fiscal 2002 to $11.6 billion. Revenues in 2003 were only 0.7 percent above 2002 levels reported from all the 43 states.

In adopting fiscal 2004 budgets, legislatures again faced major challenges although about $20 billion in federal aid was approved for states. However, the federal funds came after most of the lawmakers had already adopted budgets for the new fiscal year and gone home.

States raised taxes and fees in 2003 for the second consecutive year, which should boost revenues for the 2004 fiscal year. Forty-two states reported tax increases totaling $6.9 billion. In addition, states raised fees and other revenues another $3.7 billion.

Only one state — Hawaii — cut taxes by more than 1 percent of 2002 collections.

Seventeen states hiked taxes by more than 1 percent. Delaware, New York, Ohio and Idaho raised their taxes by more than 5 percent, according to the report.

Although all tax categories showed net increases in 2003, sales and use tax increases of $2.8 billion accounted for most of the total increase. Personal income tax increases totaled $1.8 billion and hikes in the corporate income tax another $486 million.

Most states predicted revenue growth will rebound in fiscal 2004, although they remain cautious about spending, the report said state revenues are projected to grow 4.3 percent above last year’s collections in the 43 states.

Most of the increase in fiscal 2004 spending will be because of Medicaid, which is supported by both federal and state dollars. With 36 states reporting, Medicaid is budgeted to grow 4.6 percent, even higher than K-12 education at 1.5 percent.

Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

”’Editor’s Note: 40 percent of Hawaii’s state Legislature is at this conference being held in San Francisco, CA from July 21 to 25.”’

SAN FRANCISCO – (UPI) The nation’s state legislators were told Wednesday there may be light at the end of the fiscal tunnel and they’re not to blame for the budget gaps of the past three years.

“Good news may be on the horizon,” Angela Monson, president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, said at the NCSL meeting in San Francisco.

“No state is predicting a deficit at the end of the next fiscal year and the state fiscal officers we surveyed are predicting revenues will rebound in the current fiscal year.”

Monson, an Oklahoma state senator, made the comments after the release of the NCSL’s final report on fiscal 2003, which ended June 30 for most states. More than 1,600 legislators are attending the meeting of the bipartisan research group.

The survey included data from all 50 states except California and five others states that were still working on their budgets when the information was collected. The figures from California, which is facing a possible tax increase, could impact the final national figures.

In the past three years states have had to close budget gaps of nearly $200 billion. Three months ago, they still had to close $21.5 billion in shortfalls by the end of the fiscal year but 43 states have balanced their budgets, largely without broad-based tax hikes.

States increased taxes $6.9 billion, or 1.3 percent, compared to fiscal 2002 when they increased taxes 1.6 percent, or $9.1 billion, although the final figures in California and a few others states could push those numbers higher later in the year.

To balance their new budgets, 31 states have cut spending, 23 have laid off state workers, 13 have dipped into rainy day funds, 11 states delayed capital projects or shifted them to pay-as-you go projects, and six states expanded gaming.

“This follows seven consecutive years where state legislatures reduced taxes by $37.5 billion, as much as 2 percent,” she said.

Responding to critics who have said states created their own money woes by reckless spending during the 1990s, the NCSL said state spending as a percentage of the gross domestic product was almost level during the decade, about 9.6 percent to 10 percent.

William Pound, the NCSL’s executive director, said the growth in state spending was attributable to increasing population, the inflation rate, and the general growth of the nation’s wealth from 1991 to 2001. He pointed to two major factors in the rise.

“The growth in state spending can almost be all be accounted for by the growth in Medicaid and all the trend lines we look at today would indicate that will continue to be the case through this decade, unless there are significant changes in that program,” he said.

The second major factor was increased spending for education, not only at the K-12 level in local schools, but higher education across the country, Pound said.

“That was in direct response to a demand of the citizenry to a general concern we’ve had in this society about the adequacy of our educational system, the need for higher standards, not only for teachers but for performance in the classroom,” he said.

Monson, who has served in the Oklahoma Legislature for 13 years, said that state legislatures acted “prudently” during the 1990s to take advantage of better economic times, save money, and try to provide for needs in education and healthcare.

