With the U.S. Census Bureau’s release of the first set of population numbers on Tuesday, December 21st, there has been a flurry of press attention to the upcoming reapportionment of congressional seats. Rose Institute reports and researchers have been featured in a number of articles on the topic over the last couple days.
The Rose Institute released on Tuesday its newest report,  which analyzes the history of geographical shifts of population as documented by the census counts over the decades. Both Capitol Weekly and John Myers at KQED tweeted about the report and linked directly to it. Rose tweets about the reapportionment numbers were re-tweeted by several of our followers, including Andrew Donahue of Voice of San Diego, Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert, California Forward, the Hotline, and Flash Report among others.
Rose Institute Fellow Douglas Johnson was quoted in a number of articles and was interviewed by Scott Shafer for the San Francisco Bay-area KQED public radio. Johnson discussed the reapportionment numbers and particularly their meaning for California in his various media appearances.
A December 21st article in the North County Times quotes Johnson saying, “I think there were a lot of sighs of relief in D.C. among our congressional delegation,” when California did not lose a seat in the reapportionment but rather maintained its status quo of 53 seats. Johnson also says, “California’s appeal has lost its shine…Nevada and Arizona both continue to grow. But California has fallen to average, which is not something California is used to being —- in any way.” He also adds, “the Internet bubble hit us hard…And the housing bubble hit us even harder.” The article also cites the Rose’s piece on geographical trends in population shifts.
Redlands Daily Facts published an article on the 21st titled “California Still Growing, But More Slowly” which also quotes Johnson. In it, Johnson says, “People used to think of California for its sunshine and booming economy and now they think of Texas…People are moving out and no one is moving in. People having children is the only thing sustaining (California’s) population numbers.” Redlands Daily Facts published a second article on the piece which also quotes Johnson briefly.
In an article at the Whittier Daily News, Johnson says “We were defined as the `Golden State,’ but we’re not golden anymore.”
Below is a list of the other newspapers and online new sources that the Rose Institute was featured in regarding the reapportionment numbers.
The Contra Costa Times: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_16911901?nclick_check=1
The Fresno Bee: http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/12/21/2205855/calif-congressional-size-unchanged.html
The Idaho Statesman: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/12/21/1463450/californias-house-delegation-doesnt.html
The Miami Herald: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/21/1983911/californias-house-delegation-doesnt.html
The Modesto Bee: http://www.modbee.com/2010/12/20/1477746/will-the-central-valley-get-more.html
The Pasadena Star News: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/california/ci_16914356
The Record Searchlight: http://blogs.redding.com/bross/archives/2010/12/whered-those-16.html
The Sacramento Bee: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2010/12/california-house-of-representa.html
As redistricting begins across the country, the Rose Institute is excited to track the processes and to continue reporting on the latest updates and developments in redistricting.
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