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By Donald H. Harrison
 LEMON GROVE, California—With California in a budget crisis, and with every dollar spent by the state government potentially a cause of controversy, it takes good public relations—and a little moxie—for a legislator to provide additional services for constituents in his district. But State Assemblyman Marty Block (Democrat, San Diego) found a way last Thursday.
With his district office located in the San Diego suburb of Lemon Grove—in the same suite occupied by the previous incumbent Shirley Horton—the freshman legislator learned that the City of Lemon Grove had arranged for summer concerts in the park on Thursday nights. So, Block, a member of our Jewish community, decided to – you’ll pardon the expression – “piggy back” on the concert and provide free fingerprinting services for children.
Two officers of the California Highway Patrol—who were “off the clock”—volunteered along with members of Block’s staff to supervise the fingerprinting, which saw children queuing up at a booth in the park to have their fingers, thumbs and full hands covered in ink so that the impressions could be transferred to fingerprint filing cards.
In these cases, however, the cards weren’t fed into “the system;” instead, they were put into big manila envelopes and given back to the parents or guardians to have in the event that the child should ever disappear or be kidnapped. With parents able to give the prints to law enforcement should the need ever arise, the children potentially could be traced via the fingerprints.
As horrifying as it is to think about, children being kidnapped is not uncommon in the United States—witness the “Amber Alert” system in which electronic signs on freeways notify drivers to be on the lookout for a car in which a suspected kidnap victim may be transported
As if to illustrate the practicality of having such prints, one child became temporarily separated from her parents during the Thursday night concert in Berry Park featuring Sue Palmer and Her Motel Swing Orchestra. The entertainment was briefly halted for an announcement saying that the child and her parents should reunite in front of the bandstand. They did.
Whereas that misadventure was only temporary, it’s not inconceivable that a child could become separated permanently from her parents in a park covering several acres.
Block and his wife Cindy observed the “Operation Kid Print” process during the concert, distributing from his booth a brochure containing 13 “safety tips to protect your child.” While some of the tips may seem obvious, all of them bear repeating:
1) Do not let your child go to a public restroom alone.
2) Do not leave your child alone in a car.
3) Do not leave your child in the toy section of a store or wandering in a mall.
4) Do not put your child’s name, first or last, on hats, caps, jackets, bikes, wagons, etc., since children respond to their names.
5) Know where your child is at all times.
6) Know your child’s friends.
7) Check with your school principal to find out if you will be notified if your child does not report to school.
8) Be involved in your child’s activities.
9) Practice with your child ways he/she may walk to and from a friend’s home and school.
10) Listen when your child tells you that he/she doesn’t want to be with someone. Find out the reason.
11) Notice if someone pays undo attention to your child.
12) Never belittle any fear or concern your child has—imaginary or real.
13) Teach your child to whistle a tune. If you and your child get separated, use the whistle to find each other.
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Although the concerns were serious, the occasion was festive and Block and I had an opportunity to schmooze while my grandchildren Shor, 8, and Sky, 2, remained under the watchful eye of Grandma Nancy. Shor got some washable tattoos, and he and his brother also tried out the playground equipment.
I asked Block if he thought any solution to California’s budget crisis was in sight. He noted that voters earlier this year had convincingly rejected a series of bond measures that had been put before them by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“If you were to ask people in this crowd what are their priorities, my guess is that number one, they don’t want their
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taxes raised and number two they don’t want their services cut,” Block said. “Unfortunately those are mutually exclusive, and the state only had 75 cents for every dollar that we are spending right now.
You can’t run a house that way and you can’t run a state that way. So we have to find more resources, or more ways to cut.”
The legislator said he thought there may be some justification for cutting the budget of the state prison system—“we are still looking at that.” In terms of raising revenues, he said, he believes more money can be raised by closing tax loopholes (such as preventing people from sheltering their earnings in offshore accounts such as in the Cayman Islands); levying a new tax for the extraction of oil from lands within the state, and by adding more taxes to cigarettes.
Although a freshman, Block, a former two-term president of the San Diego Community College Board, is considered an emerging force within the Assembly. The Speaker of the Assembly, Karen Bass, named Block as the assistant majority whip, meaning he helps persuade fellow Democrats in the state’s lower chamber to vote favorably on bills their party caucus deems important, or against those measures the caucus feels are harmful.
Moreover, he was named chairman of a select committee on California education for levels K-16—that is kindergarten through a bachelor’s degree from college—recognizing that Block had other experiences as an educator as well. He served for two terms on the San Diego County Board of Education, which coordinates elementary and secondary schooling in the unincorporated areas of the county, and also served on the legal staff and as an assistant dean of San Diego State University.
Block had his first bill signed into law earlier this month—a California Dental Association-sponsored measure authorizing non-dentists to administer fluoride varnish to the teeth of school children at schools or in health clinic settings if they have been trained by dentists.
Not particularly controversial, that bill may be remembered by Block’s staff more for its political implications than for its impact. The California Dental Association had supported in last year’s election Block’s opponent, Republican John McCann (whose name was similar to that of the Republican presidential nominee.) Since the election, the dental association and Block have become much friendlier—leading to speculation that in the next election, the association might not support Block’s opponent and may even support the incumbent.
More important on Block’s legislative agenda—and reflecting his background—is a bill, AB 24, that would authorize a feasibility study for a new campus of the California State University and College system in Chula Vista, in the southern part of his district.
Given the state’s budget crunch, is such an idea even feasible? I asked Block.
He responded that the Legislature has a rule that no bill will even be considered that adds to the state’s financial burden. Yet this one has been passed by the Assembly and faces a committee hearing on Monday in the state Senate.
The reason for the measure’s smooth sailing is that the City of Chula Vista, which wants a state college in its area, has put up the money to finance an independent feasibility study.
True, the college could not be built now, but Block says it is prudent during the time of a bad economy to diligently plan what needs to be done once that economy turns around for the better.
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