“I think state legislators and governors made some difficult decisions during the ’90s when things were better,” she said. “There was a record number of dollars in rainy day funds, we put money aside for when times would get bad. We gave resources back to our citizens in some tax restructuring and we did spend more where money was needed, particularly in education and healthcare.”

The fiscal 2003 figures reported Wednesday by the NCSL did not include Alabama, California, Connecticut, Nevada, Oregon and Pennsylvania, which had not passed their budgets at the time the data was being compiled.

For nearly every other state, it was the second consecutive year of money woes and they had to make their already enacted 2003 budgets balance by June 30. They resorted to spending cuts, tax increases and even dipping into rainy day funds and retirement funds.

As states tapped reserves to help close 2003 gaps, aggregate year-end balances dropped 48 percent or $22.4 billion from fiscal 2002 to $11.6 billion. Revenues in 2003 were only 0.7 percent above 2002 levels reported from all the 43 states.

In adopting fiscal 2004 budgets, legislatures again faced major challenges although about $20 billion in federal aid was approved for states. However, the federal funds came after most of the lawmakers had already adopted budgets for the new fiscal year and gone home.

States raised taxes and fees in 2003 for the second consecutive year, which should boost revenues for the 2004 fiscal year. Forty-two states reported tax increases totaling $6.9 billion. In addition, states raised fees and other revenues another $3.7 billion.

Only one state — Hawaii — cut taxes by more than 1 percent of 2002 collections.

Seventeen states hiked taxes by more than 1 percent. Delaware, New York, Ohio and Idaho raised their taxes by more than 5 percent, according to the report.

Although all tax categories showed net increases in 2003, sales and use tax increases of $2.8 billion accounted for most of the total increase. Personal income tax increases totaled $1.8 billion and hikes in the corporate income tax another $486 million.

Most states predicted revenue growth will rebound in fiscal 2004, although they remain cautious about spending, the report said state revenues are projected to grow 4.3 percent above last year’s collections in the 43 states.

Most of the increase in fiscal 2004 spending will be because of Medicaid, which is supported by both federal and state dollars. With 36 states reporting, Medicaid is budgeted to grow 4.6 percent, even higher than K-12 education at 1.5 percent.

Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

”’This speech was given Wednesday, July 23, 2003 in The East Room at the White House”’

”’Honorees include: Julia Child, Dave Thomas, Van Cliburn, Jacques Barzun, Charlton Heston, Vaclav Havel, Edward Teller, James Q. Wilson, Byron White, John Wooden and Roberto Clemente”’

… The Presidential Medal of Freedom is America’s highest civil award. It is conferred upon men and women of high achievement in the arts and entertainment, public service, science, education, athletics, business and other fields. For most recipients, this award is a special distinction added to many prior honors.

Some recipients are no longer with us, but are still highly regarded and fondly remembered. All who receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom have the continued respect of their peers and the lasting admiration of the American people.

Julia Child already holds the highest distinction of the French government she was awarded the Legion of Honor for sharing with millions of Americans the appreciation and artistry of French Cooking.

Before Julia Child came along, no one imagined it could be so interesting to watch a meal being prepared. The reason, of course, is Julia, herself — her friendly way, her engaging conversation and her eagerness to teach. American cuisine and American culture have been enriched for decades by the unmistakable voice and the presence of Julia Child.

Americans are not always in the mood for exquisite meals. Sometimes all they want is a hamburger at the drive-up window. And a lot of those windows are at places named for the daughter of Dave Thomas. The late founder of Wendy’s left school without a diploma to begin working at a very young age.

His great success as a restaurateur allowed Dave to fulfill other ambitions in his life. He became a benefactor of good causes, especially the cause of adoption. Dave, himself, was orphaned at an early age, and many young men and women today can thank Dave Thomas for helping to join them with loving parents.

At the height of his career, Dave Thomas went back to school and earned a GED. His classmates voted him “most likely to succeed.” And today his country honors the hard work behind his success and the great generosity Dave Thomas showed others.

Van Cliburn was last here in 2001, as one of the Kennedy Center honorees. His life of honor started early, as the 23-year-old winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In the years since, he has even further refined the gifts of a prodigy with the discipline and consistency of a true master. He has lived up the high standards of the music teacher who first inspired him: his mother, Rildia Bee Cliburn.

