Although the San Francisco Bay Area press (SF Chronicle and Examiner, SJ Mercury News) had extensively covered the Prop. 227 campaign, they have been almost completely silent on the actual implementation of the measure. Now that silence has been broken with a long front-page-metro piece in the SF Chronicle containing a glowing account of the eagerness with which both immigrant parents and children are learning English under 227. This accords with the numerous previous press stories in Southern California papers.
At the same time, in Arizona, despite the looming threat of a 227-style initiative there, the state legislature fought for months over bilingual education reform, then deadlocked, finally passing a “fig leaf” bill reemphasizing the voluntary nature of the program. This was highlighted in the attached column by Ruben Navarrette, Jr., one of Arizona’s most prominent Latino journalists. Thus, the Prop. 227 momentum in Arizona is further increased.
- English for Parents
San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday, May 4, 1999 - Legislature’s Lapse Leaves Bilingual Education to Voters by Ruben Navarrette, Jr.
Arizona Republic, Wednesday, May 5, 1999
