October 10, 2012, 12:05 AM
The swarm of earthquakes that rippled through Imperial County in late August has exposed more fissures in the state's system for identifying and fixing school buildings considered structurally unsound. At Brawley Union High School, an Aug. 27 inspection of the school's ...
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September 6, 2012, 12:05 AM
SACRAMENTO – A proposal to study seismic safety improvements for public schools – which won initial legislative support – quietly died in an Assembly committee during the last weeks of the legislative session. The measure, SB 1271, focused on whether schools should allow...
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August 16, 2012, 12:05 AM
A state Assembly committee will decide today the fate of legislation seeking to improve the seismic safety of public schools. The legislation by Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, would require a panel of independent experts to assess internal reforms made at the Division of...
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June 16, 2012, 11:21 AM
The staff of California Watch and the Center for Investigative Reporting today won the Gannett Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism administered by Investigative Reporters and Editors. The honor, which comes with a $5,000 prize, was awarded for "On Shaky Ground," a series of...
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June 12, 2012, 12:05 AM
The office that oversees the seismic safety of California's public schools can't show that it has approved all building plan changes, heightening the risk that some schools don't meet standards and are unsafe, according to a state auditor's report. The Division of the...
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May 8, 2012, 12:05 AM
A Los Gatos school district's decision to halt construction of a new elementary school over state geologists' safety concerns has inflamed a local mountain community and highlighted the difficulty of building schools in seismically vulnerable areas. Los Gatos Union School District...
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April 24, 2012, 3:30 PM
A state Senate committee voted today to support legislation that would create a task force to strengthen the state's oversight of earthquake protections for public schools. Sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, SB 1271 now heads to the Appropriations Committee...
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April 20, 2012, 12:05 AM
Prompted by a scathing audit and proposed legislation, the state's top construction administrators are scheduled today to discuss ways to improve the seismic safety and oversight of public school building projects. State Architect Chester Widom and Lisa Silverman, executive officer for the...
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April 6, 2012, 12:05 AM
California's Seismic Safety Commission could lose funding this year due to a 2010 ballot initiative that made it harder to impose government fees on businesses and individuals. The state Legislative Analyst's Office determined last week that the governor's proposed method of...
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March 29, 2012, 12:05 AM
Legislation aimed at overhauling the state's school construction law sailed through the Senate Education Committee yesterday. Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, introduced the bill, SB 1271, following a California Watch investigation and...
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March 1, 2012, 12:05 AM
The chairwoman of the state Senate disaster preparedness committee is calling for new building standards and an overhaul of California's seismic safety law in the wake of a California Watch investigation and a scathing audit that found significant flaws in the state's oversight of...
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January 13, 2012, 12:20 AM
Newly appointed State Architect Chester Widom said yesterday that he is "digging deep" and looking at all possible solutions to address issues cited in a recent audit critical of the state's seismic safety regulator for public schools. Speaking for about five minutes near the end...
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January 12, 2012, 12:05 AM
Newly appointed State Architect Chester Widom is slated to discuss today what steps seismic regulators are taking to address problems with their enforcement of earthquake safety requirements for public schools. Widom will brief the state Seismic Safety Commission in Sacramento about a...
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December 22, 2011, 12:04 AM
Despite California’s strict seismic safety regulations, the construction process at two school districts illustrates how mismanagement, disregard for safety requirements and allegations of fraud led to structural defects that could endanger students during an earthquake.
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December 22, 2011, 12:03 AM
Frequently asked questions about earthquake safety in California public schools
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