Today, throughout America and across the world, musicians find inspiration in his example, and all of us associate the name Van Cliburn with grace, and the perfect touch at the piano.

Like Van, the scholar Jacques Barzun, now lives in Texas. He began his life 95 years ago in France. He became an American citizen in 1933 and joined the faculty at Columbia University, and gained a reputation as a thinker of great discernment and integrity.

From his first book, published 71 years ago, to his latest, a best-seller published in 2000, Jacques Barzun has influenced generations of serious readers. Few academics of the last century have equaled his output and his influence. And today he has the profound gratitude of his adopted country.

Charlton Heston is known for his portrayals of the most compelling dramatic figures: Moses, Judah Ben-Hur, Michelangelo, General Andrew Jackson, and Captain George Taylor. In the process, Charlton Heston, himself, has become one of the great names in film history. Over more than half a century his talent and intensity have proven big enough to fill any role.

The largeness of character that comes across the screen has also been seen throughout his life. During Charlton Heston’s service in World War II, his leadership of a labor union, his activism on behalf of civil rights, and his principled defense of the Bill of Rights.

Charlton Heston has left his mark on our country as an artist and as a citizen and as a patriot, and we’re honored he is with us today.
We’re also honored, as well, by the presence of an artist whose life brought two experiences he never could have expected, that of a prisoner and that of a president.

In the days of Communist rule over Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel ridiculed the pretensions of an oppressive government and was viewed as an enemy of the state. The most subversive act of this playwright was telling the truth about tyranny.

And when the truth finally triumphed in a “kindhearted revolution,” the people elected this dignified, charming, humble, determined man to lead their country. Unintimidated by threats, unchanged by political power, this good man has suffered much in the cause of liberty and he has become one of liberty’s great heroes.

When liberty was threatened by Nazism, a young Hungarian scientist named Edward Teller left Europe and found his way to the United States. Within a decade, the German Reich was at war with America and in search of the most terrible weapons.

Dr. Teller joined the Manhattan Project and applied his disciplined mind to the most urgent task America had ever faced: to develop the atom bomb before Hitler.

Dr. Teller contributed to the success of that mission and helped us to meet other great national security challenges during the Cold War. In recent decades he has turned his efforts to the great scientific and moral task of building a defense against ballistic missiles. For a long life of brilliant achievement and patriotic service, America is in debt to Dr. Edward Teller.

Professor James Q. Wilson may be the most influential political scientist in America since the White House was home to Professor Woodrow Wilson.

Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the best virtues of the academic profession. His theories and ideas are drawn from actual human experience, and therefore have great practical value in addressing social problems. He writes with authority on a range of subjects, from the workings of government to the causes and prevention of crime.

Whatever his subject, James Q. Wilson writes with intellectual rigor, with moral clarity, to the appreciation of a wide and growing audience. And it is my honor to congratulate Professor James Q. Wilson.

Of the 108 Americans who have served on the Supreme Court of the United States, only one is also in the College Football Hall of Fame. Justice Byron White was a rare kind of person who seemed to excel at everything he attempted. Whether playing football or earning a Bronze Star in World War II or enforcing civil rights as Deputy Attorney General, Byron White was tough and he was determined.

When he was nominated, his close friend at the Supreme Court, President John F. Kennedy, called Byron White a man of “character, experience, and intellectual force.” Over the next three decades, Justice White showed those qualities in majority opinions of great depth, and in dissenting opinions of great wisdom and courage. When he passed away last year, people across our country felt that loss of a superb judge and a great American.

John Wooden is also a Hall of Famer, one of the only two enshrined both as basketball player and basketball coach. In a legendary career, Coach Wooden led his teams to 885 victories, with only 203 losses. His players included some of the all-time greats: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Walton, and Gail Goodrich, to name a few. But all his players will tell you, the most important man on their team was not on the court.

He was the man who taught generations of basketball players the fundamentals of hard work and discipline, patience and teamwork. Coach Wooden remains a part of their lives as a teacher of the game, and as an example of what a good man should be. Nell Wooden, the coach’s wife of 53-years, would be incredibly proud of him again. Coach Wooden, it’s wonderful to see you with us today.

