John Laird
John Laird is a former state Assemblyman
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Let’s get prison healthcare out of the Intensive Care Unit
OPINION By John Laird - California’s prisons face many, many challenges. Overcrowding. Violence. Gutted rehabilitation programs. An aging, and unhealthy, inmate population. And let’s be frank, spending more money—or worse yet wasting it—on our prisons and inmate healthcare during the current budget crisis and down economy is a bitter pill to swallow. Teachers are being laid off, children’s healthcare is being... (Continue Reading)
Closed state parks cost Central Coast jobs
OPINION By John Laird - We must take a stand to fix our state parks, so that we do not continue to lose jobs on the Central Coast – right at the moment when our visitor-serving economy needs them the most. A recent study found that state park visitors on average spend $57.63 in neighboring communities each time they... (Continue Reading)
It’s time to stand up for public education
OPINION BY JOHN LAIRD In May of this year, the Board of Trustees of San Luis Coast Unified School District, the largest district in San Luis Obispo County, voted unanimously to inform the California School Boards Association that no local legislator was worthy of the annual distinction of “Legislator of the Year.” The trustees passed […]... (Continue Reading)