Another recipient this afternoon would have been 69 years old next month. Millions of Americans remember hearing the news that Roberto Clemente had been lost on a mission to help the people of Nicaragua after an earthquake. His full name was Roberto Clemente Walker, and in an era of Mays, and Mantle, and Aaron, he ranked as one of the greats.

He was a young man with a quick bat, a rifle arm, and a gentle heart. In the words of one baseball executive, “I never saw any ballplayer like him. No, sir … whenever anybody signs a big contract these days, we always wonder how many millions Clemente would be worth.” As a former team owner, it would be a lot.

Yet the true worth of this man, seen in how he lived his life, and how he lost his life, cannot be measured in money. And all these years later, his family can know that America cherishes the memory of Roberto Clemente.

Our country and our world have been improved by the lives of the men and women we honor today. And now it is my honor to present the awards, and I ask the military aide to read the citations.

”’The Presidential Medals of Freedom are presented.”’

Thank you all for coming, God bless.

”’This speech was given Wednesday, July 23, 2003 in The East Room at the White House”’

”’Honorees include: Julia Child, Dave Thomas, Van Cliburn, Jacques Barzun, Charlton Heston, Vaclav Havel, Edward Teller, James Q. Wilson, Byron White, John Wooden and Roberto Clemente”’

… The Presidential Medal of Freedom is America’s highest civil award. It is conferred upon men and women of high achievement in the arts and entertainment, public service, science, education, athletics, business and other fields. For most recipients, this award is a special distinction added to many prior honors.

Some recipients are no longer with us, but are still highly regarded and fondly remembered. All who receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom have the continued respect of their peers and the lasting admiration of the American people.

Julia Child already holds the highest distinction of the French government she was awarded the Legion of Honor for sharing with millions of Americans the appreciation and artistry of French Cooking.

Before Julia Child came along, no one imagined it could be so interesting to watch a meal being prepared. The reason, of course, is Julia, herself — her friendly way, her engaging conversation and her eagerness to teach. American cuisine and American culture have been enriched for decades by the unmistakable voice and the presence of Julia Child.

Americans are not always in the mood for exquisite meals. Sometimes all they want is a hamburger at the drive-up window. And a lot of those windows are at places named for the daughter of Dave Thomas. The late founder of Wendy’s left school without a diploma to begin working at a very young age.

His great success as a restaurateur allowed Dave to fulfill other ambitions in his life. He became a benefactor of good causes, especially the cause of adoption. Dave, himself, was orphaned at an early age, and many young men and women today can thank Dave Thomas for helping to join them with loving parents.

At the height of his career, Dave Thomas went back to school and earned a GED. His classmates voted him “most likely to succeed.” And today his country honors the hard work behind his success and the great generosity Dave Thomas showed others.

Van Cliburn was last here in 2001, as one of the Kennedy Center honorees. His life of honor started early, as the 23-year-old winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In the years since, he has even further refined the gifts of a prodigy with the discipline and consistency of a true master. He has lived up the high standards of the music teacher who first inspired him: his mother, Rildia Bee Cliburn.

Today, throughout America and across the world, musicians find inspiration in his example, and all of us associate the name Van Cliburn with grace, and the perfect touch at the piano.

Like Van, the scholar Jacques Barzun, now lives in Texas. He began his life 95 years ago in France. He became an American citizen in 1933 and joined the faculty at Columbia University, and gained a reputation as a thinker of great discernment and integrity.

From his first book, published 71 years ago, to his latest, a best-seller published in 2000, Jacques Barzun has influenced generations of serious readers. Few academics of the last century have equaled his output and his influence. And today he has the profound gratitude of his adopted country.

Charlton Heston is known for his portrayals of the most compelling dramatic figures: Moses, Judah Ben-Hur, Michelangelo, General Andrew Jackson, and Captain George Taylor. In the process, Charlton Heston, himself, has become one of the great names in film history. Over more than half a century his talent and intensity have proven big enough to fill any role.

The largeness of character that comes across the screen has also been seen throughout his life. During Charlton Heston’s service in World War II, his leadership of a labor union, his activism on behalf of civil rights, and his principled defense of the Bill of Rights.

Charlton Heston has left his mark on our country as an artist and as a citizen and as a patriot, and we’re honored he is with us today.
We’re also honored, as well, by the presence of an artist whose life brought two experiences he never could have expected, that of a prisoner and that of a president.

In the days of Communist rule over Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel ridiculed the pretensions of an oppressive government and was viewed as an enemy of the state. The most subversive act of this playwright was telling the truth about tyranny.

And when the truth finally triumphed in a “kindhearted revolution,” the people elected this dignified, charming, humble, determined man to lead their country. Unintimidated by threats, unchanged by political power, this good man has suffered much in the cause of liberty and he has become one of liberty’s great heroes.

When liberty was threatened by Nazism, a young Hungarian scientist named Edward Teller left Europe and found his way to the United States. Within a decade, the German Reich was at war with America and in search of the most terrible weapons.

Dr. Teller joined the Manhattan Project and applied his disciplined mind to the most urgent task America had ever faced: to develop the atom bomb before Hitler.

Dr. Teller contributed to the success of that mission and helped us to meet other great national security challenges during the Cold War. In recent decades he has turned his efforts to the great scientific and moral task of building a defense against ballistic missiles. For a long life of brilliant achievement and patriotic service, America is in debt to Dr. Edward Teller.

Professor James Q. Wilson may be the most influential political scientist in America since the White House was home to Professor Woodrow Wilson.

Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the best virtues of the academic profession. His theories and ideas are drawn from actual human experience, and therefore have great practical value in addressing social problems. He writes with authority on a range of subjects, from the workings of government to the causes and prevention of crime.

Whatever his subject, James Q. Wilson writes with intellectual rigor, with moral clarity, to the appreciation of a wide and growing audience. And it is my honor to congratulate Professor James Q. Wilson.

Of the 108 Americans who have served on the Supreme Court of the United States, only one is also in the College Football Hall of Fame. Justice Byron White was a rare kind of person who seemed to excel at everything he attempted. Whether playing football or earning a Bronze Star in World War II or enforcing civil rights as Deputy Attorney General, Byron White was tough and he was determined.

When he was nominated, his close friend at the Supreme Court, President John F. Kennedy, called Byron White a man of “character, experience, and intellectual force.” Over the next three decades, Justice White showed those qualities in majority opinions of great depth, and in dissenting opinions of great wisdom and courage. When he passed away last year, people across our country felt that loss of a superb judge and a great American.

John Wooden is also a Hall of Famer, one of the only two enshrined both as basketball player and basketball coach. In a legendary career, Coach Wooden led his teams to 885 victories, with only 203 losses. His players included some of the all-time greats: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Walton, and Gail Goodrich, to name a few. But all his players will tell you, the most important man on their team was not on the court.

He was the man who taught generations of basketball players the fundamentals of hard work and discipline, patience and teamwork. Coach Wooden remains a part of their lives as a teacher of the game, and as an example of what a good man should be. Nell Wooden, the coach’s wife of 53-years, would be incredibly proud of him again. Coach Wooden, it’s wonderful to see you with us today.

Another recipient this afternoon would have been 69 years old next month. Millions of Americans remember hearing the news that Roberto Clemente had been lost on a mission to help the people of Nicaragua after an earthquake. His full name was Roberto Clemente Walker, and in an era of Mays, and Mantle, and Aaron, he ranked as one of the greats.

He was a young man with a quick bat, a rifle arm, and a gentle heart. In the words of one baseball executive, “I never saw any ballplayer like him. No, sir … whenever anybody signs a big contract these days, we always wonder how many millions Clemente would be worth.” As a former team owner, it would be a lot.

Yet the true worth of this man, seen in how he lived his life, and how he lost his life, cannot be measured in money. And all these years later, his family can know that America cherishes the memory of Roberto Clemente.

Our country and our world have been improved by the lives of the men and women we honor today. And now it is my honor to present the awards, and I ask the military aide to read the citations.

”’The Presidential Medals of Freedom are presented.”’

Thank you all for coming, God bless.